Most restaurateurs might hesitate to open a venue the week before Christmas, but talking to Martin Coard, Noam Lissner and Mat Drummond, you get a sense these three young guns aren’t afraid of much.

Last week, the trio launched Ach, a contemporary Middle Eastern diner in Hamilton. Originally intended to open in October, construction delays and adjustments in design pushed the opening back.

“There’s a lot of work that goes into [the fit-out], especially when you want to cook over fire,” Coard tells Broadsheet, highlighting the extensive exhaust system work. “[Plus], we changed our minds about the tiles a few times. We wanted everything to be perfect and just the way we [envisioned].”

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Previously, the trio operated Knowhere in Spring Hill, where chefs Coard and Lissner cooked over a small hibachi-style grill. For Ach, they’ve upgraded to a custom-built hearth the team named “Big Heartha”, crafted for them by Bullockhead Creek in Sumner Park.

“We shopped around for a long time and [consulted with] people in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney,” Coard says. “They either [quoted] wild prices or didn’t know what we were talking about. We finally found someone local and he knew exactly what we wanted.”

Lissner’s Levantine-inspired menu includes chicken shashlik skewers with zaalouk (a Moroccan eggplant dip) and pickled guindillas; grilled leeks with fermented chilli; and Margra lamb neck with chermoula, braised fennel and bone sauce. Meat is dry-aged on-site in a cabinet while house-made ferments and pickles are proudly displayed on a shelf above the kitchen.

The menu also includes an array of house-made breads, such as malawach served with white anchovies and dill cream, laffa with hummus and garlic chives, and challah with spiced bone marrow, caper leaf and sumac shallots. Freshly baked breads and pastries feature predominantly in the breakfast offering, alongside coffee from Melbourne-based roaster Reverence.

Close to half the wine list is dedicated to Middle Eastern wines, while the other half highlights Australian producers. The selection ranges from a Lebanese pét-nat to a Turkish chardonnay and an aged shiraz from Geelong. Drummond has crafted six Middle Eastern-influenced cocktails, including a Karak Chai Martini made with vodka, karak chai syrup, espresso and coconut milk.

For the fit-out, the trio handled everything from designing the layout to incorporating dark colours and textures. Lissner even made the kitchen’s pass from a large camphor laurel slab, which took him three months to epoxy, sand and oil. The result is a slick, moody space with natural tones and dark green hues.

Ach marks the first hospitality opening in an area undergoing rapid development (Hamilton is set to become the Olympic village in 2032). “They’re encouraging a lot of development here, [aiming] to make this the next South Bank,” Coard says. “Hopefully it [attracts] more restaurants and boutique [ventures] we can work with. It’s such a nice area that hasn’t seen anything fresh in a while.”

Ach
389 MacArthur Avenue, Hamilton
No Phone

Hours:
Mon to Wed 7am–5pm
Thur & Fri 7am–10pm
Sat 12pm–10pm
Sun closed

achwinebar.com
@ach.winebar