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  • To Cafe Vue At Heide

Shannon Bennett's casual fare served up in Heide's stunning sculptural garden

Cafe Vue at Heide offers a seasonal French menu typical of what we have come to expect from Shannon Bennett's other restaurants and cafes including Vue de Monde, Bistro Vue, Cafe Vue on Little Collins Street and Cafe Vue on St Kilda Road. Choose to dine in the modern, light filled cafe or grab a picnic box to go and venture into the gardens to relax and explore the many art installations.

Reviews of Cafe Vue At Heide

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  • Vera Poh   13 reviews
    At the Heidi Museum of Modern Art, Cafe Vue itself sits like a contemporary art exhibit. With walls of glass, jet-black rafters and studs, the restaurant glitters and heaves like a cuboid crystal in the mid-day sun.

    Inside, a jostle of jocks cuts a life-size kaleidoscope against a sleek modern backdrop: black chairs, black tables, white fluorescent light and grey stone floor. In a curious twist, however, small pots of herbs are seen to dot each table and occupy rusted rustic brass skeletal stands, adding a strange bucolic, if ironic, touch.

    Indeed, designer Chris Connell was presumably tasked with delivering on dichotomous twin perceptions: while Cafe Vue at Heidi resides in a Museum of Modern Art, it is intended as a farm-to-table collaboration between the gardeners at Heidis vegetable garden and the Cafe chefs ; hence, juxtaposition of the contemporary urban and the country rural.

    Cafe Vue at Heidi was opened last November. It is yet another addition to young and celebrated chef, Shannon Bennetts fast burgeoning restaurant empire, of which Vue de Monde synonymous with fine French dining was catapulted to critical acclaim, after bagging 3 Chef hats conferred by the Age Good Food Guide, not to mention a panopoly of other awards.

    It is thus unsurprising that the menu here at Cafe Vue is distinctly French too sans snootiness. There is little need to wrestle with chagrin-laced awkwardness in the idiosyncratic accent execution of parole such as Salade Melangee or Saint Pierre Noix Pomme; patrons will be comfortable reading what is largely English with the odd but manageable Pommes frites or souffle. They choose from a Menu Du Jour at a reasonable $35 for two courses or $45 for three. For those who prefer to throw a picnic rug on Heidis sun-drenched Sculpture Park, Vues famous lunchbox can be picked up for a palatable $15.

    To witness fresh delights literally straight from the back-paddock, try the Heidi Garden beetroot with goats curd: a clever reinvention of a retro number. Presented on a flat timber vessel, a variety of beets in a variety of textures jostle with a variety of leaves in a variety of colours along with judicious dollops of creamy curd like a painters dusky autumnal palette. Redolent of simple cottage living and rural grub, this appetiser invites quiet contemplation in nostalgia.

    Yet, to behold a work of abstract contemporary art, order the Yuzu marinated scallops with compressed melon. On an exquisite square serving plate, marinated scallops are artfully, albeit sparsely, laid out with tiny cubes of watermelon, cantalope and honeydew almost like a modern art folio. While the display may be too contrived for some tastes, the ethereal texture and delicate flavour of the scallops alone makes this elegant entree worthy of order.

    Like the lustrous Vue de Monde, Cafe Vue certainly has something for fish. The Fillet of blue eye with braised artichokes is nearly beyond parallel: fresh and pristine, succulent and fine, the fish rides on a bed of braised coriander and artichokes themselves chock-a-block with flavour and juice.

    In the same way, John Dory a la meuniere is memorable for its subtly crispy skin and still-moist flesh. With roasted potatoes and impeccably braised spinach, the serving is suitably handsome and immensely gratifying.

    Waitstaff are knowledgeable and service will be remembered for its delightful elan although one may want to be reactionary enough to duck from a soiled cutlery lunging from the tilting plate a staff balances while struggling to clear an adjacent table.

    If you are now feeling somewhat remorseful for having consumed so much food as imaginative as art never mind with such giddy delirium, it is probably time to make your way to the various exhibitions at Heidi I, II and III, to rehabilitate that hedonistic soul.

    17/12/2010

  • Tuesday:
    8:00 AM-3:00 PM
  • Wednesday:
    8:00 AM-3:00 PM
  • Thursday:
    8:00 AM-9:30 PM
  • Friday:
    8:00 AM-9:30 PM
  • Saturday:
    8:00 AM-9:30 PM
  • Sunday:
    8:00 AM-9:30 PM

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Editorial Reviews

  • Cafe Vue at Heide

    Ultimate Melbourne

    Thursday, August 19, 2010

    The ever-expanding empire of Shannon Bennett has made its way to the picturesque gardens of Heide Museum of Modern Art. Surrounded by sculptures and exhibitions, the café is a sanctuary for food lovers t enjoy Bennett’s casual fare. Features on the Heide Garden Menu du Jour include mulloway with Tunisian couscous and fennel purée, a delish lamb Wellington, or the ‘must have’ souffle Rothschild. For the romantics, visit during the day, grab a lunch box to go and enjoy a picnic in the grounds.

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