Ark

It is undeniable that the trend is green, and Ark is among the vanguard of vegan fine dining at moderate prices. The owner, Jason, is from Australia, and all conversation is conducted in English. There is no menu here, so it pays to listen closely, as the acoustics are not ideal in what is otherwise a warm and bright space featuring natural materials. And it is not just the premises that embrace the guest—the staff are broadly smiling, genuinely warm, and consistently professional. They ensure guests move confidently through the menu’s exciting reinterpretations of local vegetables, prepared with precision and ingenuity. The mushroom dishes and desserts stand out most strongly, but the seasonal white asparagus with fermented plum, black garlic cream, and rich seeds and kernels from sunflower, pumpkin, and sesame, topped with dill and watercress, is also a well-considered, delicate, and fresh dish balancing acidity, umami, bitterness, and texture. The mushroom dishes are signature highlights, featuring produce from the restaurant’s own Funga Farm. Here, we receive blue oyster mushroom served as a raw purée on an oyster shell, making the oyster flavor extremely pronounced, while the same mushrooms appear in a yakitori-grilled version with an umami emulsion, where the mushroom now resembles chicken breast in both meaty flavor and texture. A few courses into the eight-course tasting menu comes another intriguing mushroom: the hedgehog mushroom. Carefully cleaned and grilled, it tastes like pork, served alongside a green potpourri of spring onions, cabbage, and peas, sprinkled with wild chive blossoms. This is experimental cooking with great flair and boldness, though not every dish lands perfectly—for instance, the potato sourdough bread with macadamia-pine nut emulsion lacks both salt and acidity, while the kitchen’s use of wild and cultivated herbs is brilliant. “They taste of something—they’re not just there for show,” exclaims my dining companion, as we agree that the tarragon sorbet on sesame crumble surprisingly becomes even better thanks to the fish-flavored wakame seaweed oil, which in this combination acts merely as a flavor enhancer for the freshness of the tarragon. Now we get acidity and freshness in full force, also in the poached rhubarb with lychee and mirin on a macadamia base, garnished with a generous sprinkle of lemon thyme. Wine or juice pairings are as thoughtfully designed as the food itself—unconventional and hitting many targets in terms of flavor combinations, which places Ark securely at the very top of the Very Good Class.