Here's a writeup of a dinner at Chiswick restaurant we had on Saturday. There haven't been many Restaurant posts here recently, not because we haven't eaten out that much, but mainly because they haven't been worth writing about!
Chiswick (the restaurant) is set in Chiswick Gardens, which is just a smallish public park at the front of the restaurant. We were quite early in arriving to our 6pm reservation, so we spent some time wandering around the neighbouring streets, admiring the gorgeous houses (lots of French-provincial style) and many consular residences in the area. If I could afford it, I'd very much like to live in Woollahra...
Bentwood chairs and wooden tables in the dining area of the restaurant. There is also a bar in front of the open kitchen, plus the lovely little herb and vegetable garden adjacent to the main restaurant.
Although our booking was for the 6-8pm sitting, the restaurant was quickly filled by 6.30pm.
Onto the food...(we were here on the weekend, hence the weekend prices, which are a couple of dollars higher, per dish, than the non-weekend).
Crab slider ($9.50) - small and perfectly formed - "I could eat another one of these".
Kingfish sashimi ($21) - with avocado, radish, nashi pear and citrus curd. Light and fresh and tangy.
Chicken liver parfait ($19) - with hazelnuts, figs and bread. The pate was oh-so-fluffy, and there were about 6 blobs of it on the plate, so excellent value all up.
Wood-roasted Moran family Lamb to share ($65) - with olive tapenade and fennel salad. This was to share between 2, and we had enough tasty leftovers to take home.
Very appropriate for Australia Day, this lamb had been roasted for 8 hours and was falling off the bone. There were some dry bits, though, that even the mint sauce on top couldn't compensate for. It would have been good if there was some gravy to go with this. It does say on the menu that when the Moran-family beef and lamb isn't available, they use meat from Victor Churchill, that prestige butcher in Woollahra.
Hand-cut chips ($9) - with lemon thyme aioli. Very nice chips, and smooth, mild aioli.
Dimbula (Sri Lankan English breakfast-style) tea ($5.50) - served with Chiswick chocolates. I must end my meal with a cup of tea, and this was a great one. Love the tea set, too - mismatched china from Nanna's country kitchen, complete with Ned Kelly Glenrowan souvenir teaspoon.
Chocolate praline slice ($17) - this was a dessert special. Cherries in chocolate mousse on chocolate praline and well-tempered chocolate, with vanilla ice cream.
Mango and vanilla bombe Alaska ($17) - sticky Italian meringue encases the mango ice cream, decorated with a smear of mango and some redcurrants.
Overall: A lovely meal. The setting is fantastic, particularly on a summer's evening (it would also be perfect for lunch). It does get noisy as the place gets filled during the night with glossy young people having a smart-casual night out.
The service was a bit hit-and-miss, with the waitstaff not quite attentive enough when you needed them (to get some mustard and the bill), but the food came out of the kitchen without too long a wait between courses. Also, after paying $200 for the meal (we also drank soft drink and beers), it would have been nice to be farewelled at the door, but that wasn't to be tonight.
Chiswick Restaurant is at 65 Ocean Street, Woollahra, NSW
ph: 02 8388 8688
website: http://www.chiswickrestaurant.com.au
I've heard good things about the food here and your photos make it look so delicious! Love how there's lots of windows on the building to let the natural light into the restaurant
ReplyDeleteWow, such gorgeous natural light that comes into the space. It really is a nice location and the food looks pretty top notch as well. I'm sure Tabitha gave it her all to get a piece of that left-over lamb!
ReplyDeleteFood look awesome! I love particularly the crab slider and mango Alaska.
ReplyDeleteThe desserts are serious works of art!
ReplyDeleteShame you havnt had any experiences worth writing about! Poor service can really break an experience but if the food is good enough to overlook that then I'd put up with it. I do love the tea set too! Glad this one was good enough for you to blog about :)
ReplyDeleteI have heard its a bit hit and miss here. I'd still love to try it though. The praline slice looks sooooo good!
ReplyDeleteoh wow, I'm practically drooling here having missed my lunch. Wonderful food in unpretentious setting. I forget how expensive eating out can be in Oz and NZ. I had a shock when I saw the prices you'd listed in the captions.
ReplyDeleteThat slow roasted lamb looks absolutely divine! I love the little crab cake too :)
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed my experience at chiswick. Although the prices are a little steep, i think the quality of the dishes really show. I had nothing short of a great meal.
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