Ever eaten risotto nero in a 100-year-old cinema? In September last year, chefs Ryan Spurrell and Sarah Cremona opened Orson in what was once the arcade of the Broadway Theatre, built in the 1920s, on the main strip of Rosebud. Outfitted in art deco fixtures, its glamorous, mirrored ambience makes you feel sexy as soon as you step inside.

Guests pay for the number of courses that suit them, starting at $75 for two. A risotto nero is studded with squid from Lakes Entrance, buttressed with saffron and squid ink and dotted with tiny purple chive flowers and mustard leaves. Smooth confit of ox tongue, layered with dense confit chicken and topped with golden raisin gel and seasonal flowers, is meaty and decadent and fresh all at once.

Goat’s cheese sorbet with fresh grapes, surrounded by a brilliant liquid made from chardonnay lees and topped with a crystallised vine leaf, is a revelation. Spurrell and Cremona are exceptionally gifted cooks, and Orson is a restaurant with a huge amount of ambition at its core.

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