Bird is the word at The Bank Hotel

There’s no shortage of Newtown pubs, even just along King Street, but the recent revival of a few iconic pubs is proving competition for Newtown restaurants and eateries too.

Refurbished and relaunched venues include The Bank Hotel, next to the upgraded Newtown Station. Now owned by pub group Solotel, the downstairs section has been converted from long-time tenant Sumalee Thai to a spacious beer garden and courtyard so that there are now multi-level drinking and smoking areas.

Bird is the Word Sunday half roast chicken at The Bank Hotel Beer Garden,
King Street, Newtown
Food, booze and shoes sampled the Bird is the Word as a guest, with thanks to Agency G.

The new Bank Beer Garden offers a modern, casual pub dining menu with daily specials: Friday nights are for cheap share plates; pulled pork for groups on Saturdays; old school fish and chips on Tuesdays and paella Wednesdays among some of the nightly food temptations.

'Bird' is the word on a Sunday afternoon when roast chicken is the go – almost every kitchen order we see that afternoon is the half bird with all the trimmings, designed for two eaters.

Bird is the Word

The roasted skin on the half bird is perfectly and evenly golden with a lovely crispness, while the moist chicken hides a chunky stuffing with a wealth of corn kernels and bacon lardons.

The large plate arrives with an abundance of sides: roast potatoes and pumpkin; a soft-centred, golden-surfaced Yorkshire pudding; and a cabbage salad.

To drink there’s the Newtown-brewed Young Henry’s on tap (the Natural Ale is my pick) and an impressive selection of ciders by the bottle, as well as all the beer and spirit usuals.

French fries

Potato wedges

For total potato overload, we added French fries and potato wedges to our order; the latter being huge, golden deep-fried, skin-on potato segments – some larger than single chat potatoes – served with the classic combination of sour cream and sweet chilli sauce.

Sweet corn fritters with red pepper relish

Also on the ‘light food’ menu are sweet corn fritters, served with red pepper relish. Seemingly covering off brunch on the menu too, the fritters are packed with corn and decent enough, but much improved with the creamy, pureed capsicum sauce.

Spiced eggplant, cauliflower, hazelnut, herbs, yoghurt

I felt the need to add a salad; for appearances at the very least. The Middle Eastern flavours in the spiced eggplant were palate-awakening, with natural yoghurt making for an ideal and simple dressing for the myriad of spice flavours.

The Bank Beer Garden
(Image courtesy of Agency G)

With gas heaters to combat the winter cool, The Bank Beer Garden is all about long afternoons with beers, mates, and a decent bite to eat. And don't forget on Sunday afternoons, Bird is the Word.

Fun new grits at The Abercrombie

A favourite of university students and workers from neighbouring construction sites, The Abercrombie in Broadway is part of the Drink N Dine group of pubs and boasts a new menu of food to keep any dude happy.

It's an old pub done new, Drink N Dine style, with the slightest Scottish influence within the dark and still dingy main pub bar and the light- and people-filled beer garden with loads of seating.

One kilo of chicken wings at The Abercrombie, Broadway

Group executive chef Jamie Thomas sure has been busy with great specials and new menu items across all the venues - it was The Abercrombie's $10 Friday special from 6-10pm on a one kilogram bucket of chicken wings that got me.

My visions of a large tin bucket were way off though: one kilogram is a lot smaller than I was imagining and I probably could have polished off the basket of crisp, greasy, cornflake-crumbed mid wings and drumettes myself with the mild, orange-tinted 'Red Eye' mayonnaise.

Mac and cheese balls with spiced ketchup

I wasn't really sure what to expect from macaroni and cheese balls, but I suppose if you can make arancini balls from rice, there's no reason pasta can't be used in the same fashion. I was surprised that macaroni can be moulded to such perfectly spherical shapes.

Mac & cheese ball innards 

The pasta balls are best devoured straight-from-the-oil hot and heavily dunked in the accompanying tomato sauce. When hot, the cheese strings from every bite of the soft pasta, invoking immediate carb, cheese and naughtiness overload.

Chicken Caesar salad with bacon, lettuce, queso cheese and ranch dressing

I thought I'd lighten the load with a salad, which ended up being gigantic and having more chicken, bacon strips and corn chips than a 'healthy' dish really should.

Add ranch dressing and grated queso cheese and you can pretty much cancel out any goodness from the cos lettuce or kernels of grilled corn.

Mexican dahl taco with green chilli yoghurt and sweet potato

There was slight redemption in the vegetarian taco option with a Mexican-spiced dry lentil dahl, served in a soft taco with red cabbage, shavings of sweet potato and quite the refreshing, not-spicy chilli yoghurt.

Korean short rib taco with slaw and sesame mayo

The beef short rib taco was a definite winner: tender pulled short rib cooked in Korean chilli bean paste on a bed of red cabbage slaw. Coriander leaves and a flavoured mayonnaise were the icing on the cake of an impressive fusion taco.

Reuben Dog with mustard, sauerkraut and dill pickle relish, served with chips

The Reuben Dog is new to the menu of 'dawgs' and is described as a Reuben sandwich inside a hot dog.

Other than the lack of corned beef - although it's a pretty decent frankfurt encased in the white roll - the tang of both the sauerkraut and lurid green dill pickle relish hinted at a Reuben, while the crinkle cut potato chips were pure nostalgia in a paper cup.

Deep fried Golden Gaytime

There was going to be a dessert order of The Abercrombie's infamous deep fried Golden Gaytime ice cream regardless of how stuffed we were.

As if the original caramel/vanilla ice cream pop with chocolate and biscuit crumb coating isn't already awesome perfection, this version is battered, crumbed and deep fried as a whole, served with a fanned strawberry and drizzled with syrup.

Inside the deep fried Golden Gaytime

Personally, I think perfection can be left well alone, but for those inclined, dig in quick as the ice cream is on a melting path; perhaps made too sweet with the addition of syrup but itwas certainly a novel dessert that had to be ordered and shared.

The Abercrombie beer garden

The beer garden didn't empty much over the course of the night, with happy hour jugs keeping things rolling. There was a lot of food out in the beer garden too, proving that fun food, or grits, go a long way.

Food, booze and shoes dined as a guest of The Abercrombie, with thanks to Folke.

What's on Crown? Watts on Crown!

Voucher deals seem to have lost their sheen within a relatively short period of time. While I've had a few regretful purchases, on the whole they've been good for this consumer.

A little while back a voucher brought me to Watts on Crown in Surry Hills; a newcomer to the busy, ever-changing strip, boasting an ex Rockpool chef in a cosy neighbourhood bistro setting.

Sparkling wine at Watts on Crown, Crown Street, Surry Hills

Seated at a slightly awkward table in the front window, it was sparkling to start the three course meal as part of the deal.

In addition to some voucher guests, it was encouraging to see constant bunches of locals walk by, peer at the menu on the door and walk in, with more room and tables upstairs in the restaurant of refreshingly low-key fitout.

Grilled quail with chorizo, braised peppers and crisp basil

With plenty to tempt on the succinct menu, the quail entree took my fancy. Colourful with braised capsicums and crisp fried basil leaves, the small bird was well cooked though as always, required a bit of finger work to eat.

The slices of quality grilled chorizo added saltiness and substance to the small plate.

Chicken liver parfait with red onion marmalade and toast

The generous serve of chicken liver parfait, topped with a deep red jelly, arrived on a wooden board with cornichons, bread and marmalade, completely dwarfing the quail.

The gorgeous Sonoma white sourdough, toasted, made the perfect raft for the thick, pink and creamy parfait, of which there was plenty for extra bread even.

I didn't love the marmalade, which was fine as cornichons are my accompaniment of choice with livery parfaits.

Pan fried gurnard with bouillabaisse sauce

For mains I chose a seafood extravaganza in the pan fried gurnard fillet with bouillabaisse. The fish was perfection in its crisp skin, propped up by cubes of potatoes.

The mussels and small, head-on prawns were also well cooked in the tasty bouillabaisse sauce, with more bread on hand to mop up the juices.

Grilled rump steak with Cafe de Paris butter and watercress

The rump steak was an easy pick for the protein-hungry, and it was classic bistro fare served with the complex Cafe de Paris butter melting all over, a watercress salad and fat chips on the side.

Perfectly medium-rare, the thick piece of meat was mostly tender and completely indulgent with the buttery sauce.

Chips and caramelised Brussels sprouts

The fat chips were great - utterly fluffy within but crunchy on the outside - but I was smitten with the whole Brussels sprouts, flecked with almonds flakes sticking to their sweet, caramelised and grilled surfaces.

Mandarin creme brulee

There almost wasn't room for dessert, but as part of the deal, I persevered. The creme brûlée was a complete delight, served with a piece of shortbread.

Cracking through the toffee roof, the just-sweet-enough custard featured whole, fresh segments of mandarin - the citrus zing refreshing and unusual all at once.

Chocolate fondant with vanilia bean ice cream

The chocolate option was hard to beat though, with a well formed fondant outer revealing a gooey, hot river of chocolate lava which was completely decadent with the vanilla ice cream and nut brittle.

Completely stuffed, the rest of the room and upstairs were still going strong, with the open kitchen looking quite peacefully organised. Who would have thought Crown Street needed a classic bistro, but judging by the weeknight crowd and easy, pleasant menu, Watts on Crown seems to be just what the strip needed.

A winning pub meal at The Commodore Hotel

There are fewer and fewer traditional pubs around these days given the rise of the family, hipster and food-oriented drinking holes. If that means fewer pokies I suppose it’s not all that bad, but I fear we may get to a day when the older male has nowhere to comfortably, and affordably, down his daily schooners.

Dining room at The Commodore Hotel, 

While The Commodore in McMahons Point retains a pub feel, its expansive outdoor terrace beer garden and rather upscale dining area position it towards the working professional; aided by its awarded casual dining menu.

The Commodore’s Warm Winter Curry Wednesdays tempted me over the bridge and into the stylish, cosy bistro where it’s drinks from the bar and grab a number for your food.

Beef massaman curry with jasmine rice

I couldn’t go past the day’s curry: a beef massaman served with jasmine rice. The serving of curry, large and quick out of the kitchen, was covered in crushed peanuts and was delivered with a smallish serve of rice and a warmed piece of thin pita/wrap bread.

Beef massaman curry with jasmine rice

The curry was on the sweeter side of things, and comprised halved chat potatoes and gigantic slices of beef cooked soft. While it wasn’t particularly authentic, there was no complaining about the generosity and warmth of the dish.

Braised lamb pappardelle

Pasta isn’t so much a typical pub dish but the hearty braised lamb pappardelle shone with its gorgeous ribbons of pasta and a wealth of soft lamb pulled from the bone. The rich braise was completely winter appropriate though I yearned for the lightening acidity of tomato.

Rocket, fennel and parmesan salad

I love a generous side dish and don’t mind the 1990s rocket association one bit. The less abundant fennel was quite the decent addition to the regular suspects of rocket and parmesan cheese.

While it’s beer (or cider) all the way in a pub during summer, a pinot noir was fitting for a winter curry night although I’m not sure what a pinot noir doesn’t go with. Red wine in a pub like The Commodore is just fine – as long as there’s space at the bar for schooner sessions too.

Food, booze and shoes dined as a guest of the Commodore Hotel.

Pop in to The Duck Inn Pub and Kitchen

Aside from home, it's great to have places where you can just pop in and feel comfortable, as if you were at home. The Duck Inn Pub in Chippendale is surprisingly one of those places.

Post recent renovations it no longer feels like a pub at all but rather someone's house - where the interiors are low-key but inviting, and where its warmth on a clear winter's day is more welcoming than the blue but cold skies outside.

Devil's Corner pinot noir and mulled cider at The Duck Inn, Rose Street, Chippendale

The bar doesn't feel like a pub bar, but there are plenty of beers on tap including some boutique brews. The area around the bar feels like a living room, and there are couches by the faux bookshelf and other homely furnishings.

Around the restaurant side, especially closer to the windows where we've scored a table, it feels like a sunroom with views out into the outdoor seating (or backyard).

It's a great place for a group to sit, drink and catch up noisily, which is what most tables seemed to be doing. A mug of spicy mulled cider is made for winter days like this, but I'm finding red wine to be my long-haul drink of choice these days.

Charcuterie board with pancetta, Danish salami, jamon, cornichons,
onion jam and sourdough

There's plenty to tempt on the menu at The Duck Inn kitchen and the friendly waitresses didn't even seem to mind that we were too busy chatting to make food choices. We managed eventually and barely noticed the time that passed before food started to arrive.

The charcuterie board was particularly generous with toasted sourdough but the jamon was cut too thick while the salami was a little pedestrian. The ample cornichons, onion jam and seeded mustard kept things interesting.

Roast pumpkin salad with rocket, goat's cheese, toffee walnuts and honey balsamic

Also from the entree menu was this epic-sized rocket salad with plenty of roast pumpkin cubes and crumbled goat's cheese. The toffee coated walnuts worked a treat with the goat's cheese, as too the sweet honey balsamic dressing.

Roasted eggplant ravioli with sage butter, Castel Blue and walnut crumbs

While hearty mains were the order of the day, I defied the urge to follow suit with the Sunday roast and went out on a limb for the ravioli.

Looking nothing like a pub meal, the fresh ravioli filled with roasted eggplant was strewn with greens, pumpkin and bits of blue cheese. The pasta was lovely and al dente although the filling could have had a better impact with more seasoning.

Lamb and rosemary sausage with creamy mash, capsicum marmalata and minted jus

I adore bangers and mash, especially when the mashed potato is super creamy and luxe as it was here. The quality, meaty sausages were pure comfort with the mash, while the capsicum marmalata sauce lifted the dish out of the home kitchen.

Posh chicken and truffle pie with creamy mash, pea puree and dark ale jus

I'd heard about the deconstructed pies at The Duck Inn, but not a creamy chicken and truffle version. While the mash, peas and jus were well presented, I'm not sure the chicken filling benefited from its deconstructed presentation.

Being a bit of a pastry fiend, I'm not sure deconstructed pies are my cup of tea but I can see the appeal for the carb-conscious (mash aside).

Roast lamb shoulder, creamy mash, carrot and vanilla puree, turnip fritter, sauteed
cavalo nero with peas and bacon, ale jus

The mammoth serves of the Sunday roast special pretty much blew all the other dishes out of the water. A huge hunk of lamb shoulder, with bone in and roasted dark, dominated the plate and subsequently, stomachs.

Not only was the meltingly soft lamb gorgeously rich, the dish included the creamy mash, a flavoursome ale jus and vegetables turned somewhat naughty; that is, deep fried into a turnip fritter and tastily cooked with bacon.

Dessert platter: chocolate brownie with clotted cream and raspberry sauce
and vanilla creme brulee

With thanks to PEPR Publicity, The Duck Inn had arranged for a couple of dessert platters to share amongst our group, although I don't think this is on their usual menu. The nut-studded chocolate brownie was an excellent rendition and even had some kind of praline-like crunch and sweetness within.

The creme brulee was easily the best I've had all year. A cracking toffee top covered a vanilla-fragrant custard that was just textbook in flavour and texture - heaven in a ramekin.

We lingered over glasses of wine and schooners of cider in the restaurant until families and kids started to arrive for their early dinner bookings. We'd popped in for lunch and almost made it to dinner, which is a good sign that The Duck Inn could easily become my new second home.

Bistro Avoca: Randwick gets a little fresh

While I was more familiar with the suburb of Randwick a decade ago, it’s nice to see it from fresh eyes today – though not a great deal seems to have changed. Good old Ritz is still there with all manner of restaurants lining The Spot crossroads, while the balls still roll at the ten pin bowling alley on the main road.

Bistro Avoca, Avoca Street, Randwick

Bistro Avoca is a relatively new addition to the strip of small restaurants on Avoca Street just past Randwick Junction. Moving into the suburban location in June this year, husband and wife team Barry Baker and Erin Fitzgerald are bringing fresh, modern Australian cuisine to the strip dominated by cheerful ethnic eats.

Inside Bistro Avoca

The cosy, intimate dining room oozes understated class; the wood on white look matches well with the seemingly posh, mature locals – families, groups and ladies who look like they socialise a lot.

It's more sophisticated than your average suburban restaurant, which is an intriguing niche that Randwick appears to have been dying for (I’m told Friday and Saturday nights get completely booked out).

The clever food menu begins with starters to share followed by entrées and mains, but it’s the wine menu that astonishes me. Wines by the glass are all under $8 while no bottle of wine exceeds $40 – prices quite unheard of. Plus the restaurant allows BYO wine from Tuesdays through to Thursdays.

Thai oyster shots with, fresh herbs and ginger, garlic, chilli, lemongrass & lime nam jim

Impressed with drinks – I have a flute of Barossa Valley Carrington Vintage Brut ($6.50) – we move straight on to oyster shots to start. In a shot glass with a tomato liquid, the plump oysters are topped with mint, coriander, fried shallots and the tops of celery sticks.

It wasn't a one throwback shooter, but the melee of flavours in the mildly spiced, Thai inspired shot reached a peak with the release of briney juices from the oyster. It wasn’t easy stopping at just one, especially those deliciously fresh oysters.

Salt & pepper squid with spring onions, chilli and lime

The salt and pepper squid is a crowd pleaser and could easily be shared among five as a starter. Gorgeously tender squid strips are coated in a golden, subtly spiced batter with fresh mild chilli and lime adding pizazz.

A heavier hand in seasoning could have made this the best S&P squid ever, but it still stands as the best value squid dish I’ve seen in a while ($8.50).

Blinis served warm with sliced smoked salmon, pickled Spanish onion and dill sour cream

I started to get more of an inkling of the very generous portions at Bistro Avoca when the first entrée of smoked salmon blinis arrived.

The long, rectangular plate was virtually covered in the bright orange smoked salmon, twisted over pikelet-sized blinis with cucumber slices, pickled Spanish onion in a fine dice and dill-spiked sour cream splodges.

Crisp fried pork belly, sweet chilli glaze, shoestring potatoes, watercress salad

And the size trend continued with the deep fried pork belly dish with perky watercress piled high over golden chunks of meat. The pork belly was crazy crunchy but also deliciously flavoured beneath the texture.

The raw vegetables alleviated some of the guilt in such a decadent entrée; though not so much the deep fried potato straws.

Twice cooked crisp duck leg with apple, radish and celery salad, candied walnuts

The duck entrée easily could have passed as a well-sized main meal. The golden brown whole leg had a delectable layer of crisp skin; presumably from a deep fry after an initial cooking.

The rich, moist flesh matched insanely well with the salad nest of Waldorf-esque sweet and tart green apple, radish, thinly cut celery and candied walnuts. Just all round lovely washed down with a most affordable glass of 2008 Vasse Felix Shiraz Cabernet ($7.50).

Seared sea scallops, cauliflower puree, bacon crumble and pesto oil

With the scallop entrée, it wasn’t so much a gigantic serving but monster-sized scallops with smears of cauliflower puree dabbed with bright green pesto oil.

The bacon crumble was a great textural addition atop each huge, bouncy mollusc and added flavour to the scallops which, while impressive in size, seemed to lack their usual natural sea-sweetness.

Medallions of beef, roast potato, sweet pumpkin puree, asparagus and
cracked pepper hollandaise

My main meal featured two rounds of beef sitting atop two same sized rounds of roast potato, further topped with rather breakfast-y asparagus and hollandaise sauce, ringed with jus and nubbins of asparagus stalks.

The pumpkin puree added sweetness to the overall dish while the tenderness of the beef was a real highlight, even though the stomach seemed to be reaching a capacity of sorts after just one of the medallions.

Lamb rump with colcannon, deep fried zucchini flowers and sugar snap peas

The lamb main almost looked like an entrée and main together on one plate, with a side too. The three stuffed and battered zucchini flowers could well have been an entrée at many other establishments, but here they garnished three thick slices of medium rare lamb.

And beneath, colcannon – mashed potato with bacon, cabbage and other bits – added more sustenance for the man-sized meal. I’m glad we decided to forgo orders of sides but we had to make room for dessert.

Dessert special: Lemon meringue with ice cream

The 'crazy prices' wine list returned to bring two ridiculously reasonably priced dessert wine options by the glass. It was getting way too easy to eat too much and drink too much, but with a dessert special of classic lemon meringue pie looking so good, it didn’t feel quite as bad.

Bistro Avoca tasting plate: coconut pannacotta, raspberry jelly and
dark chocolate mousse

Dessert tasting plates are generally good for hedging bets as there’s usually enough variety among the choices to please anyone. So I was a little surprised at the almost traffic light set of glasses that was the dessert tasting plate.

The chocolate mousse was by far the best: a big chocolate hit, airy as a cloud texture and a bit of crunch with the praline crumbs on top. The raspberry jelly was pleasant with the mousse, with real bits of raspberry heightening the experience.

(Clockwise from left) Coconut panna cotta, dessert wine and raspberry jelly

The coconut panna cotta, whichI had considered ordering singularly, was most decent except for the eye-wateringly sour layer of lime jelly across the top while the coconut biscotti was also a little confusing.

Vanilla and raspberry Bombe Alaska with rhubarb confit and praline

The winner of the dessert round had to be the Bombe Alaska. Glistening with torched peaks of shiny meringue similar to the lemon meringue, inside there was a thin base of cake and a duo of ice cream, including a pink raspberry one that tasted like happiness and jam.

The cooked rhubarb and praline bits added colour and interest to the overall plating, but ultimately were unneccessary. Just more of that raspberry ice cream would have kept me happy for days.

The restaurant was surprisingly not empty at a fairly late weeknight hour, with plenty of happy faces still dining on the, let's admit it, large servings of modern Australian food. And with such good value and interesting dishes to be had, Bistro Avoca is a welcome breath of freshness for Randwick.

Food, booze and shoes dined as a guest of Bistro Avoca with thanks to Charlotte Foot Public Relations.