Glass Wine Bar: $20 Corporate Lunch menu including a Glass of Wine, CBD Sydney (3 Feb 2012)

Level 2, 488 George Street, Sydney NSW 2000

http://www.glassbrasserie.com.au

Luke's $20 meal deal for lunch

Thanks to Lorna O’Neill from the Hilton for inviting me to sample Luke Mangan’s Corporate Lunches available Monday to Friday, noon til 3 pm for $20 each which includes a glass of wine. If you consider a glass of wine will set you back at least $10 at Glass Wine Bar you’re getting your meal for only $10 or less which seems to be a bit of bargain, especially in such a nice dining area and cooked by a 1 hatted restaurant. I also thought while nearby Charlie & Co charge $18 (dine in) just for their wagyu burger without fries it’s a bit of a no brainer who’s got the better burger deal. The Wagyu burger ($20) was my favourite dish of the day which was juicy and came with BBQ sauce, bacon, cheese & French fries including a glass of wine. I’m a sucker for beetroot in my burgers so if they added this I’d give them an extra point. A pretty large pickle is supplied on the side although I’m a fan of having it in the burger. Wines available at the time were Longbend Pinot Gris ($10) or Luke Mangan Pinot Noir ($13) and for those favouring a beer it was Vale Ale ($8).

The Tempura Fish, fries and tartare sauce ($20) was nicely cooked with a thin cripy batter although I would have preferred a nice garden salad or coleslaw on the side instead of the pretty boring rocket leaves which seemed to be more of a garnish. The Luke Mangan Pie ($20) was a home-style chunky beef pie with mash potato and mushy peas. Nice pastry and I wondered if the peas had mint in it. If so I reckon a bit more would have gone down a treat for me. The Minute Steak, fries & bearnaise ($20) was cooked medium-rare as ordered. Meat was quite tender and decent quality leaving little gristle to compete with. I know it’s probably not traditional for such a dish but a small side salad would have been nice to balance the meal. For afters I tried their Affogato with Frangelico ($18) which was nicely presented with a decent amount of ice cream as hoped. Nice touch with the mini macaron on the side. I think there’s opportunity to add a few simple and reasonably priced desserts on the menu as well like a chocolate brownie with ice cream, meringue with seasonal fruit and whipped cream or panna cotta with berry coulis for those with a bit more time to enjoy their lunch.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Nice décor, Quality ingredients, Efficient and professional service, Reasonably priced meal when you consider it includes a glass of wine

CONS: Limited menu choices, Only available for a limited time, No desserts included on the menu, Toilet is located outside the restaurant with a little bit of a walk

MUST TRY: Wagyu burger, Affogato with Frangelico

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Corporate Lunch menu ($20 including a glass of wine, beer or San Pellegrino water)

When spoilt for choice try one of everything

Longbend Pinot Gris ($10), Luke Mangan Pinot Noir ($13), Vale Ale ($8)

The Chef's Burger: Wagyu burger, BBQ sauce, bacon, cheese & French fries inc glass of wine ($20)

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Tempura Fish, fries and tartare sauce inc glass of wine ($20)

Luke Magan Pie: A home-style chunky beef pie, mash potato and mushy peas inc glass of wine ($20)

Minute Steak, fries & bearnaise inc glass of wine ($20)

Affogato with Frangelico ($18)

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Chef Luke Mangan in the kitchen

Glass Wine Bar dining with a view of QVB

Restaurant dining

For those with a bit more cash to burn

This scallop dish looks like something I'd love to try

Restaurant dining options when you have a bit more time and money

Very impressive wine selection

Glass branding and bread station

A bit of a walk to the toilets but the mens urinals have privacy screens which gets a tick in my book

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Mad Cow: March into Merivale $33 menu, CBD Sydney (18 Mar 2011)

Level 1, 320 George Street, Sydney NSW 2000
http://www.merivale.com/#/ivy/madcow
http://marchintomerivale.com

For simply the love of meat

Thanks to Richard Elliott for organising a casual lunch catchup to check out Mad Cow’s March into Merivale $33 menu which includes a wine or beer. This was our first time visiting the restaurant so we were looking forward to checking it out. The décor is nice and the roomy padded booths provide an intimate space to converse with your fellow diners. Complimentary bread is fresh and tasty and I order the 2008 Domaine Chandon Shiraz while Richard orders the 2006 Chandon Vintage Blanc de Blancs, both of which were good — alternatively a beer or the 2010 Domaine Chandon Sauvignon Blanc is available. My Black angus minute of fillet steak is usually $39 on the a la carte menu, topped with café de paris butter, and I believe usually includes fries and a green salad. Two small cuts equaling 200g is served on a plate with a side of lemon, you can’t get much simpler than that for presentation. Thankfully the steak is tender and cooked medium rare as ordered and its quality is evident with no sinewy bits found. You’d probably want to order some sides to share with this dish unless you’re a full-bred carnivore and someone that doesn’t make friends with salad.

The Beef city black angus scotch fillet is also 200g and comes with a small dish of spicy barbeque sauce which isn’t spicy at all but fairly mild and slightly sweet. A few drops of Tabasco would do the trick to give it a heat kick I was expecting. The steak is equally good and flavoursome but again sides would help fill out the dish. With compliments from the chef we received the other two dishes to photograph and sample before our steaks. The Moroccan vegetable bisteeya was nicely presented with the pastry filling bordering more on the side of sweet due to maybe sultanas in the mix and I was quite impressed with the substantial size of the Fillet of ocean trout. The lemon in the crushed potatoes really worked well and even though some of the thicker parts of the ocean trout was bordering on a little bit rare for me it was a nicely balanced dish. We also received a side of complimentary Shoestring fries ($8) which resembled the McDonalds cut variety and a very fresh Salad of field greens ($9) with a light dressing.

There was little time to stay around with deadlines looming back at the office but some complimentary petit fours provided a nice sugar hit for the afternoon which would have gone down well with a coffee. I really liked the outdoor adjoining courtyard, lounge and bar areas which look like a great spot to chill out with a drink or snack on the bar menu. In the end the steaks in themselves were good but I think the ocean trout dish won which you could happily have without needing to order any side dishes.

Other food blog reviews:

• Richard Elliot's Blog

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Quality steaks, Nice décor and outlook, Comfortable and intimate booth seating, Nicely set background music volume, Efficient service, Reasonably priced sides

CONS: When you order steak it’s just a steak you get

MUST TRY: Fillet of ocean trout, The steaks if you have the budget, Tempting desserts for next time

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$33 menu including glass of wine or beer

Soy and Linseed and Sourdough bread with butter (complimentary)

2008 Domaine Chandon Shiraz

2006 Chandon Vintage Blanc de Blancs

Moroccan vegetable bisteeya, baby beans, mint, pomegranate, yoghurt, cucumber ($32 on a la carte menu) [compliments of the chef]

Fillet of ocean trout, crushed kipfler potatoes, sauce vierge ($36 on a la carte menu) [compliments of the chef]

Black angus minute of fillet steak, 200g with café de paris butter ($39 on a la carte menu)

Beef city black angus scotch fillet, 120 day grain fed, 200g, spicy barbeque sauce

Shoestring fries ($8), Salad of field greens ($9) [compliments of the chef]

Petit fours [compliments of the chef]

Side dishes to contemplate

Bill $66 for 2 people

Head Chef Christopher Whitehead

Dining companion Richard Elliott with camera

Restaurant seating and decor

Outside bar and courtyard area






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