The MCA’s terrace has long had stunning harbour views. Now it has the food to match

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“Canvas brings a bold new dining concept to the MCA, with a newly transformed space, stunning harbour views and a seasonal chef-in-residence,” explains a splodge of copy on the Museum of Contemporary Art’s website. “Shining a light on Australian hospitality, diners enjoy inspired food by culinary masters in an iconic location.”

Let me translate. Last year, glitzy Melbourne-based events company The Big Group was announced as the new hospitality partner for the MCA’s food offerings. This included the level-four cafe: the one with a terrace and Circular Quay views that has long served totally fine but ultimately forgettable food. In October, that cafe was transformed into Canvas by way of a makeover in Scando-style oatmeal-on-white and modernist Clement Meadmore furniture. Former Tetsuya’s executive chef Josh Raine was appointed to lead the kitchen.

The “bold new dining concept” was that Raine would only be on the pans for a few months before another chef would take over with their own menu. And then another. It’s a cute gimmick that probably makes sense if you want to attract serious overseas talent for a three-month FIFO job, say, or trial a local talent who’s ready to level up. Enter Edinburgh-born chef James Scott, who has held a senior role at Pyrmont’s two-hatted LuMi for the past eight years and debuted his Canvas menu in June.

At lunch, I was particularly excited by the appearance of a Bakewell tart, England’s answer to, “How delicious can shortcrust pastry, frangipane and raspberry jam possibly be?” If you’ve ever been to Derbyshire, where it originated and where I once Richard Hammond from Top Gear eating a scone in a pub, you’ll know the answer is: very. Scott’s other dishes swerve into the modern, but he knows well enough to serve the Bakewell as per tradition, save for Davidson plum jam, which you definitely can’t find in the East Midlands.

If you think, “That sounds nice, I might pop by for a slice of tart and pot of tea after the new Cerith Wyn Evans”, eh, sorry Mary Berry, but Canvas has a two-course minimum policy. At $95 for those two choose-your-own dishes, the price certainly keeps any Kathmandu-clad tourists at bay. (So does the MCA’s new entry fee of $20, I suppose, but you can bypass that cost if you’re just coming to the restaurant.)

For the price you also get excellent sourdough from Pyrmont’s PiOiK Bakery with the biggest quenelle of butter I’ve ever seen, extra crunchy roast spuds and a smartly dressed leaf salad. Meanwhile, a friendly floor team is two cuts above most other gallery restaurants in Australia. Staff offer to make an off-menu margarita when I mention it’s the kind of afternoon for one; bottles of wine are presented before pouring; tables are wiped and decrumbed between courses.

Scott leans into his heritage for a “Lambington”, featuring rose-pink lamb loin enveloped by haggis (a lusty ground mix of sheep lungs, liver, heart and oats), spinach-green crepe and rough-puff pastry. Spring onion sauce helps bring it all together and the haggis tastes less like offal and more like a sausage roll that went to finishing school. Arctic-white toothfish is another fine main, miso-marinated and charcoal-grilled with flesh that scallops at the touch of a spoon.

Bluefin tuna tiled with compressed watermelon and radish tiles is very pretty to look at, but could do with more lift and drive from a strawberry-gum dressing. I’m more into the whipped goat’s cheese entree and its refreshing little Granny Smith balls, candied walnuts and vibrant wedges of beetroot. Scott has a deft hand with textures, and if you can bypass the Bakwell tart, there’s also a lovely tarragon and rocket-flavored granita spooned over smooth lemon posset.

The chef will be cooking at Canvas until at least the end of the year, “but probably a bit longer”, he tells me. I suspect The Big Group now has a slight pickle on its hands: stick to the bold new rotating chef concept or stand by a reliable talent and his team.

Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant can’t pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide.

This review was originally published in Good Weekend magazine