Highroad Dickson has extended its opening hours. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
Dickson cafe Highroad has added dinner service to its repertoire, with new owners looking to invigorate the space and offer something new.
Maheer Prasad and Lachlan Exton (formerly of Swirl Catering) purchased the business from ONA in September of 2023. They wanted to give people in Dickson another option for dinner, outside of takeaway, pub food, or casual Asian dining. Bringing back the idea of elevated, but approachable, suburban dining is the goal: somewhere you can go for a special meal, without needing to navigate parking in the city.
Region attended a launch event for a taste of the new dinner offering.
Celeriac and chestnut soup with truffles. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
The dishes are mostly rooted in European bistro-style classics and have a strong focus on seasonal produce.
After enjoying charcuterie and cheese plates, we began our meal with a chestnut and celeriac soup, served with a generous shaving of black truffle, harvested that afternoon from Michelago. It’s a comforting soup, and the chestnuts add a rich creaminess to the dish.
The two entrees showcase the variety of dishes on offer, demonstrating the skill and versatility of Chef Cho.
Grilled Queensland prawns are served with gochujang and a nori pesto: both strong flavours but pair well with the shellfish. Pate de Campagne (rustic pork terrine) is served with boozy prunes, mustard, cornichons and grilled focaccia smeared with bacon butter. This is the kind of dish I’d love to share as a post-work snack with a friend, maybe over a bottle of local wine.
Speaking of wine: the list has been curated by local expert Emma Shaw, who has put together a stable of Canberra region icons.
We enjoyed a glass of the Ravensworth skin contact rosè paired with the grilled prawns and, later on, the full-bodied Yarrh Shiraz with whole roasted prime rib.
As we ate the chicken roulade with Vin Jaune sauce and mushrooms, Chef Cho shared his memories of working with an infamously tough French Chef. After a long night of service, he’d serve chicken with truffles as a staff meal, giving Cuban cigars to the chefs and pouring glasses of Vin Jaune. The translation is yellow wine, as the long ageing process imparts a unique colour to this little-known variety from the Jura region of France.
Chef Cho wanted to pay homage to this memory by creating a dish that used those flavours. It’s a tasty memory indeed (although he laughingly admitted he hadn’t included the Cuban cigar).
Whole roasted prime rib comes with seasonal roast vegetables. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
One menu highlight is the pomme aligot: a whipped potato and cheese side dish which creates an almost fondue-like sauce. It’s incredibly rich but oh-so-delicious.
The whole roasted prime rib is a real centrepiece of a dish, served on a large oval platter and cooked to perfection. The meat is butter-tender and the accompanying vegetables are delicious, although at this point in the meal we are very full.
Highroad was first owned and operated by specialty coffee roasters ONA, who infamously disallowed cappuccinos in their cafes as they felt chocolate powder distracted from the flavour of the coffee.
Chef Cho has created a cappuccino-inspired dessert as a sly dig at this controversial policy. Customers are invited to dunk almond and orange biscotti into the delicious mix of hazelnut custard, vanilla cream and espresso syrup.
Cappuccino at an ONA venue!? Well, not quite. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
Having the venue lit up at night really invigorates that corner of Dickson: during our meal many passersby were clearly excited to see the space was open in the evening. Maheer and Lachlan say they want to create an environment where people can drop in for after-work drinks and a snack, have a full dinner, or maybe just come by for dessert after visiting another of Dickson’s many restaurants.
The new owners also disclosed that they will be moving into the old Lonsdale Street Roasters location in Braddon, bringing ONA coffee to Braddon.
Highroad is located at 1 Woolley Street, Dickson. It is open Monday to Thursday 7 am to 4 pm, Friday 7 am to 10 pm, Saturday 8 am to 10 pm, and Sunday 8 am to 4 pm. There are plans to extend dinner service later in the year. Visit the Highroad website or follow them on Facebook or Instagram.
Loading ...
