If you’re looking to escape the madness that is the Fringe, head to the Outback Bar and Restaurant at the House of Oz, the only venue dedicated exclusively to celebrating Australian creativity and talent.
You can’t miss the venue, it’s the one with Melbourne-based, Australian artist Lisa Roet’s ‘Skywalker’, a giant inflatable gibbon suspended above the front entrance to the King’s Hall in Newington. It’s quite a welcome.
This year they’ve partnered with Daisy Green Collection – the innovative independent group of Aussie cafés and restaurants, with this being Daisy Green Collection’s first venue outside of London. So, you’re guaranteed the perfect Aussie flat white (thanks to a bespoke House of Oz x Daisy Green coffee blend) worth writing home about to enjoy alongside another couple of Australian staples – lamingtons – a sponge cake coated in an outer layer of chocolate sauce and rolled in dessicated coconut – or even the odd Tim Tam, which for the Brits among us is similar to a Penguin biscuit.
Alongside the award-winning all-day brunch, Daisy Green will also be serving up salads, burgers, and a selection of pizza. And for someone who really doesn’t care for this dish (yes, even in Naples), their Vegemite, Mozzarella and Black Garlic Pizza completely won me over.
In the evening, the young, understated, modest but hugely creative resident chef and Aussie native, Michael Bagnall (25), will be serving his own menu of specials showcasing native ingredients from the Australian continent. For starters, think Oysters with Finger Limes, Sourdough with Whipped Vegemite Butter (you’ll either love it or hate it – I’m in the Love Camp here), and another love/hate one, a Beef and Bush Tomato Tartar with Tasmanian Mountain Pepper, and Chipotle, with a raw yellow egg yolk nestled in the middle. And if you’ve never experienced Chicken Salt with Fries and Kewpie Mayonnaise you don’t know what you’re missing. It had the Kiwis at my table positively drooling and wondering how they could ‘steal’ a pot.
From the Grill, I tried the Aberdeen Sirloin, Gum Tree Smoked Butter, Vegemite Beef Jus, with Lemon but with my fish allergy gave the Whole Fish, Wattle-Seed Beurre Blanc, Lemon, Capers, Pickled Chillie and Trout Roe a miss, although everyone who tried it, once they’d navigated the bones, loved it.
And do save room for their soft fluffy pavlovas, which started a very interesting debate as to whether it was an Australian or a Kiwi invention.
While I was there, I also took in a couple of the House of Oz’s eight shows and can highly recommend A Migrant’s Son, in which Michaela Burger traverses her family’s past in a new, original musical. In her family’s story she plays tribute to her Greek migrant family and hard-working, fun loving father Luke who defied all odds. His unrelenting determination to build a successful life is comical and heart-breaking; as he pushes through like an unstoppable force, willing to sacrifice everything for his family.
This may be her family’s story but one any migrant family will relate to. Featuring a live band, including piano and bouzouki, and a choir of 12, made up of locals, it’s was totally enthralling and captivating, sung with conviction, admiration and love.
In the world of comedy, you can catch one of Australia’s rising stars – Anna Piper Scott – Such an Inspiration. As both a trans woman and comedian, Anna grapples with a volatile conversation that has touched some of the biggest names in comedy like Hannah Gadsby, Adam Hills and Dave Chappelle, about how to make fun of yourself whilst retaining a foundational respect for who you are. This show pulls at the heart strings.
Brunch, lunch and dinner is being served daily throughout the festival (from August 4-27) in the beautifully designed secret garden to the rear of the venue. Coffees and lamingtons from Daisy Green will be served until 6pm daily.
HOUSE OF OZ
King’s Hall, 41A South Clerk Street, Edinburgh EH8 9NZ
DAISY GREEN AT HOUSE OF OZ OPENING TIMES
Outback Bar & Restaurant
Mon-Wed: 10am – 10pm
Thu: 2pm – 10pm
Fri-Sat: 10am – 10pm
Sun: 12.30pm – 10pm
Southside Coffee & Lamingtons
Mon-Sat: 10am – 6pm
Sun: 12.30pm – 6pm
