Watts on Crown: Bistro and Wine Bar, Surry Hills (8 Apr 2012)

368 Crown Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010
http://www.wattsoncrown.com.au

Watts up on Crown Street

An Easter long weekend lunch catchup brings me to Watts on Crown located where I believe Chilli Alchemy used to be and opposite Xage. It's not quite on the main restaurant strip you'd find further along Crown Street but still seemed to attract a healthy crowd of diners. Our table of eleven was upstairs including two babies on board. There was thankfully enough room for a pram and car capsule although unfortunately no sign of a change table in the unisex toilets — perhaps a wall mounted one could fit. The main attraction for all the diners was the Sunday Roast menu but I was more tempted to try a few smaller dishes. Chicken liver parfait ($12) was decently sized for the price and came with a really nice red onion marmalade. I thought the toast was perhaps a bit too toasted in parts bordering on burnt for my liking but the parfait was smooth and flavoursome parfait. My Scotch egg ($5.50 each) was quite good with nice meat flavour and the mustard mayo was subtle in taste, maybe too subtle. If the egg yolk was more runny like Arras Too Cafe it would have been great — Heston Blumenthal seems to have a recipe answer.

I enjoyed the crisp batter and tasty filling of the Stuffed zucchini flowers ($11, 3 pieces) and wondered if a small spoon for the red wine and shallot vinegar and small fork to pick out the oyster would have been handy for the Freshly shucked oysters ($3.50 each). I ended up getting three oysters when only two were ordered — maybe since one was very small they couldn't charge for it but added it for my benefit. They were quite fresh but very small and flat with little brine and I much preferred the size served at Manta and Felix. Nice touch with char-grilling the lemon to make it sweeter though. I didn't mind the Grilled quail with chorizo, braised peppers and crisp basil ($14) which had tender meat but felt more seasoning would have been benefitted the dish and found the small char-grilled piece of chorizo had lost some of its flavour in the cooking process — more chorizo too please.

Everyone except me ordered the Roast leg of lamb with mushy peas, braised red cabbage, roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding and mint gravy ($25) as their main. The lamb was quite good and I really liked the mushy peas and braised red cabbage but would have preferred more outer crisp on the flavoursome roast potatoes. Mint gravy was enjoyable but the handful of UK diners were disappointed with the Yorkshire pudding. They were expecting something more hollow style which they're used to back home allowing it to be filled with gravy. They still were happy to eat it but it wasn't quite what they were hoping for. The Cheese plate ($11 charged although $18 on menu) came with impressively delicate lavosh and I enjoyed the addition of mint in the Eton mess ($11) which worked nicely with rhubarb instead of the traditional strawberries which I assume was due to seasonal availability. As a special Easter treat we received a complimentary plate of Chocolate Easter Eggs and Italian chiacchiere aka Angel Wings which were very crisp and flakey as hoped.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Nice decor and cosy atmosphere, Interesting menu seems reasonably priced for the quality, Decent amount of seating upstairs for large group bookings, Service seemed professional and friendly

CONS: Yorkshire pudding wasn't quite what the UK diners were expecting and hoping, Oysters were a bit small for me, Kitchen turnaround of dishes seemed to take a little bit longer than hoped

MUST TRY: Returning to try other menu dishes

BABY ON BOARD: Unfortunately no baby change table in toilets and restaurant seating upstairs is via stairs so keep in mind if you have a pram

DAMAGE: $526.50 for eleven

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Cutlery and menu

Hunky Dory Sauvignon Blanc ($25 charged although $28 on menu)

Chicken liver parfait with red onion marmalade and toast ($12)

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Scotch egg with mustard mayo ($5.50 each)

WORTH TRYING :-)

Stuffed zucchini flowers with goat cheese and romesco sauce ($11, 3 pieces)

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Freshly shucked oysters with red wine and shallot vinegar ($3.50 each, 2 ordered but 3 provided)

Grilled quail with chorizo, braised peppers and crisp basil ($14)

Roast leg of lamb with mushy peas, braised red cabbage, roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding and mint gravy ($25)

Potatoes served on the side

Yorkshire pudding

Cheese plate supplied by Simon Johnson, lavosh chutney and quince paste ($11 charged although $18 on menu)

Apple and rhubarb crumble with vanilla ice cream ($11)

Eton mess with rhubarb and mint ($11)

WORTH TRYING :-)

Chocolate fondant with vanilia [vanilla] bean ice cream ($11) — good rich chocolate flavour although inside could have been a bit more runny perhaps and more ice cream would have been nice too

Macchiato ($3) — very tiny but pretty good

Complimentary Chocolate Easter Eggs and Italian chiacchiere which was very crisp and flakey as hoped
SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Entrée menu

Mains, Sunday Roast and sides menu

Dessert menu

Small plates and Cocktails menu

Upstairs seating

Upstairs balcony area overlooking street

On the fake grass balcony with Baby Isabelle — nice spot to watch the traffic. Bill $526.50 for eleven.

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District Dining: Jump On It Menu, Surry Hills (7 Dec 2010)

17 Randle Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010

http://www.districtdining.com.au

Jumping on the sharewagon

Sydney chefs sure love the idea of sharing plates at the moment like Berta and Duke Bistro — it's like the new tapas — and Chef Warren Turnbull of Assiette now brings it to his cosy bistro which quickly became one of the most visited and blogged restaurants when it opened at the end of 2010. Surprisingly they advertised a deal on Jump On It which subsequently sold an incredible 2000 vouchers in 19 hours. After 4 weeks of opening it was hard to get a booking for the Jump On It deal because they only provided a limited number of spots per day and it also didn't help that SMH Good Living just published their review — people sure love flocking to anywhere that gets a good review, especially in Surry Hills. With finally a booking (maximum 2 vouchers per table) it was time to use the Jump On It $69 deal for a 3-course dinner for two including a bottle of French wine saving apparently $86.

Upon arrival we were seated by efficient and friendly service and soon discovered the Jump On It deal was restricted to a limited menu which was a little unexpected and disappointing so we didn't get the chance to choose from the full menu as I was hoping. Adding to this the entree is already pre-selected by the chef so no choices there either. Similar to Berta and Duke Bistro the dishes only list the ingredients and there's no description of how something is cooked. The entree platter consisted of Smoked eel paté cucumber green onion ($16), White asparagus barigoule king salmon orange olive oil ($18), Crispy quail eggs white anchovy tarragon mayonnaise ($14) and Veal tongue pickled turnip salsa verde almonds ($16). It was a nice selection to start but I was more keen to try their menu special of Crispy school prawns with lime aioli ($15) which was very tasty and crunchy as hoped.

For mains there's a selection of only 3 dishes for Jump On It customers. The Castricum lamb shoulder cumin honey baby carrots ($24) was tender and very flavoursome although unfortunately had too much fatty bits throughout making much of it quite unappealing. Good flavours were also in the Spiced pumpkin marinated feta honey walnuts ($16) and Hiramasa Kingfish miso radish salad eggplant ($20). As an additional dish I ordered the much loved Fried chicken coleslaw lime mayonaisse ($24). Quite pricey but I enjoyed the tender pieces of chicken with a refreshing coleslaw although I would have loved a bit more of a flavoursome dressing on the coleslaw.

For dessert there was only 2 choices of an Eton Mess style Strawberries raspberries meringue vanilla cream ($12) which was well liked and Efi's rice pudding cinnamon ice cream ($12) although I don't really like ice cream being served on a wooden board and think it would be better placed in a small side dish — and it seems so inner city and quirky to serve dishes and drinks in rustic style jars these days. As an extra I ordered the Coconut pannacotta mango lime coriander ($12) served in a small jar making it a little awkward to eat but thankfully it had some nice flavours with highlight notes of kaffir lime I believe. We were also tempted to try the Cheese platter ($22 for 3) complete with a nice selection of Brillat Savarin Triple Cream France, Fourme Dambert Blue France and Pyengana Cheddar Aus. The included bottles of French red and white wines of 2009 Bondeville Rouge Syrah and 2009 Bondeville Blanc Grenache Blanc were very quaffable and I'd would happily have again. Overall it was a good experience that leaves me wanting to try other dishes on the menu some day in the future.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Tasty and interesting dishes, Nice decor, Friendly service, Good wine

CONS: Lamb shoulder was very fatty, Under pressure service got a little forgetful about filling up our wine, Limited table space, Noisy when busy, Limited menu for Jump On It deal, Some dishes aren't as easy to share as others

MUST TRY: Crispy school prawns, Fried chicken coleslaw, Strawberries raspberries meringue vanilla cream, Other tempting dishes from the menu

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Table setting — a little tight for space

Jump On It menu

Normal menu

Murray's Whale Ale ($8)

2009 Bondeville Rouge Syrah, 2009 Bondeville Blanc Grenache Blanc, France

Chefs selection platter: Smoked eel paté cucumber green onion flatbread ($16), White asparagus barigoule king salmon orange olive oil ($18), Crispy quail eggs white anchovy tarragon mayonnaise ($14), Veal tongue pickled turnip salsa verde almonds ($16)

Crispy school prawns with lime aioli ($15)

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Veal tongue pickled turnip salsa verde almonds ($16)

Crispy quail eggs white anchovy tarragon mayonnaise ($14)

White asparagus barigoule king salmon orange olive oil ($18)

Smoked eel paté cucumber green onion flatbread ($16)

Castricum lamb shoulder cumin honey baby carrots ($24) — a bit too fatty

Spiced pumpkin marinated feta honey walnuts ($16)

Hiramasa Kingfish miso radish salad eggplant ($20)

Fried chicken coleslaw lime mayonaisse ($24)

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Strawberries raspberries meringue vanilla cream ($12)

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Efi's rice pudding cinnamon ice cream ($12)

Cheese menu

Cheese platter ($22 for 3) Brillat Savarin tripe cream cows France, Fourme Dambert blue cow France, Pyengana cheddar cow Aus

Coconut pannacotta mango lime coriander ($12)

Bill for 4 people $227 (2 x $69 for a 3-course meal for two including entree, main and dessert plus $89 for extras)

Cosy dining

Balcony area

View from balcony of Central Station

Toilet vanity — clean and simple

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