Bed down at The Stables – Eat Drink West

Past and present combine in revamped space

MAKING use of the historic building’s original stables, The Highlander owners’ recently opened a separate bar and live music space adjacent to the restaurant.

Aptly named The Stables, the space is decorated with David Bromeley’s art and filled with an assortment of plants, and is currently only open on weekends to start with.

“It’s all about good food, cocktails, live music, DJs, really relaxed but good quality,” operations manager Mikayla Franklie said.

“You can definitely see that it used to be stables with the original architecture, we’ve tried to keep as much of the original pieces as possible.

“It’s a really fun menu, and mixed with the indoor jungle, then the contrast between luxurious items like Chesterfields and chandeliers up against raw materials like wire mesh and exposed beams, it’s fun to look around and explore.”

While the establishment is focused on delivering a quality and unique beer, wine and cocktail list, Ms Franklie said the food

selection is also a standout.

“We asked Hugh Maxwell to come in to design a menu with the executive chef because it’s a little different, more middle eastern share plates than main meals,” she said.

“Chris has always had a grow and use from your own garden approach, you keep strong relationships with the local suppliers and it makes the difference.”

Alongside The Stables’ executive chef Ryan Pearce, Maxwell – who completed his apprenticeship under some of the best names in middle eastern cuisine in Australia, said he hoped to kick start the new venue with a range of vibrant offerings.

“The executive chef, Ryan, he is going to be running the show, I just came along to set up and we tried to design a 15 item, small, middle eastern inspired dishes with flavours that Ballarat hasn’t got at the moment,” he said.

“The idea was to have heaps of flavour and a really good balance, so all the dishes really stand out on their own, every dish is intended to do its own thing and be eaten together as well.

“We try to gain everything from within 50 kilometres if we can, especially veg, if it’s not from around here we generally won’t use it, the fact that some things have to drive over 300 kilometres to get here, I think is nuts, especially when we got great stuff right here.”