Review: Pastabella (2)

My sister liked so much the restaurant she chose for her birthday last year that she wanted to repeat the experience this year. Because her actual birthday was on a Wednesday, Alvaro and I took her to Pastabella on the day and the big celebration with friends was on Friday.

Gladys and I arrived on time for our 6 pm booking and found the place deserted. We were greeted by the owner, who was not the one we’d met the previous year. He was nice, though, so we didn’t panic. Then we saw the menu and noticed an increase in the prices, not only in comparison to last year’s but also to the online menu. We thought it could be a sign that the food wouldn’t be as good as it used to be.

We ordered our meals as soon as Alvaro arrived. Gladys chose the Fettuccine chilli prawns (prawns, rocket, garlic, white wine, olive oil in a white sauce with a touch of chilli), Alvaro the Veal Milanese (topped with napoletana sauce, mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, with roasted vegetables) and I the Linguini con vongole (vongole, white wine, olive oil, garlic, fresh parsley & basil) from the specials menu.

The food didn’t take too long to arrive, but then again, there were no customers besides us. As usual, we tried a bit of each other’s meals before attacking our own.

Gladys’ dish was nice. The sauce was tasty and not spicy (to be honest, I could not taste the chilli), and it had a generous number of prawns which were perfectly cooked.

Fettuccine chilli prawns ($22.00)

Alvaro’s dish was the most gorgeous looking, thanks to the roasted veggies. The veal itself was alright, the sauce was a tad too oily but had good flavour. The side included boxed-shaped roasted potato and beetroot, plus sticks of roasted carrot and two roasted asparagus.

Veal Milanese with roasted vegetables ($20.00)

My dish was very nice, too. I hadn’t eaten vongole in a long time and it was exactly what I was craving. The pasta was cooked al dente and the amount of vongole was generous. The only thing I didn’t like was the presence of loose tomato skins. I prefer skinless tomatoes if they’re going to be cooked.

Linguini con vongole ($25.00)

We thought that the food was still good, although IMO not as good as I remembered it. The next test would be hard to pass: dessert. Last year we had the famous former owner’s mother’s tiramisu, which all reviews raved about. It was very good, indeed. This year Gladys ordered one, Alvaro and I ordered the white chocolate & vanilla bean pannacotta with fresh strawberries, fig & toffee. The desserts arrived beautifully presented and the owner told us that he made the tiramisu and the chef made the pannacotta. Oops. Not a good sign.

The tiramisu was definitely not as good as it used to be. It was not bad but there was a big difference.

Tiramisu ($10.00)

Alvaro and I liked the pannacotta better. The flavour was spot-on, but perhaps it was a bit too set. The fresh fruit on the plate, plus the strawberry coulis and toffee were all nice complements.

Pannacotta ($12.00)

Pastabella
89 Glebe Point Rd
Glebe NSW 2037
(02) 9566 4488
www.pastabella.net.au

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Review: Badde Manors Cafe

Two years ago I was making plans with a Peruvian friend who was living here to start a business. We wanted something along the lines of a coffee shop and when discussing concepts, she suggested me visiting some cafes when I arrived (I was still in Peru), among them Badde Manors, in Glebe. I checked the website and the menu (which is vegetarian, by the way) looked interesting. But then I arrived and moved to Newtown, which has way too many choices for eating out (especially for someone who doesn’t eat out that frequently) to ever think about going to another suburb for lunch.

So I just waited all this time for the circumstances to fall into place. In this case Alvaro and I went walking to Broadway to buy some stuff and we got hungry in the way. We went all the way up to Cafe Bariloche because we were craving empanadas but it was closed. Starving, we turned around and walked to Badde Manors. It was packed, but there was a free table right next to the door. Due to our level of hunger we chose our meals in record time but it took a while for the waitress to come and get our order.

We were in the mood for something to drink besides water, so I ordered a raspberry/apple organic juice and Alvaro a raspberry/apricot smoothie (with vanilla ice cream and milk). Both were really good and refreshing.

What my body wanted that day was a huge salad. The carbs overload of the day before (grazing at the Eveleigh Market in the morning plus lonchecito in the evening) had broken my internal balance and I needed loads of veggie fibre to fix it. I chose the chef’s salad: mixed leaves, chickpeas, artichokes, grilled haloumi, cherry tomatoes, toasted almonds, green beans, tahini dressing and a lemon wedge, served with a toasted slice of sourdough and butter.

The salad was good, but lacked a “wow” factor. I think the dressing was too dry, and even when I squeezed the lemon wedge on the veggies, they lacked that moist and round flavour that makes a salad taste exactly like that as opposed to some veggies, legumes and cheese thrown together to share a plate. The sourdough toast was tasty, I wish it wasn’t to avoid the starches, but I couldn’t help it and just enjoyed it.

Alvaro chose one of the blackboard specials: homemade arancini with mushroom, sundried tomato and asparagus, served with garden salad, pumpkin and ginger sauce, and garlic toast. Two huge arancini sat on the plate next to some salad leaves and two slices of toasted garlic bread. According with the description we were expecting the dish to be completely Italian but no… the rice in the arancini was not cooked as risotto (or if it was, it needed more creaminess) and the pumpkin and ginger sauce (which definitely had cumin and more spices in it) felt a bit out of place with the garlic bread and the veggies in the arancini. I won’t say it wasn’t tasty (although it needed a bit more salt) but again it didn’t feel like a rounded dish.

Once again we ended up stuffed and couldn’t taste any of the yummy looking desserts on display. Next time maybe we’ll drop by just for dessert.

Badde Manors
37 Glebe Point Rd
Glebe NSW 2037
(02) 9660 3797
baddemanorscafe.com

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Review: Restaurant Atelier

Last Friday was our first anniversary in Australia, the perfect excuse to celebrate with a special dinner. My first thought was to eat something Australian but I didn’t want meat pie, bangers and mash, nor fish and chips. Modern Australian (known in my country simply as “fusion”) seemed to be the right choice. When looking for plalces I read some reviews of European restaurants and suddenly my hunt shifted from Mod Oz to French. Dunno how or why, it just happened. As usual, I had several choices, similarly rated and priced, and couldn’t decide on one. Finally I picked Restaurant Atelier in Glebe and booked for an early dinner at 6 pm.

We got there a few minutes past 6. The restaurant was empty, we waited a few seconds until the restaurant hostess showed up (my guess is that she was in the toilet) and showed us our table. Green olives and coarse salt were placed on the table. The attentive maitre d’ (or was he the sommelier?) came shortly afterward carrying a bowl with French black truffles. First he described the day’s specials in his deep, newsreader voice: two entrées (one cold, one hot) and two mains, all of them featuring pork. He also announced the arrival of the truffles and the possibility of getting 4 grams of shaved goodness on any dish for only $15 (we passed).

We were left with the menus trying to remember all the specials details (and thinking that it would be nice to have the descriptions printed out). Because we usually don’t need much food to reach fullness (it doesn’t mean we don’t eat a lot… we just eat beyond our capacity), I suggested getting one of the three bread options, one entrée, a main for each and, depending on how we felt, a dessert for each. We decided not to drink wine with the food (we could have brought a bottle since they are BYO) because we were having drinks afterward, but we did drink aperitifs: Peach Bellinis for Gladys and Alvaro and a Champagne a l’Orange for me.

I chose the shared plates: the Rare Breed “Berkshire Black” Pork Rillette w Lavosh & Pickles and the West Australian Marron Tail, Foie Gras Mousse, Fresh Pea Salad & Pea & Ham Ice Cream. For mains, Gladys had the confit pork special (I don’t remember the whole description, but it had confit echalotes and crispy pork skin), Alvaro ordered the Cocoa-Roasted Striploin of New Zealand Venison, Confit Carrot Puree, Baby Turnips & a Liquorice-Infused Sauce and I ordered the Roasted Boned & Rolled Macleay Valley White Rabbit, Braised French Snails, Baby Gem Lettuce & Parsnip Puree.

Drinks came first, we raised our glasses for a toast and started enjoying them. Then arrived the rillete (similar to a pâté in texture, but made with pork), which was delicious, and perfectly complemented by the crisp lavosh biscuits and pickled mini veggies. At this point I must apologise for the bad quality of the pictures. It was a fancy, dark and empty restaurant, so I didn’t feel like turning on the flash or taking more time for getting better shots.

After finishing the maitre d’ brought a complimentary dish for each of us, a fish cake ball with avocado cream and aioli, super tasty.

Then then entrée arrived. The portion was small, so I had a hard time dividing each component in three pieces. The marron tail and the fresh pea salad were nice, but the foie gras mousse and the pea & ham ice cream were outstanding. I wished I had a full portion for myself, but I wouldn’t have had room for all the food.

Then the mains arrived. Gladys’ dish had a side of something wrapped in cabbage leaves (petit something) that was as good as the confit pork and crispy skin.

My plate had three round slices of rabbit ballotine, plus three snails, the baby gem lettuce and parsnip puree (it was actually foam). I enjoyed my main, though it didn’t blew my mind (or taste buds).

Alvaro’s dish arrived with two battered and fried leafs of lettuce resembling wings. It was good, but we all agreed that Gladys’ dish was the tastiest (and biggest).

We weren’t ready for dessert yet so we waited for a while. We didn’t have to ask for the dessert menu, the maitre d’ brought it to us announcing that the chef’s special was the Pear & Caramel Souffle w Milk Chocolate & Chicory Ice Cream & a Poire William Milkshake. I suggested getting a cheese board but Gladys and Alvaro preferred the chef’s special. I chose the Fig Leaf & Vanilla-Infused Pannacotta w a Fresh Fig Ice Cream & Sherry Reduction.

We received another complimentary course, brought by the chef to the table: a poppy (the flower) kind of custard topped with those lollies that pop in your mouth and ice cream, served in an egg cup. It was an interesting experience that reminded us of our childhood. Then dessert arrived, also from the hands of the chef. He explained to Gladys and Alvaro that the souffle ramekin was super hot and that the idea was to open a hole in the middle of the souffle and pour half of the pear milkshake in it before eating, then drink the rest of the milkshake through the chocolate straw and don’t forget to eat the straw afterward. I tasted the souffle, it was really good, with a nice texture and not too sweet, and the milk chocolate & chicory ice cream was delicious.

My panacotta was good too, but for me the souffle was tastier. Maybe I shouldn’t have ordered an Italian dessert in a French restaurant?

We were offered coffee or tea but declined because at that point we were officially full. Overall I think it is a great restaurant, even when I didn’t feel like all dishes were equally tasty. I would love to go back and try the degustation menu with matching wines, I’ve read that is one of the best in Sydney.

I took care of the bill (it was my anniversary, after all):
2 Peach Bellini $24.00
1 Champagne Orange $12.00
1 Rillete $ 10.00
1 Marron $26.00
1 Pork $34.00
1 Venison $34.00
1 Rabbit $32.00
2 Souffle $30.00
1 Figs $30.00
Total $217.00

Then we walked all the way down home (3 kilometers, according to Google Maps), left my backpack with the laptop there and headed out to Erskineville Road for drinks. We checked the Erskineville Hotel but we didn’t like the vibe, so we went to the Hive Bar (my personal favourite in that area) but it was really loud, not only because of the music, but because of a high-pitched fat lady. Gladys and I drank a beer each (Alvaro had a juice) and then went to The Rose of Australia, where we had another beer each. Then we walked back to King Street, checked the Union bar but didn’t like the vibe, walked to the Courthouse Hotel on Australia Street, but it was closing. We went back to “our side” of King Street and ended up in the Sando (Sandringham hotel) drinking one more beer each. Alvaro and I wanted something to nibble on, but the kitchen was closed so we bought a bag of chips from the machine and then real chips in the sandwich bar next door. We hadn’t realised that it was really late and didn’t make it to St Peters station on time for Gladys to catch her train, so she stayed in our place.

Restaurant Atelier
22 Glebe Point Road Glebe NSW Australia 2037
61 2 9566 2112
www.restaurantatelier.com.au

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Review: Pastabella

For her birthday dinner, mi sister wanted Italian food, so she proceeded as usual to check reviews in eatability.com.au. Her first thought was to go somewhere in Newtown but she couldn’t ignore a place with great reviews in Glebe, a couple of kilometers away. The place’s name is Pastabella and most reviews rave about the freshness and yumminess of pasta (made in the restaurant) and the owner’s mother’s tiramisu.

Pastabella is small and gets pretty busy (we were there on a Tuesday night and it was packed). Our table was located in the terrace, which had a more intimate vibe than the rest of the restaurant. Gladys was already there when I arrived, as we chatted and checked the menu, her friends arrived. It was hard for everybody to make a choice, even when the menu is not that long. There were 3 specials as well, risotto with crab, raviolli with prawns and asparagus, and cannelloni with chicken. After thinking it over I ordered gnocchi Pastabella (pesto + napoletana sauce, in the photo at the beginning of this post), Gladys ordered fettuccine puttanesca, and the other people: lasagna bolognese, spaghetti puttanesca, spaghetti napoletana, spaghetti marinara (with napoletana sauce, the other option was creamy sauce) and cannelloni with grilled chicken.

We also ordered garlic bread and bruschetta with tomato, basil and olive oil. I ate garlic bread, which was grilled instead of baked, and tasted nice. It was actually a very good idea to order some bread because the food took long to arrive at our table. I can totally understand from the point of view that proper preparation (instead of reheating in a microwave) takes time, and that all dishes were served at the same time, as it’s supposed to be. All dishes looked delicious, mine indeed was, as well as Gladys’. I had brought a New Zealand Pinot Noir which matched perfectly with the meal. There was only one complaint about the food, Gladys’ friend does not eat spicy food and her spaghetti marinara had chili in it, even when the menu didn’t mention it. She didn’t finish her dish, which was a shame because it looked amazing.

After eating and chatting it was time for singing happy birthday. We ordered 3 tiramisus to share, one of them came with sparklers (looking at the presents and the “birthday girl” badge on Gladys’ shirt it was pretty obvious we were celebrating a birthday). The tiramisu was fresh and tasty, maybe not the best I have had in my life, but close enough.

Pastabella is definitely the place to go for really good pasta. The food is great, the prices are not too high, the atmosphere is nice and the service is super friendly (although it wouldn’t hurt to hire a waiter to help the owner’s wife out).

Pastabella
89 Glebe Point Rd
Glebe NSW 2037
Australia
(02) 9566 4488

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