New chef’s table dining experience at Dorsia

AFTER five years working as a private chef offering in-house fine dining experiences, Martyn Ridings has fulfilled his long-held dream of opening his own restaurant in Byron Bay.

Inspired by the intimate and immersive nature of Japanese omakase restaurants — where guests interact directly with the chef — Ridings drew on his experience to create Dorsia, which features a chef’s table seating up to 12 people as well as a 20-seat dining room.

“The experience I had at omakase restaurant Ishizuka in Melbourne last year blew me away and was something I thought could work well for Dorsia, having had the customer interaction for years as a private chef,” he said.

“The space that is now Dorsia was once a fish and chip shop called Hunky Dory’s.

“The fit-out had a slightly open kitchen, which I knew I could transform into a chef’s table, and I knew the skill set I had learnt as a private chef could be used in a restaurant scenario.

“I love having people sit in front of the kitchen and take in every movement, smell, taste of a dish, as well as explaining to them what they are eating.”

Originally from Liverpool in the UK, Ridings began his culinary journey at just 14 years old, working at the two-hatted Il Centro Restaurant in Brisbane. Since then, he has sharpened his skills at other acclaimed venues, including The Wolfe in Brisbane and Melbourne’s Stokehouse.

“I am classically French trained, having worked at a two-Michelin-star restaurant in the south of France, but I feel modern Australian allows us boundless creativity options for the menus, with all proteins cooked over our charcoal/woodfired-barbecue,” he said.

Dorsia’s inventive dishes include pepperberry-cured kangaroo with parsnip and horseradish, 14-day dry-aged cherry wood smoked duck, and beetroot ceviche with watermelon, red nahm jim sauce, and desert lime.

The restaurant is open from 3pm Wednesday to Saturday, with a long lunch chef’s tasting menu available on Sundays.