The new menu at Monster maintains the plant-based focus with some extra meaty goodness thrown in. Photo: Leigh Griffiths.
Vegetarian favourite Monster Kitchen and Bar has decided it’s time to put meat back on the menu. The restaurant and bar in the Ovolo Nishi Hotel initially went vegetarian as a one-year experiment in 2020, but the choice proved popular enough to keep rotating plant-based menus for the next four years.
Recent feedback from diners showed that while people loved the vegetarian dishes, they wanted to have a mix.
“We heard you, and now we’re delivering with a menu that strikes a harmonious balance between plant-based masterpieces and carefully curated, locally sourced meats. It’s inclusivity at its most delicious,” food and beverage general manager Mike Kadinski said.
Monster has been vegetarian for four years, but customer requests have prompted them to bring back meat. Photo: Leigh Griffiths.
The new menu retains the delicious and creative plant-based focus while adding in some more meaty proteins. As before, diners can choose to order a la carte or opt for a set menu. The new vegetarian set menu features seasonal dishes like zucchini flowers stuffed with smoked scamorza cheese and a fried eggplant dish served with babaganoush, stracciatella, black garlic, puffed white rice, and a lime and pomegranate dressing.
The omnivore set menu starts with Abrolhos Island scallop with hazelnut and coriander butter and features adobo marinated whole spatchcock with pickled green tomatoes as a more substantial dish.
Executive chef David Wykes, formerly of Temporada, has been brought on to lead the Monster team in this meaty era.
“Bringing meat into the mix allows us to explore new culinary terrain while building on the deep expertise we’ve honed in vegetarian cooking. We’ve taken the extensive knowledge we’ve gained over four years of plant-based innovation and infused it into the new menu. Our vegetarian dishes aren’t just sides – they’re heroes,” he said.
There is a selection of ‘mini’ cocktails and alcohol-free drinks at Monster. Photo: Leigh Griffiths.
Not to be outdone by the kitchen, Monster Bar has also joined in the revolution with a brand-new local wine list. The team has also introduced half-pours of wines and mini cocktails as well as a comprehensive offering of non-alcoholic beers, wines and cocktails like the refreshing aloe no-jito.
The meats and seafood gracing the Monster menu have been carefully curated to find the best locally produced ingredients: Gundagai lamb, Pambula oysters, Jervis Bay mussels and Little Joe pasture-raised beef all feature on the menu.
Executive chef David Wykes and food & beverage General Manager Mike Kadinski. Photo: Leigh Griffiths.
As always, the kitchen’s creativity and attention to detail will be on display. Dishes are made from scratch onsite, including handmade scarpinocc and bonbon-shaped ravioli filled with ricotta. The desserts at Monster are reliably excellent, and it looks like they’ve jumped on the tiramisu trend! There’s also a grown-up pavlova served with Negroni jelly or gianduja cremieux (hazelnut cream) with grilled yellow peach and hazelnut praline.
Monster Kitchen and Bar is located at Ovolo Nishi Hotel, 25 Edinburgh Ave, New Acton. They are open for dinner from 5 to 10 pm seven nights a week. Follow Monster on Facebook or Instagram.
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