by Martin Field

Two Faces Restaurant
In the early 1970s, Two Faces was Melbourne’s, perhaps Australia’s, best restaurant. Run by that great restaurateur Hermann Schneider, it offered a classic European menu and an extensive, cosmopolitan wine list.

I well remember my first visit, around 1974. I was so intimidated by its reputation for being expensive that when I rang up to book a table I asked how much a dinner for four with wine might cost. I can’t remember the quote, but it was just affordable.

Four of us turned up in the classy dining room, which was decorated elegantly and conservatively with dinner-suited waiters. The menu listed one dessert as, ‘Mangoes in Champagne’. Two of our party asked the waiter if they could have this as an entrée. ‘Certainly Ladies,’ he replied.

Back then, it was not possible to obtain fresh mangoes in Victoria, due to plant and fruit fly quarantine laws. My pushy friend Claire said, ‘We don’t want them if they’re not fresh, I don’t like tinned mangoes.’

‘Madarme!’ He was horrified at the suggestion. ‘Madahme,’ he accentuated the last syllable as he glanced around conspiratorially. ‘Madame,’ he whispered. ‘It is illegal… but they are fresh.’ Then, even more quietly, ‘We fly them in on a private plane.’

This was the beginning of a magnificent dinner, accompanied by excellent wine. We went back over the years for special occasion dinners and damned the expense.