est. Merivale Winter Feast, Sydney (30 June 2009)

Level 1, 252 George Street, Sydney NSW 2000
http://www.merivale.com/#/establishment/est

Three Hats Credit Crunch Lunch

For a work colleague's farewell lunch I suggested the Merivale Winter Feasts which I remembered from attending the Merivale Winter Feasts Launch Party. The three hatted restaurant est. was my preferred favourite which we all agreed to and was a great way to end the last day of the financial year. In the true spirit of a foodie I ordered the 3 course option for $60 which includes a glass of wine while the others ordered their 2 courses of a main and dessert for $50. I tried to check the menu beforehand but found 2 versions online, another version at the bar and the final option provided at the table — so keep in mind you might have to just wait until you see the menu at your table before you know what's being offered.

To start there were three types of complimentary bread to choose from and I picked the freshly baked mini baguette which was good. My entree of linguine with white scallops was delicious and somewhat larger than I was expecting which made it even better. The sauce had quite a bit of freshly ground pepper in it which at first was a bit overpowering but by the end of it I enjoyed and appreciated the warmth it brought to the dish and my taste buds. The crisp skin barramundi fillet was cooked to perfection and definitely had the eagerly anticipated crisp skin. It matched well with the vegetables and the tapenade which provided extra saltiness. A colleague's slow cooked lamb rump was beautifully tender and also a very satisfying dish. The extra side of chips were good although at first glance everyone thought they looked exactly like McDonalds french fries — we thought perhaps they should have been cut slightly thicker to eliminate any comparison.

I enjoyed my Tahitian vanilla cheesecake which had a very refreshing meyer lemon sorbet but after tasting a bit of the slow poached quince I thought it's flavours were a bit more balanced on the palate. I would have loved the cheesecake to be topped with perhaps some mixed berries to compliment the cheesecake. Overall it was a very good lunch that everyone was happy with and thankfully our professional waiters seemed more friendlier than the usual fine dining service that can sometimes come across as a bit cold at times. Lunch is served between 12–2 pm which you'll probably need all that time if your thinking of ordering 3 courses and perhaps having coffee because we found there was a bit of a small wait between our courses.

Other visits to est.:

• 17 Oct 2011 - Let's Do Lunch: Barramundi with asparagus, Sashimi of ocean trout, Salad of spanner crab, Italian buffalo mozzarella

• 5 Oct 2010 - Let's Do Lunch: Pan Roasted Salmon

• 12 Mar 2010 - March Into Merivale: Oysters, Scallops, Veal Parmgiana, Corn Fed Chicken, Mesclun Salad

• 30 June 2009 - Winter Feast: Scallop linguine, Barramundi, Lamb rump, Chips, Cheesecake, Slow poached quince

Entree

Linguine, white scallops, fennel, snow peas and chives

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Freshly ground pepper in sauce

Main

Crisp skin barramundi fillet, confit tomatoes, fennel, basil, capers and tapenade

Slow cooked lamb rump, tuscan white beans, tomato and rosemary

Dessert

Tahitian vanilla cheesecake, meyer lemon sorbet

Slow poached quince, poire william ice cream

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Sides

Chips $9

Drinks

Glass of Crowded House 2008 Sauvginon Blanc

Menus

Menu provided at dining table

Menu on the wall at Establishment

Menu from est. restaurant website

Menu from est. Merivale Winter Feast website

Dining

Downstairs establishment bar

Such a contrast from the very crowded launch party

The building

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