The restaurant that had to close its doors before it even opened

Posted on 8 April, 2020

 Quite a few of us were extremely excited at the prospect of the new restaurant dreamed up by Daniel Giordani, Keaton McDonnell and Abel Barriler.

After all, the trio have some very successful fine dining history between them.

Daniel helped elevate Pulp Kitchen to one of the most exciting restaurants on Canberra’s dining scene at the time.

Keaton has worked at Pulp Kitchen, Aubergine, and, most recently The Ottoman, while Abel has joined them from Les Bistronomes.

Their baby, Ondine European Brasserie, had all the hallmarks of becoming a shining new light on the culinary scene.

Only, it’s had to be temporarily dimmed—due to COVID-19.

In a case of spectacularly unfortunate timing for a restaurant opening, it was due to fling open its doors this weekend at its Deakin location, right next to the Croatian Club.

“Ah, well that was the plan,” said Daniel. “But as everyone is now aware, it is a bit of a strange time.”

“We are trying to be philosophical about it—one of the good things being that we had not hired our staff yet, so we don’t have to let anyone go.”

Instead, the tiny team of three have pivoted quickly to trim back the menu of classic French bistro food into a delightfully continental take-away menu.

And as the cooler weather arrives in coming weeks, we can’t help but think there are few finer options than a classic French onion soup with garlic and Gruyere croutons, followed by a classic French cassoulet, or Beef bourguignon, and please, can you add in a crème brûlée—because, frankly, there is room in my tracksuit for all of it.

The team, who have a strong following among Canberra foodies and have signed up to the new delivery service Canberra Eats, report that orders have been surprisingly strong so far.

“I mean, given we haven’t actually had a chance to open, it is good that people know we are cooking!”

Meanwhile, when the threat of a global pandemic is over and people flee their houses for the promise of an evening out, Daniel and Keaton have set the restaurant up to deliver a traditional bistro feel.

There are no stark interior design features or gimmicks, just the promise of simple food, served efficiently in a warm setting.

“We plan to expand the menu once we are open, but we want to currently deliver food that is going to withstand the delivery journey and still look and taste good.”

He looks forward to hiring staff also.

“I think we will all bounce back. I hope so. Some people get depressed right now, but I am trying to look to the future. All you can do is your best, and if you deliver good food, then people will order it.”