Thanks,
JClasstraveller. I have Nomad once in each city because we are doing The Feast in Sydney so I thought that it might be interesting to try ordering a la carte in Melbourne. But to your point, if something else really screams out "Eat Here!" in Melbourne, I have plenty of time to change our reservation.
And I appreciate the reminder about Tipo 00. I had looked at that near the start of this culinary adventure, thought the menu was just OK, and kept looking. I took another look after your comment--not sure if they changed the menu, or my mindset changed, but I'm far more intrigued now than I was originally. Adding that to my short list.
And regarding the Andrew McConnell restaurants, I've noticed that in both cities the number of different high-quality restaurants that are under a single restaurateur's umbrella is quite surprising. But it does give a prospective first-time diner a higher comfort level knowing that if you loved restaurant A & B from a certain restaurateur, then the odds are good that restaurant C will live up to the same high standards.
In the US, this reminds me of the Stephen Starr Restaurants group, but his empire is even bigger: 30+ restaurants, almost all of them different concepts, stretching along the east coast from New York to Miami, plus one outstanding co-owned small bistro in Paris. If you're ever in Washington DC, be sure to dine at Le Diplomate, his hommage to Parisian bistros (or perhaps more accurately brasseries), which has been going strong for 17 years. Food, wine, & service are consistently first-rate, which is why even with 300 seats it's still a difficult reservation to obtain without advance planning.
https://lediplomatedc.com/