John Jo
The fields around Moonee Valley Racecourse have been transformed. Once the home of race day betting, the 1930s-era Tote Building has been reimagined as TOTE Bar & Dining.
The venue has been stripped back and re-created it as a modern space highlighted by a grand, oval-shaped bar with bronze features, an expansive vaulted ceiling and an eye-catching suspended fireplace. The defining features are polished concrete floors, modern brickwork and VJ timber walls. It’s an elegant treatment, as laidback as it is refined, with space for 100 diners.
Taking up the reins in the kitchen is head chef John Jo (previously of Lake House, Bistro Guillaume and Attica).
“I get a lot of inspiration from Asian and French cuisine, and European flavours,” Jo tells Broadsheet. “I bring all that type of cuisine to TOTE.”
Jo’s love of Japanese flavours and techniques are found in a starter of yellowfin tuna with shio and wasabi mayo. “We use really fresh tuna and then I cure it. One Japanese method is to wrap it in kombu to cook overnight,” says Jo. “The strong seaweed flavour comes into the tuna – it’s a really strong umami flavour.”
Other starters take their cues from the French side of Jo’s skillset, such as the Wagyu tartare with bresaola and Wagyu tendons topped with a delicate egg yolk. “The egg yolk we cook in the sous vide machine at 64 degrees [Celsius] over three hours,” Jo says. “It’s like a mousse egg.”
Mains are highlighted by a fondness for dry aged meat. Steaks are a given – options include a 300-gram grass-fed striploin for one, and a 650-gram boneless rib eye for two – but the duck is also a highlight.
“We dry age the duck and then I cure it with a shio koji [a fermented grain mixture],” Jo says. The curing process lasts for a full day before the duck heads back to the dry ager for two more. The result is a highly flavoured duck breast served with parsnip puree and a citrus glaze.
The food is accompanied by a lengthy wine list that favours Australian drops, eight beers on tap, a spirits menu that celebrates local distillers and a cocktail offering.
The full dining menu is available à la carte, or you can order a four-course chef’s menu with optional wine matching. If you opt for the latter, expect to start with Japanese-style creamed corn croquettes with yuzu mayo, followed by the tuna, duck breast and wagyu striploin. For special events, there is also a 14-person private dining room, a great choice for a special occasion enjoyed with the chef’s menu. For more casual dining, there’s an outdoor area overlooking Tote Park, where you can order classic dishes like steak frites and confit duck cigar from the racetrack-inspired bar.
This article is produced by Broadsheet in partnership with Moonee Valley Racing Club.
07 Aug 2023
07 Aug 2023
04 Aug 2023
04 Aug 2023