Matt Moran hasn't been in town for more than a week but he's already feeling quite at home.
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He's opened two venues in seven days, &Sando, a casual sandwich shop that's had lines snaking down Bunda Street since it opened, and now Compa, his smarter Italian steakhouse that's been full of some of Canberra's most influential people in its opening days.
But what's made him happiest is how welcome he's been made to feel in the nation's capital.
"I remember when I went to Brisbane 15 years ago, there was a bit of flack about this Sydney chef coming to Brisbane," he says.
"But here, every restaurateur that I've met so far, that has either come in or I've spoken to when we've been out going to bars and the like, everyone has been so supportive."
Hao Chen, from the neighbouring restaurant Raku, has even sent him flowers. Chen's known for a little bit of celebrity shoulder rubbing, but he's smart enough to know traffic on Bunda Street will be good for his business too.
Moran said it's been an interesting process opening two rather disparate venues, sandwiches and steak. (And we highly recommend the crossover "Steak Sanga" from &Sando, made to order in the Compa kitchen with retro-like lettuce, tomato, caramelised onion, beetroot and cheese.)
"Next door was a by-product of this space," he tells us, as we sit in a booth in Compa.
"I just thought we needed to be able to utilise that space and a sandwich shop was something I had been keen to try.
"So many people already have asked me when I might open one in Sydney, and other places, even another one in Canberra."
One customer has come in everyday since &Sando has been open and worked their way through the menu, saying hello to Moran who's still busy behind the counter making sure everything is going right.
He acknowledges that Canberra has some great restaurants and bars already. He's spent a bit of time in Molly, Such and Such and Bar Rochford. He's more than happy to write down some other recommendations from The Canberra Times' food team.
He's here for a few weeks yet to ensure everything is running smoothly before he heads off fishing with his mate Gordon Ramsay in June.
But he's confident Compa has something else to offer Canberra.
"Compa is modelled a little bit off what I do in Sydney, particularly Chophouse, you just know you're getting good quality product," he said.
"It's not fancy, it's not fine dining like Aria, you can't compare something like this to Aria.
"But it's just really good quality produce that we let speak for itself."
We scoop up the nduja (made from the pigs on his family farm near Bathurst in central NSW) with cannellini bean scarpetta and oregano with salty stone-baked bread. Fulsome zucchini flowers are filled with ricotta and dusted with shaved parmesan.
There's a 800g ribeye on the bone for the team to share, cooked perfectly to medium rare and served with an anchovy butter and a side of steamed collard greens.
"And how was the mac and cheese?" Moran asks as he joins us at the end of the meal. It's a twist on cacio e pepe, that peppery Italian classic.
"I love that mac and cheese so much, I had some leftovers for dinner on Tuesday, when it was cold that day, and it just hit the spot."
Welcome to Canberra.