Launch of Mornington’s Colt Dining
Renowned Melbourne chef Matt Fallon is finally bringing his talents back home to the Mornington Peninsula with the launch of Colt Dining. Set to be a new culinary hotspot, Colt prides itself on impactful flavour without the fuss. The modern Australian restaurant has pared it back to bring the best out of quality local ingredients and uphold the reputation of the Mornington Peninsula as one of Victoria’s go-to places for dining experiences.
Colt Dining is a collaboration that encapsulates Fallon’s love for ‘music, aesthetics and above all else incredible food’. The understated menu boasts wood fired modern Australian cuisine, highlighting the local produce paired with the region’s top drops of low intervention wines, as well as old-world wines.
Image Credit: Sam Davis
Fallon was previously head chef at Jackalope’s Rare Hare and was well known for stints at St Crispin in the Broadsheet Kitchen, St Elmo (Byron Bay) and Du Nord, all which led to his ethos of sourcing local produce.
Beverage manager, Zac Abbot will lead the cocktail selection through his ‘otherworldly style’ and practice. His curation of high-end cocktails is inspired from his time as a brand ambassador for top level spirits brands (Tanqueray, Campari) and is instrumental to the Colt Dining concept. The cocktail menu features a French oak-aged Sazerac, Spanish olive and caperberry dirty martini, and a Rhubarb and homemade lemon curd gimlet. The rest of the team have top tier restaurant experience from Tedesco, Alba and Point Leo Estate. Fallon has partnered up with the team at independent Australian tour and event promoter Destroy All Lines and The Happy Horsemen Group (Paul Goddard, Ben Turnbull, Noah Honeywill).
Fallon’s emphasis on local produce and sustainable sourcing will direct the menu’s seasonal and resident dishes. Vegetative goods will be sourced through foraging and the family garden in Langwarrin, while seafood will come from Western Port and Port Phillip Bay by Fallon’s brother, Andrew.
Highlights of the menu include steamed kelp wrapped barramundi, pressed brisket and black garlic, roasted celeriac with umami glaze topped with beach herbs, Otway shitake cooked over coals with pumpkin seed miso and Yabbie toast with native pepper.
Fallon says: “The vision is simple, we want to give Mornington high-quality accessible dining, driven by love for local produce, foraging and growing our own food. Colt's style of cuisine will be that of a pared-back yet refined dining experience, without labels of fusion or rustic or any other boxes people like to put restaurants in.”
Ready to open on October 6, the first-floor restaurant is visually charged by a 70s style custom interior fit-out. The venue seats 95 patrons, with a warm mid-century interior, cosy booths, and a terrace to enjoy the ocean breeze.
The Colt concept came after Matt had lifesaving brain surgery in 2019. It was during his recovery that he decided to move back to the Peninsula from Byron Bay and open the restaurant he had always envisioned. The name Colt is an homage to Fallon’s family who came from NZ to Mornington in the late 70s and built the local horse racing scene.
Colt Dining opens early October.
Colt Dining, 9A Main Street, Mornington
www.coltdining.com
@colt_dining