Following dozens of other top Melbourne venues making the move to takeaway and delivery is city wine bar Embla.

The new delivery service is loosely based on the bar’s Sunday lunch format, says executive chef Dave Verheul, who owns Embla with sommelier Christian McCabe.

“Just doing takeaway versions of current dishes didn’t work,” says Verheul of the takeaway menu, which he says has taken a little while develop for the at-home market. “We’re just feeling our way through and seeing what the uptake is like.”

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The menu launched two weeks ago and is made up of five shared dishes that arrive (almost) ready-to-eat. Some require a little extra cooking or assembly, but Verheul says it’s the kind you can do with a glass of wine in hand.

“It’s not a masterclass,” he says. “It’s date night.”

The menu completely changes week-to-week, but previous ones have called for diners to put a chook in the oven, warm up creamed corn on the stove, and throw a salad together. Basically, Verheul and his team do the work, and you get the glory.

This week there’s a cauliflower, sunflower seed and provolone lasagne on the cards, and sidekicks include whipped broad bean hummus with baby fennel crudité; braised greens with tomato and basil; and a radicchio, blue cheese, pear and walnut salad. The sweetener: dried-fig rum baba with banana Chantilly cream.

There’ll also be optional add-ons each week. That might mean sourdough fresh from the woodfired oven, with toasted fennel seed butter; Brillat-Savarin triple-cream cheese with preserved figs and crispbread; or vanilla, hazelnut praline and blackberry ripple ice-cream.

And while you can’t cherry-pick from Embla’s sprawling wine list, you can still tack a bottle or two onto your order; leave your vino preferences in the comments section and staff will choose something suitable. If more discussion is needed, someone will give you a buzz, Verheul says.

Embla’s takeaway menu is available on Fridays and Saturdays, starting at $40 per head for a minimum of two people. Delivery to select suburbs between 2pm and 5pm is $10, and pick-up is available between 3pm and 5pm.

embla.com.au