Monday, May 7, 2012

Chiswick, Woollahra

Well hello there! Pardon my extended absence from this little corner of the internet (again) but rest assured all is well and we can save the stories for another time. Now that the nights are getting colder we empty fridgers are at our element - finding the comfort food that makes you want to hug the person next to you.
Together with our friends Mr&Mrs Macaroni - this evening's double date took us to the leafy suburb of Woollahra to check out Matt Moran and Peter Sullivan's newest Sydney establishment - Chiswick. Unlike most of our spontaneous adventures here, we actually booked a few weeks in advance. It truly is a popular new addition as we had a 3 week wait to secure a 6pm booking on a Wednesday night! But thankfully there was great wine ahead of us in this French-provinical garden style restaurant. With wall length windows looking straight out into the manicured gardens - the scene was set for a very homely and cozy atmosphere sans the feminine vibe.
There were 6 sections of the menu and it was wonderful to see unpretentious and simple dishes on offer. Listed were a selection of nibbles and small plates as well as mains which were all under $39 with share plates under $60. Our waitress advised us that servings were quite generous so we devised a plan to tackle as many dishes as possible. 
Our Small Plates: Steak Tartare $18 and Pulled veal ravioli with soybeans $20
The ravioli was interesting as one would automatically assume that it would be coated in a thick pasta sugo - not in this case. The little parcels of veal were tossed with beans, capers and a light shiso flavour making it very fresh and tangy. Absolutely unexpected but all the more wonderful.
My friend Mrs Macaroni told me that she judges restaurants by the taste of their chips and we were both in our element when the side of Hand Cut chips came out. The black garlic aioli is the stuff my dreams are made out of - no word of a lie here, the creamy garlic goodness nearly led me to the open kitchen where I could steal a bottle. 
Hand cut chips $9 and Shared Dish - Fish and Prawn Pie $58