Wine bar meets restaurant in the most brilliant way at Embla by chef/restaurateur Dave Verheul. Entering this dark, woody saloon is to experience something truly Melbourne, where the balance of food and wine is so skilfully struck.

Pull up at the back bar for a view of the chefs deftly working the woodfired oven for on-point snacks and share plates. Soured cucumber pieces dusted with dill powder are made for swiping through a fat pat of silky creamed feta. A similar interplay of textures and tastes can be found in the stracciatella (a stretched buffalo curd cheese similar to burrata) piled with earthy walnuts and pleasantly bitter red dandelion.

Larger dishes extend to squid, supple and scored curls dancing in a fresh bed of fennel and peas, or just-pink swordfish slices resting on navy beans and fennel hinted with bergamot.

The hefty house-made seeded sourdough is worth the $4. You’ll drink interestingly and well from a list bound by neither grape nor geography. Natural wines are championed, too. The Austrian red recommended was so damn nice we had to go back for me.

This place might be of casual lunches and fun late-night tipples, but the menu and service operate on precision and ambition. In early 2018, Embla will expand upstairs to expand the dining room, while downstairs will be for wine-bar antics. To think this CBD gem will get better, is exciting.

Must eat dish: Sour cucumbers, dill, feta
Instagram: @embla_melbourne