06 June 2012

Danks Street Depot: Semillon & Oysters, Waterloo (1 June 2012)

1/2 Danks Street, Waterloo NSW 2017


A match made in Danks Street

One of the benefits of subscribing to Danks Street Depot's '6th Sense' e-newsletter is you get to find out all the latest tempting happenings in the cafe and bar. Jared's impatience for sharing his passion for Smokey Bay and Fleurtys Point oysters soon became an impromptu event between 5 and 7 pm on a Friday evening. A glass of 2003 Falls Wines Semillon with six oysters ($20) sounded like a bargain — especially if the oysters were freshly shucked, and they were by Jared himself at the bar. I noticed a glass of the wine on the menu board would have set me back $15 alone so I pretty much enjoyed the oysters for only $5 which is less than you'd pay at the Sydney Fish MarketJean-Luc Claval from Falls Wines in Canowindra was on hand with his French accent to pour you a glass of the semillon and have an informal chat about his wine if you wanted to know more. The semillon had enough age on the bottle to be nicely smooth on the palate with still enough citrus lift to match the oysters well. I found the smaller Smokey Bay SA oysters sweeter but preferred the larger Fleurtys Point TAS oysters for their abundance of clean salty brine. I enjoyed the casual style of the night and only wished I lived closer so I could have stayed longer and avoid driving home. Looking forward to the next event that tickles my fancy.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:
PROS: Freshly shucked oysters were good, Reasonably priced event, Nice decor, Friendly service, Restaurant promotes a Local - Seasonal - Sustainable menu
CONS: Wish it was closer to home so I could have stayed a bit longer and drank a bit more
MUST TRY: Trying to opening my own oysters, Revisiting to try the snacks menu with a glass of quality wine
Glass of 2003 Falls Wines Semillon and six oysters ($20)

Oyster Smokey Bay SA — smaller yet sweeter

Oyster Fleurtys Point TAS — larger and more brine 
SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Chef Jared Ingersoll on hand opening oysters

Carefully opening the oyster to retain the brine

A freshly shucked oyster with plenty of brine to slurp down

Chef Jared Ingersoll teaching me how to open an oyster

Simon attempting to open an oyster and reaping the rewards of his efforts

Falls Wines located past Orange — over 4 hours drive from Sydney
WORTH TRYING :-)

White wine menu by glass/carafe — Notice a glass of Falls Wines Semillon is $15 so oysters worked out to be only $5

Red and dessert wine menu

Bar snacks menu — would love to try it all

Table setting and little plant

Jean-Luc Claval from Falls Wines on hand to talk about his wine and generously top you up if you're lucky

Bar seating

Bar and menu

Window with a view of wine






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Danks Street Depot on Urbanspoon

3 comments:

Catherine@scentofchoice said...

Always too lazy to shuck an oyster (or worried about losing a finger) so it's encouraging to see that it can be done. I think of Danks St Depot as a breakfast and lunch place only so thanks for the reminder that there are other possibilities too.

Vivian - vxdollface said...

Hehe is it hard to shuck your own oyster?

Simon Leong said...

hi catherine, i'm too lazy too so i usually leave the shucking to the experts so i can concentrate on eating them :-)

hi vivian, it certainly it. very tricky but with practice i'm sure anyone can become quite good at it.

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