Once in a while, a new restaurant opens in Canberra with a bang says dining reviewer WENDY JOHNSON.
MEET Oh no! in Manuka. Lovely fit-out (cool, contemporary), great staff, super service and fabulous food. Who could ask for anything more?
The creative menu, noting that the kitchen’s diversity includes staff from Korea, Japan, Philippines and Nepal (some of whom start prepping at 4am), is centred around fresh, high-quality ingredients and precise execution with a lovely twist on many dishes.
Select from raw plates, small dishes, “all wrapped up” selections (wontons, gyoza and bao), large dishes and add-ons, including a pressed watermelon salad, shiso, jalapeno and ginger we didn’t try but will on our next visit ($15).
The wild tuna sashimi ($24) was sublime and – as with all dishes – beautifully presented. The flavour combo was delightful. Paper thin slices of radish added crunch and the honey yaju a gorgeous sweetness.
Fans of beef tartare will be mighty impressed ($23). No mince here. Instead, lean, tender, superior beef cut into smallish chunks by hand. The dish showcased another winning combination of flavours – nashi pear for sweetness, julienned apple for freshness, macadamia for crunch, and chilli for bite. The textures married incredibly well with black sesame crackers.
A fun small dish we loved sharing is the sesame prawn donut, with a creamy prawn head mayo (intense, but not overly so). The rectangle-shaped donuts were covered in black sesame and prawn salt added to the balance ($9 each).
Next up was a generous serve (for $17) of large cubes of silky tofu with chilli salt. They were stacked on a sexy sweet sambal (made in-house, of course) and don’t forget to squeeze the fresh lemon provided all over, for extra lift.
We rounded our food extravaganza with kimchi gyoza ($15 for four pieces) and all immediately became fans. The kimchi is blitzed with honey and the dish showcases green apple and jalapeno.
Sadly, we were too full to delve into the large-dish section of the menu but promised to head back to do just that.
Oh no! is bold and confident, with good reason. The team has carved a unique place in the inner south and staff are justifiably proud of that. They know their food and know their wines (a compact list is available, but also a multi-page version for those who really want to explore). We loved the region’s Ravensworth Murrumbateman Fiano and Trebbiano, recommended as an excellent choice with Oh no!’s style of cuisine ($75 a bottle).
Oh no! has two dining zones downstairs with a mix of low and high tables (some chairs with backs and some not). Upstairs the bar opens at 4pm serving dynamite cocktails. Oh no! is working on outdoor dining
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