Recently it seems like a new bar or cafe or restaurant opens every other week in Canberra. Yesterday, I tried out one of the latest offerings, Deadset, which is kind of a combination of all of the above. I have to admit, the drawcard for me wasn’t so much trying the food as the fact that the Idea of North would be performing a tribute concert there—that you could get brekky/brunch at the same time was a bonus.

I wasn’t quite sure where Deadset was, so I thought I’d take a chance and enter the Nishi building through a familiar entrance, the door to Palace Electric. While there were no signs saying Deadset, there was one with an arrow that said Hotel Hotel, so I decided to follow that.

Heading up the funky wooden stairs, I was greeted at the top by the sight of an inviting open space with wonderfully colourful tables. It looked like the pictures posted last week in HerCanberra’s sneak peek of Deadset, but just to make sure, I decided to ask one of the waitstaff. He looked confused by my question and told me it was Hotel Hotel, so I decided to just leave it, and took up his polite offer to sit anywhere.

Choosing a ‘front row’ table, I was presented with a menu to peruse while I waited for my friends, as well an unusual looking glass bottle and matching glasses. After seeing the place, I had gotten a little more excited about the potential food I might have, but was a bit disappointed by the limited options. While they all sounded nice, I prefer cooked breakfasts when I eat out, so that really only gave me two choices: the slow cooked free range egg with crisp jamón and brioche crumbs, or the bikini tostada: jamón serrano & manchego on sourdough (that said, I did see the muesli other people had ordered, and it looked great, both in presentation and what it might taste like). [Note from Editor: it’s worth noting that Hotel Hotel’s full kitchen, which will offer breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days, isn’t set to open until early next year, so the current menu is limited until then.]

My friends, upon arriving, had the same dilemma, and so we all ended up ordering the same thing, the slow cooked egg dish. While we waited for our food, we admired the decor and each took a turn about the room (very Jane Austen-esque). There was quite a bit to look at—a large pile of old-fashioned travelling trunks near a window, a display of milliner’s equipment inset into a wall, some very funky light fittings, as well as stacks of interesting-looking books on the tables.

The tables themselves were my favourite thing about the place, and my friend observed that their shape was great for conversation, as you were angled a bit more towards each other than if sitting around a usual rectangular/square/round table. We found out later that almost everything in Hotel Hotel, from the glassware to the tables, chairs and even the bins in the rooms, has been designed and made either locally, or from the south coast, Melbourne or Sydney.

Our breakfast then arrived, and I think we all had the same reaction—the presentation was beautiful, but the serving looked rather simple and small. However, from experience, appearances can be deceptive, so I brushed aside my misgivings and tucked in. I was pleased to find that all the components of the dish had quite strong flavours, and they went well together. The jamón was nice and crunchy and the texture of the brioche crumbs mixed well with the egg. That said, it seemed like something was missing, and my friends commented that it might have been better if it came with some sort of bread, or two eggs instead of one. While we enjoyed the taste, none of us felt full, and we debated whether we should get some sort of pastry to top it off (we didn’t end up doing this, but did stop at A.Baker after the concert to get our bread fix).

Shortly after this, the Idea of North took the stage, in high spirits after their induction into the ACT Music Hall of Fame at the MusicACT Music Awards the previous night. Their performance clearly showed why they deserved the honour, as it was a typically wonderful display of musicality, creativity and humour (I could go on and on, but if you want to read more of my gushing just go to my review of one of their previous shows).

While I was enjoying the concert, I thought that Deadset would be a great venue for dinner and a show, and we discovered later that there is something similar in the works, with live music planned for Sunday afternoons and Monday evenings.

In short, I really liked the fitout and atmosphere of Deadset, and while I probably wouldn’t go back for the breakfast, it’s definitely somewhere that I’d go for a coffee (well, hot chocolate in my case) and some pastries while catching up with friends, for a drink after work, to peruse the books or even just to write. I’m looking forward to seeing what they have in store.

the essentials

What: Deadset
Where: Ground floor of Hotel Hotel in the Nishi building at 25 Edinburgh Avenue in NewActon. If in doubt, head to the Hotel Hotel reception desk and you’ll find it.
When: 7am to 11pm seven day from Friday 29 November.