First Look: Peonee

Posted on 9 June, 2023

Campbell’s newest restaurant, Peonee, might have a sleek, industrial feel, but its origins lie in the ancient hills of Emilia-Romagna, Italy.

It’s here that Peonee’s owner Alberto Ranalli’s love for food started, in the restaurants of his hometown of Bologna. After starting as a waiter at age 15, Alberto quickly realised his future was in the kitchen, beginning his chef’s apprenticeship in Bologna before moving to London, then Sydney, to work in fine dining.

Now, Alberto’s passion for food has come full circle with his first restaurant, Peonee, opening earlier this week on Provan Street in Campbell. Modern in both menu and fit-out, Alberto says Peonee will be classically Mod Oz, featuring a five-course set menu for evenings and a two-course set menu for lunch, with the option of matching wines or non-alcoholic beverages.

“It’s intimate, and a little bit industrial, with lots of stainless steel,” says Alberto of Peonee’s interiors which hero the raw materials of the building; polished concrete floors, metal walls and blonde wood tables allowing focus to be on the open kitchen.

But perhaps the most modern element of Peonee will be the menu, because there won’t be one—at least not in the traditional sense.

Instead, diners will receive their five dishes with introductions from the chefs themselves, who will deliver each dish to the table. After the meal is finished, diners will be presented with a printed menu as a keepsake, detailing each dish and its drinks pairing.

While the menu will change each week, Alberto says dishes will hero native Australian ingredients and feature Asian flavours with a “foundation” of French cooking.

Though he knows having a set menu will likely lead people to call Peonee “fine dining”, Alberto isn’t keen to label it as such, preferring for Peonee to be seen as more approachable.

“It’s a very relaxed atmosphere, very casual. We even have communal tables because I want people to interact,” he says. “It’s a very open kitchen and tables are very close to the kitchen, so it’s very interactive.”

While the menu is yet to be finalised when we speak, Alberto is able to share some highlights, including seared Kingfish, Balmain bugs, Slippery Jack mushrooms with Jerusalem artichokes, malted sourdough made in-house (served cultured butter, naturally) and pork neck meatballs.

While Peonee is yet to receive their liquor license (meaning some nights may be BYO until then), Alberto says the wine list is “only Australian wine and spirits” with a focus on “low intervention wines” with a menu of house-made infusions for non-alcoholic pairings.

The perfect pairing for this modern space.

Photos courtesy of the venue