Tom Tilbury’s choux pastry is wrapped in a layer of crisp biscuit “craquelin” and filled with a chicken liver parfait smoother than a Barry White love song. If the chef was looking to announce his move to the city, these seductive savoury soft-centres are his secret weapon. 

The recruitment of Tilbury, best known for his chart-topping time at Coriole winery, is a coup for Press*, but only part of the transformation of one of the CBD’s marquee restaurants. Tilbury’s menu blends updated classics with his own inventions.

Small cubes of raw kingfish and a finer dice of fennel are finished with horseradish cream and finger lime pearls dressed in pink pepper. Poached veal sweetbreads are tossed through an ajo blanco (almond cream) sauce and covered by a teepee of fried cavolo nero leaves and fermented green almonds. Mains move to more succinct pleasures. When an aged pork cutlet, full of natural meaty flavour, is paired with an equally plain disc of lightly pickled eggplant and mustard seeds, the result is compelling.

Same for a dessert of quandongs, honeycomb and roasted almonds gathered around a barely set vanilla custard.

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