bloodwood: Where the bloody hell have I been?

It’s been more than a year since bloodwood popped up on my radar: my first couple of visits were drinks-only affairs while a drop-in over the December festive season sadly saw them closed for a week or so.

But post my dinner visit recently, I’ve been wondering: where has bloodwood been all my life? And indeed, where have I been when I should have been in their mezzanine dining room all this time?

bloodwood, King Street, Newtown

The industrial chic fit-out reminds me a little of another venue but suits the space and Newtown down to the concrete ground. The front bar area is cosy, as too the open kitchen we pass before heading up a few steps to the table settings for couples and fours in the main dining area.

Polenta chips, gorgonzola sauce

We order their signature polenta chips as we pore over the very approachable wine list, with plenty of options by the glass. The 2009 Font De Michelle Font Du Vent Cotes du Rhone is an affordable choice that has an almost abruptly short length, not all a bad thing with the pungently creamy gorgonzola sauce.

The polenta chips are perfect bricks of yellow-gold ground cornmeal seasoned with salt flakes. Impossibly crisp on the outside and soft, piping hot and creamily textured on the inside, the chunky polenta chips were the perfect instruments to devour the pot of gorgonzola sauce, wiping it clean and even getting a top-up.

Pork pintxo, lima beans, guindillas

It was easy to pick the pork pintxo from the menu, especially after the waiter’s description of the grilled pork with paprika and other spices, served with lima bean puree and pickled guindilla chillies.

Nothing smells quite as good as charred meat on a stick, and this was certainly a highlight of the meal. Topped with a sensational tart green sauce and a bunch of the not-spicy guindilla chilliess, the tender pork was lean and full of flavour; the bean puree adding a necessary carbohydrate base.

Spanner crab, green asparagus, brown butter, bread crumbs, parsley

There was definitely no skimping on the amount of spanner crab flesh, tossed with parsley and topped with bread crumbs, all piled on top of the grilled asparagus spears. The whole lot was quite drenched in the sauce of brown butter, making it quite a rich dish, particularly after it cooled a little.

We also had an overflowing bowl that was the leaf salad - definitely the biggest I’ve seen on a restaurant table, although admittedly it wasn't really a side dish. But with thin, salty shards of crisp bresaola, this salad was bliss, helped by the fact that none of the leaves – red witlof included – had any bitterness about them.

Coorong angus beef brisket, spatzle, cauliflower, beans

To drink with what would represent a main dish at bloowood (larger size and price tag), I switched to the bigger, bolder 2009 Telmo Rodriguez Dehesa Gago Tempranillo which was fruity enough hold up against the almost cloying sweetness and richness of the South Australian angus beef brisket.

The brisket must have been braised for many an hour, possibly in dark soy sauce, to achieve the tenderness that allowed it, and all its muscle and connective tissue, to be pulled apart with forks alone.

The crisp surfaced bits of spatzle, pan fried with cauliflower florets and green beans, were a tad on the oily side given the already rich, fat-melded beef brisket, making it a slight struggle to finish.

bloodwood trifle – fresh berries, pound cake, port wine jelly,
vanilla anglaise, yoghurt mascarpone

There was only stomach capacity for one dessert to be shared between two, which had to be bloodwood’s take on the retro trifle.

The current iteration of the perennial dessert featured fresh berries, including stunning blueberries, combined with a fragrant vanilla anglaise. The pound cake acted as a sponge to all the dairy goodness around it, while I could have easily gone a bowl of port wine jelly on its own.

Paired with the oaky, candied pineapple tones of the 2007 Grande Maison Cuvee de Angus, it wasn’t an overly sweet finish to the meal, at which point both the dining area and front bar were packed full with a broad range of punters. And with very good reason too – the food and wine are interesting yet approachable, mashing new and familiar with touches of both high-end and casual.

While the fine dining pedigree of the three bloodwood chefs/owners is well known, it was also a lovely surprise to find the professionalism and high standards also flows through to the service. Despite the casual-cool atmosphere, the top-notch service really elevated my experience of bloodwood to something special. I know where the bloody hell I want to eat more often.