New kids pilot Ainslie’s fine-diner
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Take a first look at Ainslie’s newest restaurant, Pilot.
When it slides back its bespoke and imposing new barn door on Friday night, Pilot, Ainslie’s newest restaurant, will look, feel and taste different to its predecessor Pulp Kitchen.
Since Pulp closed in August, and former owner Gus Armstrong returned to concentrate on his award-winning Braddon icon eightysix, the corner spot at the Ainslie shops has been gently but thoroughly made over.
Pilot’s welcoming interior.
Step through the door and it is immediate the place is a more intimate space thanks to a delicate woven curtain that drapes from one end of the restaurant to the other. A wall of native flowers softens the concrete render, a new terrazzo bar at the entrance provides a meeting and drinking place and wooden elements have been added to provide a more textured and elegant setting for what is one of the city’s more anticipated foodie haunts.
The space is the ultimate ambition of a group of young guns including former Pulp Kitchen manager Ross McQuinn and his partner Dash Rumble.
Head Chef Malcolm Hanslow in the Pilot kitchen.
Head chef Malcolm Hanslow has returned home to Canberra to run the kitchen after a successful period in Sydney where he worked for Oscillate Wildly, Ester and Automata, and where he has been shortlisted for this year’s Josephine Pignolet Young Chef of the Year.
According to Malcolm, he loves taking familiar concepts and elevating them to new levels.
Pilot’s prawn + corn
Take the “prawn + corn”. Sounds simple enough, but it includes a corn broth, smoked corn custard and fresh corn sitting within a delicate pool of prawn oil.
The tomatoes are locally supplied and include an unexpected crunch from succulent beach bananas, while the “cos, nettle + yolk” includes an unctuous injection of pork fat and stinging nettles to bring the humble lettuce to life.
Pilot’s simply-named tomatoes
While Pilot is steering well clear of Pulp’s bistro atmosphere—instead reaching for loftier food and ambience—Malcolm has put a bistro favourite on the menu, albeit with a twist. The “flounder + curry de paris butter” is the Pilot equivalent of a beef and Café de Paris sauce.
flounder + curry de paris butter
The small but intricate menu—just 15 starters and mains—includes whitebait + egg butter, pork, honey + carrot, rump cap with malt onions.
The dessert menu is also short and sweet—choose between strawberry, rosehip, milks, and potato ice-cream + brown butter.
strawberry, rosehip, milks
Everything is as local and handmade as possible—from Barry Burger’s daily fresh loaves to the beautiful crumpled glass water decanters fashioned by Scott Chaseling at the Canberra Glassworks.
According to Ross, Pilot will be to the northside what Aubergine is to the south. A destination for fine-dining with all elements needing to come together perfectly. The prices, peaking at $47 for the rump – reflect that aspiration.
rump cap + malt onions
For Dash, who has spent recent months in Sydney at Momofoku, the move from bistro to destination point has meant softening the atmosphere with native colours and flowers and warming the space with artwork.
“We want the space to feel special – yet remain personal, warm, and simple.”
Commending Gus for his mentorship and support over the years before handing them the keys to the space, the threesome want to put Pilot on the Canberra dining map.
Contrasting textures at Pilot.
“We have wanted to do this for years, and we have put a lot of thought into all aspects of the new space, how it feels and how the food is going to make its mark,” said Ross.
He said one of the new areas Pilot would take fine-dining was into the realm of no and low-alcohol for those who did not want the food to be overshadowed by the drink.
“We will offer non-alcoholic alternatives like fennel soda and some low-alcohol wines.”
But a strong all-Australian spirit list and long wine list was also there for those who wanted the full “boozy” experience during a night out, or on Sunday when Pilot would offer a long lunch with orders taken between 12-3pm.
cos, nettle + yolk
Meanwhile, the team was confident enough to pare back tables to just 36, and to open the restaurant for dinners only on Wednesdays to Saturdays.
According to Ross, “this is our long-term vision and we want it to be tightly-controlled and sustainable in every sense, from the food to the way we care for our staff.
“We want to focus on getting everything right and we don’t want to be the sort of place that churns people through in two sittings a night, seven nights a week.”
the essentials
What: Pilot Restaurant
Where: 1 Wakefield Gardens, Ainslie (at the back left of the shops)
Open: Wednesday to Saturday 6 till late from and taking orders between 12-3pm on Sunday
Contact: 62574334
Web: pilotrestaurant.com
Photography: Ashley St George
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