It's a glorious room; a soaring atrium filled with light and hanging greenery and David Bromley prints giving way to a low-ceiling, cellar-like moody space opposite the open kitchen in which a phalanx of staff get on with feeding the 100-seater.
There is no avoiding the fact that big businesses like this are going to be making their mark on the dining landscape. But with cash comes opportunities, and the team charged with building Capitol's restaurant empire has decided to use its powers for good.
Which is why we're back at Omnia. On the one hand, it's only moved house, from its extremely coiffed pop-up in South Yarra, to its now permanent home in Chapel Street's new luxury development, Capitol Grand. But what's going on beneath deserves more attention.
Sirloin steak and chips, grilled fish with warm tartare sauce, apple pie and chocolate mousse — this is bistro comfort food at its best. If you’re craving timeless classics at the right price, this pop-up restaurant is a must.
So Omnia works. Omnia is delicious. Are you surprised, when the crew has been picked like a fantasy football team? I'm not, and I'm glad for South Yarra that another winner is on the cards.
Chef Stephen Nairn ... is behind this pop-up bistro-bar that'll continue to operate until mid-2020. Expect dishes such as whole flounder with lemon thyme brown butter and aged sirloin with bordelaise sauce.
If you go, you must try the cheesy, chewy, gooey gougeres with chive cream; the pine mushroom tartlet; and I can highly recommend the aged sirloin with a gloriously rich sauce borderlaise.
Walking into Omnia, South Yarra’s temporary new bistro, it’s immediately clear that while technically this is a pop-up, these guys mean business.
It's a testing ground for the yet-to-be-named all-day diner, but Omnia, which loosely translates from Latin as "prepared for everything", already feels like its own entity.