Rubicon: Celebrating 20 years in style
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There are three types of restaurants in Canberra—the favourite suburban local, the fine diner reserved for special occasions, and the hot-listed place everyone wants to be seen at.
Rubicon in Griffith combines all three. But this year—as it celebrates 20 years of operation—the focus is on staying true to its classic roots rather than reinventing itself to make it to the current hot list.
Owner Owen Kenyon has enjoyed the awards, hats and top-ten listings, but has consciously rejected any move to reinvent something that has grown so organically in a sunny little spot in Canberra’s old south.
“Everybody has an opinion—people want me to open a second restaurant, I should put new things on my menu or I should stick with the favourites. I have really had to switch off all that input and go with my gut.”
Given the high number of restaurants that have opened with great fanfare and quietly slipped away during the time Rubicon has been running, Owen’s gut has served him well.
When he and his wife Jane took over the long and narrow space within the suburban strip in January 2000, they didn’t have that much of a plan. Owen just knew he wanted to create an intimate space for beautiful food, excellent wine and good conversation.
“I can honestly say I didn’t think I would still be here after 20 years. But I love it as much now as I did when I started out, so that says a lot.”
Most nights Rubicon will fill with a mix of diners. There are locals who come regularly to relish the dishes they could never recreate at home (think the Gruyere and chestnut twice-cooked soufflé).
Then there are those who have booked for a celebration or romantic night out (they will be ordering the famous bourbon Merimbula rock oysters which have been on the menu since Day One and combine hickory smoked sauce, bacon, shallots and pecorino).
There are businessmen who come in for long lunches, diplomats and politicians, and couples. So many couples call Rubicon home.
In fact, come Valentine’s Day each year there is a run on tables, given the ceiling of the back part of the restaurant is festooned with twinkling fairy lights.
Owen takes it all in with unflappable professionalism.
In fact, we can report (although Owen won’t comment) that Rubicon was the restaurant where Malcolm Turnbull chose to commiserate with staff after losing his party leadership to Tony Abbott. Owen ran interference as the media went crazy trying to get the scoop.
And while he trained as a chef after leaving school and knows every recipe backwards, these days you are more likely to see him managing the floor, where he can keep a close eye on things and use his superior wine knowledge.
“The kitchen runs well, so this gives me a chance to interact a bit more with the customers and be the sommelier as well.”
Born in Zambia and raised in Canberra where his mum was a cooking teacher, Owen has only two professional loves—restaurants and ice hockey. He actually had to defer his apprenticeship at Parliament House in order to represent Australia at a World Championship in China.
At Parliament, Owen learned the skills of big dining—catering for the King and Queen of Spain using fresh marron flown in that day from Western Australia and salmon caught that morning in Tasmania. The fruit and flowers came from Fiji.
“Those were the days,” he laughs.
Rubicon is a much more intimate affair, with a bespoke menu which appeals to those hungry for classic good taste and superior technique. The zucchini flowers are outstanding, and the beef rib-eye is a perennial favourite—as is the apple tarte tatin.
Owen says one of the keys to keeping the restaurant operating at such a consistent standard is having loyal staff—among them are his two daughters, Eiland and Endillion, who have grown up in the restaurant.
Owen has also remained loyal to Rubicon, having spent the earlier part of his career starting up a number of new restaurants in Canberra and Sydney.
“I took a punt on this place and it worked.”
“That’s not to say that it isn’t hard work and sometimes 100-hour weeks. But I love what I do and I feel lucky that this place has survived and prospered.”
the essentials
What: Rubicon Restaurant
Where: 6A Barker Street, Griffith
When: Dinner Monday–Saturday from 6 pm, lunch Monday–Friday from midday
Contact: 62959919 or go to rubiconrestaurant.com.au
Photography: Tim Bean Photography
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