Fans of chef Gayan Pieris’s cooking knew it was only a matter of time until he opened his own restaurant. And that time is now, folks, with his 100-seat restaurant Agnii set to open its doors at the Windsor end of Chapel Street this weekend.
Agnii is the natural next step for Pieris. Following on from his acclaimed Red Hill restaurant Many Little, the Sri Lankan-born chef plans to push the boundaries of what Sri Lankan cooking can look like in Australia. What does that mean in practice? It starts with two custom-built hearths – an open clay dara lipa and an enclosed poranuwa used for smoking, drying and roasting – that you’re unlikely to find in another commercial kitchen in the country. And it finishes with an abundance of the deeply flavourful dishes the chef has become known for.
Exactly what’s on the menu remains under close guard until doors on Saturday, but Pieris has hinted at a bounty of curries alongside several exciting opening dishes, most of which revolve around fire. There’s roast lamb served diced like a tartare, complete with curry sauce and a crisp burnt-hopper tuile; a Jaffna-style dosai (a thicker, softer version of a dosa) Pieris packs with charcoal chicken; and plenty of locally sourced seafood ready for smoking, drying and roasting in the restaurant’s custom kit. Pieris says bonito, kingfish and calamari are first up.
As is tradition with Sri Lankan cooking, there’s plenty of preserving and fermenting going on in the Agnii kitchen, too. Chutneys and ferments are all produced in-house, as is Pieris’s jadi, a sour fermented fish preparation that lends a sambol an extra hit of salinity and savoury depth.
Drinks go full-throttle on flavour, with coconut and palmyrah Toddies, a considered arrack program and a signature lager made with Sri Lankan red rice flakes – brewed exclusively with the good folk at Banks Brewery.
And what’s happening with the wine? Another collaboration of sorts, with a list dreamed up and realised alongside Polperro winemaker Sam Coverdale. It runs to around 150 bottlesand looks to the many great winemakers of Victoria before taking off to Italy, France, Austria and beyond.
“We’ve tasted every bottle,” says Pieris. “The list is about finding wines that sit beautifully with the food. Nothing too heavy or anything that fights the spice and smoke.”
And there are more ways than one to experience all the great things about this terracotta-toned marvel. On Fridays and Saturdays, Agnii dims the lights after dinner service and keeps the good times rolling until 1am, with more arrack, more toddies and plates and plates and plates of kotthu roti – a Sri Lankan street-food favourite.
They call it Agnii After Dark, we think it’s a good time whichever way you chop it.
“It’s not just a restaurant where you sit down and leave,” says Pieris. “I want people to eat, drink, listen to music and stay a little longer. That’s part of the hospitality I grew up with.”
Agnii opens at 105 Chapel St, Windsor Saturday 24 Oct, agnii.com.au, @agniieaterybar