Review of The Raw restaurant

You’ve got questions about the name. An opening snack has answers. A shelled and split raw prawn sprawls on a whisper-thin seaweed crisp, anointed with just enough gochujang to season the translucent flesh without dominating its mild, briny flavour. This deftness of touch is a hallmark of chef Jack Lee’s all-seafood menu, with a laser focus on the local.

Portarlington mussels laced with shallot and white wine come crumbed in bullet-shaped croquettes, dabbed with wasabi mayo and a salty sprig of ice plant. Indented Head abalone is cooked sous-vide, then swiftly fired on the hibachi before tender slices are laid on Otway potato puree.

The team here is as tiny as the backstreet monochrome dining room (just 20 seats at timber-topped tables) yet they show rare skill in balancing full-throated ingredients with delicate ocean finds. That finesse runs all the way to a sublime Japanese rice ice-cream with zesty yuzu curd and matcha meringue shards.

Good to know: There’s a succinct, all-Victorian wine list plus sake and umeshu.

Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant can’t pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide.

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