I must admit that I’ve had dinner at Pyrama quite a few times, but never had the opportunity to write a review. Previously my review for Pyrama was based on their breakfast/brunch/lunch service on the weekend – which was amazing! And dinner is no disappointment either.

Chef Jim Larcan cleverly designs his menu based on the season and selects his produced when they are the ripe time to savour. Their service is very friendly and they have an attentive eye for detail to ensure that you have a faultless evening. Staff at Pyrama haven’t changed in the various times that we dined there which shows the quality of management in keeping their staff happy.

Pyrama have a special that has been going on for some time and it hits the sweet spot for those looking for fine dining without busting the budget. $29 for 1 course, $40 for 2 courses and $52 for 3 courses (wine is extra). There are a dish or two that can attract an extra $10 on the bill, but my god the value for money is outstanding. With a decent wine list to compliment your dinner, you don’t feel disappointed that it is not BYO.

We called at 8:45pm to check if they had availability within 15 to 20 mins and Karen was more than helpful to accommodate our late dinner by letting Jim know of our late arrival. To start I had the carpaccio with mushrooms and grana padano (Italian cheese) which was simply prepared and served to perfection. A very nice and light way to start off dinner. Other options on their entrée menu are Tempura Zuchinni flowers with ricotta and herbs or chorizo with caramlised onion, apple and yoghurt  – who would have thought =)

My mains was the sirloin (which attracts and extra $10 on the bill) and was absolutely divine. It comes with fries, herbed butter (café de Paris) and red wine jus. Cooked as requested, medium rare, the meat was very tender and the jus works balanced the flavours really well. And those fries are to die for! They look similar to McDonald fries (sorry Jim), but they taste a 100 times better. Other options for mains are confit duck with lentils, shallots and orange sauce or try the pan roasted spatchcock with roasted beets and parsley salad.

Desserts are irresistible (like in any restaurant). However, our mains were quite filling and we instead opted for some homemade chocolate truffles. These melt in your mouth with a cup of latte alongside. If you want something more filling try their vanilla pannacotta with mango and mint salsa or the French white chocolate crème brulee with passionfruit.

Pyrama is a welcome restaurant for a nice low key dinner and you can chose to enjoy your meal in their courtyard or indoors if the weather doesn’t suit. The staff are very friendly and Karen and Linda do an awesome job of making sure you enjoy yourself- and Jim at the same time ensures that your plate comes with quality and tasty food.

You will not be disappointed!

Website – http://www.pyrama.com.au/
Menu – http://www.pyrama.com.au/menu.html

Atmosphere – 8/10
Food – 8.5/10
Wine (cocktails) – 8/10
Staff – 9/10
Value for money – 9.5/10

The DCM nightclub on Oxford Street has recently been replaced by a Mediterranean restaurant called The Mediterranean. Opened by the owner of Tandoori Palace from across the road, this restaurant boasts a decent menu of some Greek classics. Arriving at The Mediterranean requires climbing a flight of stairs which could in itself work up a thirst for a glass of wine.

The atmosphere is different to your traditional fine dining restaurant whereby this setting has Greek resembling statues, and the decorator seems to have a fetish for long hanging lights. There is a feature wall when you arrive with brick tiles and a relief. Towards the end of the bar there is a beautiful painting (or wallpaper) of the Greek island coast, which unfortunately is dimmed out due to the lighting. Previously a dance floor and now capable of holding close to seating over a 150 people, the restaurant has been opened for just over 8 weeks.

The menu list your Greek specials of dips, souvlaki, moussaka and also a great variety for seafood dishes. We had ordered the mixed platter ($10), which unfortunately only turned up with 2 dips – Tzatziki and Taramosalata (fish roe) but however they missed the eggplant dip (Melitzanosalata). Being a non-seafood diner, the tzatziki was actually pretty good. Nice warm pita bread topped with dried herbs works really well with it. I did however crave for other dips but we moved on to the entree of meatballs (Souzoukakia – $15.90) where the serving is actually quite generous with 4 large pieces – enough for one per person to try. We had also ordered some Ouzo Prawns ($17.90) which look well cooked in the a rich tomato, garlic and chilli based sauce.

Our mains had one let down, the Lamb Fourno ($26) which did have quite a few rib bones in the dish, and while some of the meat was tender it left little to desire with slightly over salted potatoes. However, the meat Moussaka ($20) was value for money. I haven’t had very many Moussaka’s in my life, but this tasted great. Nice layer of mashed potatoes on top, with a layer of tomato paste and mince sitting on a bed of eggplant baked with crispy sides that held its shape well when presented. A piece of this was sufficient to fill me up without much of the Lamb Fourno.

After having tasted the above it left very little room for dessert, but I was given an explanation of a deep fried donut topped with honey and cinnamon that sounded great, but I had to prepared myself for a walk down the stairs – and dessert would have made that harder.

The Mediterranean’s kitchen is run by a Greek chef and so the quality of food isn’t bad for a restaurant down Oxford St which unfortunately does have a lot of competition to keep them going. The restaurant has an abundant amount of room to host group dinners and functions which they advertise on their website. $50 per person allows you to try a mixed variety of what The Mediterranean has to offer. Their wine list is pretty decent for a restaurant of this price range too. We had a great Sauvignon Blanc that worked well with our food, but if I wasn’t driving I would have selected a second glass of red for my mains.

Being only opened for 2 months, the service will need time to improve itself. The waitress did have a hard time understanding our order, as well as the names of the dishes. Her knowledge of the wine list required us to repeat it a few times, but again that just needs encouragement and education. On a Tuesday night (which is when I went) don’t expect a full house, but on a Friday or Saturday I’ve been told that live entertainment is on offer with belly dancing and singing to bring in a crowd.

Dine at The Mediterranean and then head down to the nightlife of Oxford Street, you won’t regret filling up your stomach before those tequila shots.

A couple of years ago, I attended the Taste of Sydney festival – and I remember trying some of the dishes from Longrain, which I thought was fantastic. Especially their tapioca dessert.

So recently, we decided to give them a go. Longrain is a restaurant where you can’t book a table, and when you do get table… you’re pretty lucky (or so you think!)

First impressions of the place was friendly atmosphere with a decent sized cocktail lounge on one end and the restaurant and the other – in between you have a long hallway (Tony Hawk would love to convert it to a skating ramp).

The place looked busy, and I think know why. Since you can’t book a table, people rush in early to get their names on a list by the restaurant’s… let’s call him the bouncer, this guy meant business. So once you’re names is on the list, you wait – in their cocktail bar.

We asked for a “table for 2”, and he said “Sure, that’ll be 2 hours”. I had to clarify if he misheard me mentioning the number of people and not the number of hours. Clearly, I was put in place to say that it will take 2 hours. Great, so where to? Of course we were ushered to cocktail lounge and asked to “enjoy ourselves” while we wait – nice touch.

6 x cocktails (at $16 – $18 each), sparkling water, some oysters and a dish of mince pork lettuce cup kind of thing. I’ll be honest, I can’t remember much of it, partly because I wait for 2 f@*king hours! By then my taste buds had given up and it probably preferred a chicken kebab as opposed to a curry. Just as we were contemplating our decision, bouncer man comes and offers us a table.

As I sat down, I noticed that our ‘table’ was in between a birthday celebration to my left, a couple trying to have an intimate moment to my right, and a couple who were previously getting drunk at the cocktail bar now sitting opposite me – lovely!

Dinner time, and we ordered 2 main dishes, a salad, brown rice – all to share, followed by dessert (yes, I had their tapioca pudding) – but let me say that the food didn’t compensate for the lack of table service, mannerism of the restaurant staff and not even the table setting. Honestly the restaurant could do with more space dedicated to the dining area.

All in all, cocktail, nibles, mains, dessert came to $110 per person – so value for money wise, it’s okish. I’d rather spend an extra $80 and go Universal for a 5 course world cuisine with matching wine.

And to top it off, the staff decided to charge my credit card twice within a space of 1 minute. I got a call from my bank on Monday morning (thanks St George) to call back the restaurant if it was a mistake.

Admittedly, their accountant was much better to deal with and I would rather have her serve my table.

Longrain –I wish they called it Longwait!

Atmosphere – 7.5/10
Food – 6.5/10
Wine (cocktails) – 7.5/10
Staff – 5.5/10
Value for money – 6/10

I had been taken here for my birthday – and the experience was second to none. This had to be in the top 3 for me in 2009!

Run by Justin North, Chef of the Year 2009 (by SMH Good Food Guide), Becasse is quietly located on Clarence Street, Sydney. The first thing I noticed, was the calm welcoming feeling of a fine dinning restaurant with staff who you knew would make you have a comfortable evening.

You didn’t feel that you needed to be your best to enjoy Justin North’s impressively looking and tasting Modern French menu. We were shown to our table, located near a corner with views of the restaurant’s mezzanine level. The interior is comfortably lit with just the right amount of lighting to have a nice intimate dinning experience. With two tones of brown curtains draped along one side of the wall, and the opposite side matched with similar tone paints, all then tied in together with brown matching wooden chairs, gave the entire room a nice warm and expensive feeling. You can’t miss the round chandeliers hovering around the centre of the restaurant.

Our host for the evening I believe was the Sommelier himself and his casual and humorous professionalism made our night even more enjoyable. We ran our eyes fairly quickly over the menu for a bit, given that our intentions were to have the degustation menu ($130 pp). However, after spending a little too much time over the extensive wine list, we decided to go for the degustation with matching wine ($190 pp).

Given my lack of palate for seafood, our host was able to speak with the chef to alter just my courses – which was a treat. I think more and more restaurants are getting better at this, as opposed to ‘Sorry sir, the tasting menu is fixed – here’s our A La Carte menu’ (knob!)

Now do forgive me, as I dined at Becasse back in December – so I maybe short on the details of all ten courses – but more importantly having 9 or 10 glasses of wine didn’t make things easier.

I remember starting off with an Amuse Bouche of some sort after which we received 3 different varieties of bread – rosemary, pumpkin and poppy seed (I think). Then I recall a basil with tomato and olive oil sorbet. And I remember this clearly because of the olive oil sorbet  – rich, but cold and yet perfectly matched the tomato and basil concoction. I then recall a course of sliced pork with a little salad and another of a steak fillet of some sort (told you I was hazy with the details). However, one of the dishes that I knew didn’t settle well with me was pork liver – I just couldn’t handle that stuff. A bit too gamey, with a texture that didn’t quite suit.

Also failing to please the palate was dessert, but I think I blame this on the 8 courses of wine before dessert arrived, as well as the bottle of champagne that was knocked off before dinner. I’m not having a go at you Mr. North, I just don’t think my stomach appreciated the consumption of the last 2 hours before dessert was placed in front of me.

Complimentary coffee helped, as well as a short conversation with the host and some of the staff towards the very end. Friendly yet attentive staff, minimalist décor, creative cooking and nicely matched wine made things simply enjoyable.

I definitely intend to head back to Becasse – the next time I’m hoping to remember all the dishes.

Just a wonderful way to celebrate my 26th.

Atmosphere – 8.5/10
Food – 8.5/10
Wine – 8/10
Staff – 8.5/10
Value for money – 8.5/10

http://www.becasse.com.au/

Located on Victoria St, Darlinghurst, this Italian restaurant doesn’t have people standing out the front asking people to walk in. It’s not a busy hyped up place like Bar Reggio or a restaurant that you’ll find on St Kilda in Melbourne.

A Tavola is fine dinning Italian with a casual yet modern décor. The interior is very warm and welcoming. It’s not too noisy and a table in the covered courtyard towards the back of the restaurant is a different experience. A second level also exists for functions and a more private dining experience.

After a couple of drinks at Victoria Room, we jay walked across Victoria St and met with the Maitre d’ who checked our name and asked us to follow her to our table. Some of group members were a few minutes late and walked right in, however, the Maitre D’ was quite adamant on knowing who they were with – as opposed to letting them stroll right in.

Now, when I saw our group – I better mention who the group includes. Of course there was myself, Maia Michaelis, Sam Wadsworth, Amy Kwok, Sophie Chappelow, Stuart Pond, and Sophie’s lovely parents from the UK.

As we sat down, we found a piece of paper with the menu for the evening. This is where things took a tumble for me. As an Italian restaurant, I’m sure the owners and the chef like to keep thing very traditional. However, the menu written in Italian with no explanation of each dish, took things a little too far. We had to wait for our waitress to explain not only each dish on our menu, but also each dish on the specials board. 10 minutes later and hoping  we hear correctly with her thick accent, we all needed a good 10 more minutes to absorb what was the best fit for our appetite.

We ordered several entrée dishes to share. A bowl of warm olives, meat stuffed olives, a couple of salad dishes – including one with buffalo mozzarella with prosciutto and some focaccia  bread.  The salads were the highlight for me. The cheese was brilliant, rich and worked perfectly with the prosciutto and lettuce leaves topped with a well balanced Italian dressing.

My main course had to be in my top 10 list of 2009. I had veal, slow cooked in milk (and a tomato base), placed over freshly made pappardelle. The veal was cooked to perfection. Tender, gamey and full of flavour. It was one of the most satisfying meal for dinner.

Dessert for me was a complete let down – I ordered a chocolate fondant which turned up to be an overcooked cupcake. I did however give a good go at some deep fried ricotta served with marsala ice cream. The waitress was kind enough to ask what was wrong with my fondant, and after mentioning to the chef they took it off the bill – nice touch. I wouldn’t say dessert was brilliant, so I’d recommend to skip that course and after a cup of coffee or go across the road to Gelato Messina.

In terms of a dent to your pocket, A Tavola is what you would expect to pay. It’s not overly expensive, but it’s not your average pasta take away. You have to appreciate your food to justify the bill, and I enjoyed my entrée and main to justify the expense.

Overall, I would give A Tavola a thumbs up – well cooked food, great staff and a good place to catch up with your mates. I’d definitely visit this place in 2010.

Thanks for introducing us to this place Sophie! =)

Atmosphere – 8/10
Food – 7/10 (a let down because of dessert)
Wine – 7/10
Staff – 7.5/10
Value for money – 8/10

www.atavola.com.au

Eating at Bennelong makes you feel like a celebrity or a socialite to some extent. You feel a little special to have a meal in a restaurant that has the same roof as the Sydney Opera House. More importantly once you do get a booking (which isn’t easy) – you tell your friends about dinner plans and you hear this “Whooo” sound coming out of their jealous lips – well maybe not, but you feel a little excited about the evening before it has even started.

Located near the main entrance of the Opera House (towards the left past the cloak room), Bennelong run by head chef Guillaume Brahimi, has an amazing warm welcome as you are seated to your table. The view is spectacular, and during your booking you can make a request of what aspect you want your table to face (if available).

Once again, I’ll re-iterate, booking is essential and it showed throughout the course of the evening as there weren’t tables free.

We had got a table which was part couch and part chairs for six of us. Some had views of the bridge, while the others made do with the view of the city. After being presented with the food and wine menu, we had to get cracking on choosing our wine. The white wine was a bottle of 2005 Hugel Gewurztraminer ($85) and a recommended bottle of Burgundy wine ($165). However, note that are over a 100 bottles of wine to choose from – some ranging as much as $6000 a bottle. As a sommelier to assist and if you can be upfront about your budget, be honest or face the embarrassment of him/her recommending a $600 bottle of wine that you then have you retract yourself from selecting.

We were offered a selection of bread to choose from. I tried the buttermilk roll and then had a rosemary bun – both were warm and fresh and once you spread the French butter, you felt like you could have them as main course.

We were presented with an amuse-bouche of duck foie gras, spread in between crusted gingerbread. This was simply fantastic – the rich texture of foie gras with the crustiness of the ginger bread was very light as your bite through, however then the heavy feeling of the foie gras gets to you. A very nice palate opener for the evening.

To start off, I had quail cooked two ways ($40). While it did look small on the plate – I’m actually glad as it gave me enough room to accommodate the rest of the evening’s delight. The plate contained a piece of smoked quail breast and another of fried quail leg. A quail egg that was covered in breadcrumbs and fried served over a bed of greens (almost a nest looking) was a clever touch to the meal. All flavours matched very well – along with the egg which had the inside york nice and runny. The wine too worked very well with the entree and it was pleasantly light and flavourful.

A nice of piece of cheek for mains ($55 – available on the specials menu), and mine was soft and tender where the meat just fell apart as soon as the knife met it. Again the red wine was nice and light for this meal. There isn’t too much to comment on the dishes themselves. Chef Brahimi has kept things very simple yet the taste and texture of his plated food is simply wonderful.

Finally for dessert, I couldn’t go past the chocolate soufflé. As it arrived, the waitress asked if I would like to follow the chef recommendation of dipping the spoonful of coffee ice cream into the soufflé and top it with a hot chocolate sauce. Bare in mind, this isn’t a small soufflé – so if you’re keen to have this for dessert, be conservative during entree and main.

Dessert was simply brilliant, a sensual play of that soft airy texture with the sweetness of the chocolate and slight bitterness of the coffee ice cream. Along with dessert, you are surprised with a selection of petit fours which include salty caramel, passionfruit jelly, dark chocolate tart and macaroons.

Overall, Bennelong is fairly versatile where you can have that romantic moment in a quite table near the window or have a group of friends on bigger table in the centre of the restaurant. Staff can be a little up themselves but attentive, food was simplistic but beautifully flavoured, wine wasn’t cheap but matched well – you can see where this is going. Bennelong isn’t cheap, don’t expect a $100 per person. Double or triple that for an enjoyable evening. Save up and wear your best suit for an amazing dinning experience.

Atmosphere – 8/10
Food – 8/10
Wine – 8/10
Staff – 7.5/10
Value for money – 8/10

Eating at the Astral restaurant was quite an interesting experience. I don’t mean this in a bad way – however, Sean Connolly has changed the meaning of your 3 course fine dining to Tapas Fine Dining.

First off, we started with drinks at the Astral bar. This is a great place to unwind at the end of a working day with a couple of glasses of wine, bubbles, or select your poison from their cocktail list. Better still, take a seat, and let the friendly staff attend to your requests. I would also recommend a few selection from their nibbles menu. I can highly recommend the twice cooked pork served with a spicy dipping sauce. Also try their warm olives with sliced bread and marinated feta. Already had dinner? Then try their chocolate pavlova with ice cream or selection of European cheese.

From the cocktail section I can recommend the watermelon martini or perhaps the Bueller (rose flavoured vodka with lime, orgeat and some Ruby Red) – but they have a 3 page list to select from. From their wine list, I loved their Otago Sauvignon Blanc by the glass or ask the bartender to pour you something they can recommend.

The Astral Bar is divided in two sections. As you walk in you have a bar along the wall, then the inside seating area with live or chill out music followed by doors that open to more space with outdoor seating. The view is amazing with the harbour bridge on one side and Sydney’s west on the other. I had my birthday here a couple of years ago, and it was fantastic – somehow they had Katie Noonan playing live too.

After a few nibbles and drinks, our reservation time for the restaurant was soon approaching. We were seated to our table where you actually had arm rests on your chair. You knew this wasn’t informal dining – but things changed for the better. Our man of service was Jean Baptis (I believe it’s spelt this way) – a cheerful man with a thick noticeable French accent.

He served us some bread with French butter and requested for the sommelier to our table. This guy looked like he was in his mid twenties, but the man knew what wine to suit your thirst and preference. He had something to say for almost every bottle on the menu. We initially went with an Australian Pinot Noir at $90, but he came back saying that he has a French red wine which he hasn’t seen many people order that usually retails at $155, however he’d give it to us for $90 – bargain! That was perhaps one of the best tasting red wine which perfectly suited our meal.

As Jean started to explain the menu, I was taken aback. I expected to order my first 2 courses and after than order my dessert if I had room. However, Astral Restaurant has turned into formal Tapas. You and your guests order a few dishes from their selection of ‘Cold’, ‘Warm’ and ‘Hot’ dishes. Things started to get complicated as some really want to order something that the others didn’t like – but a consensus was agreed. Mind you, you can still order the one dish for yourself – but the waiter suggests that the dishes are presented for ‘sharing’.

From the Cold section we ordered half a dozen Oysters along with a serving of two types of beetroot salad with goats custard, grapefruit and rosemary dressing. We skipped the ‘Warm’ section and went for a dish of shredded lamb with a layer of sliced potatoes, along with strips of angus sirloin and finally Partridge with faggots. Faggots was new to me, and I doubt it’s something that I will take to again.

Overall, the food was incredible. The service was brilliant and they were highly attentive all through out. Above that, we always had a view of the Harbour Bridge, Darling Harbour and the city – a fantastic setting!

Finally, it was time for dessert. And Jean was very knowledgeable with his understanding of the various cheese on offer. You can select up to 6 different cheeses that come with a variety of biscuits. Jean explained each of the cheese, their history and level of maturity. After that, he then plated your selections in order of what you should start with first till the end. I on the other hand, ordered the Apple and Blackberry soufflé with custard ice cream – you didn’t have to share desserts (woohoo!). My soufflé was simply perfect – a soft apple flavoured soufflé with blackberry jam at the bottom gave it that surprisingly soft, airy and jammy texture all in the one spoonful.

Sean Connolly has indeed deserved his chef’s hat (be it only 1). The service was impressive, but yes, you do pay for it. So, be prepared for a 3 digit bill per person (and make that closer to $200).

So will I go back to Astral? The food was nice (I wouldn’t say amazing other than the dessert), the wine was impressive and the service of Jean Baptis was impeccable. For me, it was those three that were the highlight of the evening.

Atmosphere – 8/10
Food – 7.5/10
Wine – 8/10
Staff – 8.5/10
Value for money – 7/10

Recently, menulog.com.au and I have entered into an agreement where both parties are promoting one another.

In the near coming future, I will set up competitions and surveys where a winner will win vouchers giving them discounts when ordering on menulog.com.au

Also, if you follow me on twitter, I’ll send you a link to some exclusive specials that menulog.com.au have from time to time.

To follow me on twitter, simply click this link – http://twitter.com/vlalwani and click the ‘Follow’ button once you’ve logged in.

Meanwhile, if you’re feeling hungry, why not order at menulog.com.au =)

Note: you can also book a table on menulog.com.au saving you the hassel of finding the restaurant’s number, calling up, getting put on hold blah blah blah!

Brother and sister Pauline and Luke Nguyen along with Pauline’s husband Mark Jensen are the minds behind Red Lantern.

Through family recipes, skills and cooking techniques, this family owned restaurant produces some very good quality Vietnamese food in Sydney.

Now I have been to Phamish before and found their food impressive – however, Red Lantern is a few levels above the quality of service and presentation. But does that matter? Well, read on to find out.

I called up Red Lantern on Tuesday, to reserve a table for 4 that same week Friday. I was told the last table available was at 8:30 – “I’ll take it!” was my reply.

After a couple of drinks at the Dome Lounge at the Crown Hotel (just around the corner from Red Lantern) – we strolled along and arrived in time – worried that even a few minutes delay could make us to loose our table. As we took our seat, a waiter with a French accent was assigned to our service, and presented us with a extensive, but not overly confusing wine list and food menu.

As we ordered our wine, we immediately looked at the menu to humour ourselves by attempting to read the dish names in Vietnamese (the alphabets were in English). To start off, we ordered 3 entrees – a vegetarian rice paper roll with glass noodles (Cha Gio Chay – $15), and another of the same but with roast duck instead (Goi Vit Cuon – $16.5). Along with the rice paper rolls, we also ordered a salad of papaya with crispy tofu (Goi Du Du Chay – $17).

I must say that the tofu and papaya salad left and impression on me and is one that I highly recommend. Don’t get me wrong – the rice paper rolls were great, however I believe I’d had better at Phamish.

Our mains included a whole snapper shallow fried (Ca Chien Don – $38), beef cooked in lemon grass and Asian sauces (Bo Luc Lac – $29), Vietnamese marinated crispy skin chicken (Ga Chien Don – $32) and tofu with Asian vegetable in sesame and soy sauce (Dau Hu Voi Nam – $23) – all this served with Vietnamese red rice.

The food in itself comes with some very bold and authentic Vietnamese lemongrass citrus taste. Add that to the various textures of soft meat, crispy skin and well cooked vegetables and you have a mouthful of some very tasty Asian food.

The food felt decently light even after a reasonable second serving, so much so, that I was looking forward to dessert – banana fritters coated with coconut shavings, served with vanilla ice cream (Chuoi Chien – $14). The ice cream was my favourite element in that dish, while I found the fritters a little too crunchy for my liking. The coconut crème caramel would be my recommendation.

Overall, the service was impressive, the food had some memorable tastes, and the interior decor kept simple. Two bottles of wine ($60 and $75) with the above mentioned food (only 2 servings of desserts ordered) comes to about $90 per person.

So let me answer my above mentioned question of whether Red Lantern makes it over Phamish. In my opinion – it didn’t.

You see, there is that impression of Vietnamese food that you have tried before – it’s tasty and it’s cheap. At Red Lantern – it tastes almost the same but it’s more expensive. Phamish allows BYO of your preferred wine (with a corkage fee) and it’s food, while limited in options, is very well priced (mains under $20). Sure you have to wait for a table at Phamish and can’t book in advance – but getting a table at Red Lantern requires a good few days notice.

At Red Lantern, you pay for service, you pay for their margin on wine, you pay for the reputation of it’s chef.

At Phamish, you pay for the quality of food – period.

If you wanted a more comfortable dinning experience for a group of friends and can fork out the extra cash – then go to Red Lantern.

Otherwise, don’t regret waiting that extra longer for a table at Phamish.

Atmosphere – 7/10
Food – 8.5/10
Staff – 6.5/10
Value for money – 7/10

When I heard that we were heading to Glebe Point Diner – I took the word Diner literally and thought, “Great, I’m going to end up eating RSL Club food! Must come up with escape and backup dinner plans”

But, it turns out that Chef Alex Kearns’ aim is to provide simple and comforting dishes to please your palette. Was I pleased? Well, just about. This wasn’t a place that wowed me! But neither was it a place that reminded me cheap diner service.

The restaurant is well laid out, it’s well presented but it can get a little too cosy. And by cosy I mean, if you try to move your seat a few inches back, you’ll hit a customer behind. A little claustrophobic for my liking. On the flip side, there is alfresco dinning with a few 2 seater couches. With Glebe Point DIner, you need to book in advance, and they are only open for dinner from Wed – Sat. It’s not a few mins wait if just turn up, be prepared with a newspaper and a cup coffee if that’s your intention.

Upon our arrival, we were asked to wait a few minutes before our table was ready. In the meantime, that gave us the opportunity to review the specials on the board. Shortly, we were shown to our tables and they had run out of menus – “Please try and share” is what we were told after 2 copies were given for the four of us. 5 mins later – 2 more copies of the menu arrived, and we were no longer tilting our necks to the corners of the table.

Glebe Point Diner boasts that they like to make everything in-house. Including their bread and butter too. Look, I have no issues with a restaurant churning their own butter – but please, even if you gave me a butter bowl with Western Star, I wouldn’t be complaining. A lot of effort for a small highlight. But the bread was nice and moist, and I can appreciate restaurants baking their own bread.

Alex Kearns’ cooking style is producing simple food – and I can see why. To start, I ordered the Duck and Pork Sausage served with rocket and grapes salad ($18). Good flavours, and simple salad – but I felt like I was at a mate’s BBQ. However, one of the my companions at the table dared herself with the Crispy Pig Ears salad – I don’t think she quite savoured that taste the next morning and vowed never to repeat.

Main course time and I tried the waygu with vegetables and horseradish mash ($34). The meat was good and the vegetables cooked well – simple is what I got from Alex Kearns. But the mash over complicated a few things. The horseradish was a little powerful and became the main element of taste – but the carrots, potatoes and spinach were cooked to perfection. However, it felt like meat and 3 veg.

Throughout the meal we shared 2 bottles of red amongst four of us. A Tempranillo from Spain and a bottle of Cabernet Merlot by Maverick Twins – each were approx $45. Their wine list is quite a impressive. I would assume they had about 40 to 50 to select from for white and about another 40 to 50 for Rose / Red – which is great, don’t get me wrong, but pretty challenging too!

For desert, we had all had the Chocolate pudding with Vanilla Bean Ice cream ($15). Rich, but flavoursome. This, like most 3 course meals, was my favourite part of the night.

The end the damage was $90 per person + tip. Not bad for a 3 course meal and 2 bottles of wine shared by 4.

Look, overall Glebe Point Diner is all about simple and comfort food – and they did what they can to present that. But is it a place I would recommend? Well, no. It takes an effort to book a table, for the price I would recommend L’etoile or for a bit extra, go to Verde. But if you’re looking for a nice restaurant in Glebe – then this or the Boathouse would be on my list of recommendations and hence why they are always busy. It’s one of the best in Glebe.

Atmosphere – 7/10
Food – 7/10
Wine/Cocktails – 7.5/10
Staff – 7/10
Value for money – 7.5/10

Located on 407 Glebe Point Road, Glebe