Joel and Rina Eggins hope to make diners feel "at home" when visiting their newly-opened Maryville restaurant Elementa.
"I'd really like it to be a hub where locals can bring family and friends and use it as an extension of their lounge room," Joel tells Weekender.
"I want it to be a comfortable place for people to drop in and have a meal, right on their doorstep."
The couple received the keys to what was formerly The Source Restaurant and Bar in August 2022 and have been slowly but surely bringing Elementa to life since then.
"Rina and I are both born and bred Novocastrians. I grew up in Belmont and Rina grew up in Charlestown," Eggins says. They have two children: Summer, 9, and Cooper who is "about to turn 12".
"We went to school together and we've been together since we were 16 and 17.
"This is the first venue we have owned. I come from an accounting background but Rina has worked in the hospitality industry for a very long time. She worked for the owner of the cafe that was at the location previously, and when he indicated that he wanted to sell, we jumped at the opportunity.
"We fell in love with the location. The Maryville, Wickham, Tighes Hill area is such a wonderful and vibrant community. We live in Tighes Hill ourselves and it's just a great place to live and now work."
Not only is the restaurant situated on the Throsby Creek waterfront, it's in the midst of a residential area where parking is free.
Heading up the Elementa kitchen is the talented Jess Brooks, who most recently worked at The Edwards and Flotilla.
"Jess is great," Eggins says.
"She's easily one of the best chefs in town in terms of her cooking and her leadership. She brings out the best in her team and is a smart operator who has a real passion for sustainability and ethically sourced ingredients.
"Our $75 Chef's Choice option is an amazing way to dine. Rather than select from the menu, we relieve the tyranny of choice so you can just sit back and enjoy and allow Jess to put together something special for you."
Elementa's brunch menu is available seven days, 8am to 2pm, and includes the buttermilk pancakes with poached summer stone fruit, caramelised white chocolate yoghurt and pecan praline, and the applewood smoked ocean trout with charred rye, lemon labne, pickled fennel, apple and cress.
In addition, specific lunch and burger options are available from noon daily (for example, the crispy pork belly glass noodle salad or the karaage fire burger with Japanese fried chicken, spicy tonkatsu mayo, lettuce, pickled daikon and shoestring fries).
The extensive snacks menu is available from 2.45pm, Wednesday to Sunday. The mini prawn dog with pickled celery, wasabi marie rose and crispy tempura is one of the options, plus the potato scallop with French onion cream and salmon roe, or the tomato, nectarine and burrata served with green onion and warm bread.
As for dinner, it's served from 5.30pm, Wednesday to Saturday, and you can order from the snacks menu or the "substantial" menu (think spiced lamb breast with tahini yoghurt, a preserved vegetable and herb salad, and pickled currants, or the hibachi grilled market fish with smoked tomato and red pepper emulsion, onion and corguette bhaji).
"We've put a lot of thought into the look and feel of the restaurant and we're really pleased with how it has turned out," Eggins says.
"It's great to see familiar faces every day and the feedback we've received so far has been overwhelming. We're just so blown away by the support we've received from the people of Newcastle."
Elementa is hosting an "Autumn Feast" on April 19 for Newcastle Food Month, 6pm arrival for a 6.30pm start. Tickets are $145 per person at theelementa.com.au.
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