D'Sylva cracks city Coda

ONE of the most anticipated debuts of the year looks set to finally take place when a notable local trio opens CBD venture Coda in the sexy basement premises vacated by Mini.

The modern French-Vietnamese eatery will be helmed by chef Adam D'Sylva, the lauded 32-year-old who was head chef at Pearl and Longrain and was The Age Good Food Guide's 2008 young chef of the year. His partners are Mykal Bartholomew, former manager at MoVida, and Kate Calder, a former floor supervisor at Taxi.

They've also recruited Pearl pastry chef Rebecca Creighton as sous chef, and head sommelier Travis Howe from Taxi. D'Sylva says he doesn't want to pigeonhole his first outing as an owner, but concedes that, "being from Pearl, it's going to be a hybrid of what I've cooked over the years".

Coda will feature an emphasis on shared dishes, with a mix-and-match between European and Asian styles. Coda will be open for lunch and dinner six days a week. If all goes to plan, they'll be opening early next week.