“I don’t think I want to be called Assman any more” Mr NQN’s brother said to us one night.
“Fair enough” we answer, after all he was only called this because he loved Seinfeld and was in Asset Management. Since his vocation change it seemed less relevant so he requested that his nom de plume be changed to Manu (also nothing to do with the chef).
Mr NQN, Manu and I are in the car on the way to Spencer Guthrie where we are to meet Queen Viv for an early dinner. The restaurant is attractively decked out with polished concrete walls, greenery to emphasise the environmental aspects of the menu (sustainable, eco-conscious) and the kitchen where the two chefs (Spencer and Guthrie) cook is at the front so you walk past them to get to your table or take a seat at the bar seating in front of them and watch them cook. The toilet door is completely covered in astroturf and at the back of the restaurant sits some box arrangements of plants.
The menu is compact with five entrees and mains and four desserts to choose from. It is given to us as a single sheet of paper folded in three and is said to change regularly. Our waitress is very friendly as are the rest of the wait staff and she tells us that at the moment it is BYO (a bottle shop is nearby). Fittingly, they are participating in the Earth Hour initiative so at 8:30pm, if we are still here, the lights will be turned off and people and food will be lit by candles. Complimentary bread is brought to the table with around of butter and salt. It’s a sun dried tomato and black olive bread with a thin crust and a soft interior.
Seasonal beetroot, sheep’s milk cheese & walnuts $19
We ordered for Manu as he is a vegetarian and dish was also recommended by the waitress. I only taste a little of this as this was Manu’s dish and he is a growing boy but it’s a standout with the sweet beetroot thinly sliced and a scattering of sheep’s milk cheese and finely ground walnuts. Who knew that beetroots partner for a threesome was sheep’s milk cheese and walnuts?
Braised baby octopus, chorizo, grilled kipflers and green sauce $19
Queen Viv found this a bit too spicy but I like the heat of this dish. The squid, a little resistant, is served with chorizo, grilled sliced kipfler potatoes and a “green sauce” which is redolent in herbs and sits as a quenelle on top. It’s bold and full of flavour and spice.
Chicken & duck liver parfait with fig & orange & brioche $20
However, my favourite entree along with the beetroot was the parfait which was light as air and so smooth it was like slicing into whipped butter. It was served with a delicious and not too sticky fig jam and a neat little loaf of gingerbread.
Ceviche of kingfish, pickeld cauliflower, roasted chilli and lime vinaigrette $20
The ceviche was tangy with fresh flavours and the olive oil and lime were particularly strong with the roasted chilli light and lingering in the background.
Rolled de-boned spatchcocok, mushrooms, sweetcorn and barley $30
Then came time for the mains which considering the size of the kitchen, we didn’t have to wait long for. The spatchcock was tender although it needed some seasoning. It was served on a bed of sweetcorn and barley which gave it some textural contrast.
Potato gnocchi, slow cooked lamb, mint and ricotta $31
I liked the company of the potato gnocchi which were soft bite sized morsels of soft potato gnocchi with slow cooked and pulled apart lamb accented with clouds of ricotta, diagonally sliced green beans and mint to lift.
Blue mackerel, cauliflower, hazelnuts and pearl onion tarte tatin $30
Mackerel is really a fish for people that love fish like sardines as it is strong and fishy. Since I’m not a huge sardine lover I don’t really go for this main preferring others, although if you like oily, strong fish this would be the order. Prettily plated it comes with a cauliflower puree, halved toasted hazelnuts, tiny cauliflower florets and a sweet and savoury pearl onion tarte tatin.
Grilled eggplant, romano pepper & quinoa $27
I try a little of Manu’s grilled eggplant with spicy romano pepper and quinoa and the textures are soft and nubbly with a nice heat from the romano pepper.
Soft chocolate, strawberry jelly, salted crumbs and buttermilk ice cream $15
And with four choices for dessert it seemed that it was destined that we would try all four! The first dessert is served in a glass and at the bottom there was a layer of strawberry jelly which tasted of fresh strawberries, a layer of soft chocolate on top and then some lightly salted biscuit crumbs and a scoop of buttermilk ice cream and another fruit puree that I didn’t get to try.
Vanilla and lemon curd parfait, puff pastry and raspberry sorbet $15
With filo pastry rather than puff the parfait was aromatic with vanilla and had small drops of tart lemon curd and a smooth, silky raspberry sorbet. Most of the desserts we found weren’t overly sweet and balance tartness with the sweeter elements.
Warm French toast, yogurt mousse and plum sorbet $15
The warm French toast had an almost savoury aspect to it and the yogurt mousse was very tart although I really liked the plum sorbet and the texture of the French toast with its lightly toasted, crispy outer.
Chewy meringue, coffee, caramelised figs and port $15
Queen Viv loves the meringue (slightly chewy but pretty much like a regular meringue) with a quenelle of unsweetened ground coffee cream on top and half a plump black fig that had been caramelised. The dish was finished with a syrupy port.
It’s just 8 o’clock so alas we miss the excitement of Earth Hour. The bill is a reasonable $50 per person so we wander off into the night to seek some candlelight elsewhere.
So tell me Dear Reader, did you take part in Earth Hour this year or in past years? And do you like strong flavoured fish like sardines or mackerel?
Spencer Guthrie
399 King Street, Newtown, NSW
Tel: +61 02 8068 1080
If you enjoyed this post, why not share it with your friends?
What is NQN up to now?
NQN on Facebook
RSS
46 Comments | Add your own
I like the compact menu. Makes selecting your food much easier.
I was on my computer and at 9pm I realised it was Earth Hour. Too bad. I do all I can for the Earth. For example, I take a bus to work so instead of it taking 30 minutes by car, I sit on the bus for 1-1.5 hours. I figure that makes more of an impact than me having the computer off for one hour.
Oh, I should include that I do not take A bus, but THREE buses
I’m mad!
Mmmm the rolled spatchcock looks divine! And a lot of work to get that way I bet!
I had no idea this was here, thanks for the tip!
Love the look of the spatch cock.
Mmmm I am getting so hungry just reading this!! Too bad the restaurant isn’t closer to me
That all looks delicious, except for the mackerel as Im not a fan of fish. Didn’t do earth hour this year. I was baking and by the time I realized that it was earth hour, I had all the lights plus the TV on and cupcakes in the oven. Feeling very bad….
Those dishes really do sound lovely, they are plated prettily too. I’m a meringue lover as well, and that yogurt sorbet would be wonderful.
We never participate in earth hour as my hubby used to spend days setting up programs so buildings would dim their lights for Just one hour, without actually saving any thing much. Instead We try and use sustainable practices as much as we can, add often as we can instead
I can’t 100% say we participated because we still had the TV on but we did turn off everything else.
Nope not a fishy fish girl. I like very subtly flavoured fish.
Sometimes it’s easier if restaurants have smaller menus as it helps with the decision making. I love the look of the gnocchi and the spatchcock. We were out for earth hour and where we were they had the lights on. xx
I love strong flavoured fish! It’s one of the reasons for my name!
I very much want to try this place, this looks to be my kind of food. The prices are great too!
Lorraine, I like the compact menu, I don’t like to go through a whole encyclopedia in order to order a meal…everything looks great, especially the desserts
Thanks for sharing this wonderful place and hope you have a great week!
The restaurant we dined in on Saturday night did not participate in Earth Hour, which was a shame.
That gnocchi and lamb dish looks amazing. I haven’t had a decent gnocchi in such a long time.
I must admit, I didn’t even realise it was Earth Hour! Where was the advertising?
I like it when restaurants have small menus -otherwise it takes me 20 minutes to decide!
Can’t wait to try this place. (going to get in quick while it’s still BYO). Sometimes I find it a bit of a relief to have a limited menu!
Another fun venue with a cool name. No Earth Hour for me.
Everything looks rather earthy, doesn’t it? The gnocchi and eggplant sound great!
I love a reduced menu. It means everything is fresh all of the time because of the menu turnover. It also gives the chefs more room to experiment and flavour match. It looks great
the chicken and duck liver parfait looks like dessert to me. hehehehe
Sadly we had a server crash in the states and were feverishly working during Earth Hour. The fish dish wouldn’t have done it for me either but most everything else looks fantastic.
I agree with changing Assman’s name. While you probably say arse, the yank in me wondered if he had a great one.
Oh yes, I love sardines and mackerel and herrings! Bones in, please!
(At least, bones in in the canned kind.)
I absolutely had no idea about Earth Hour. I’m terrified that the people in my apartment block have since pegged my housemate (who also had no idea) and me as earth-hating demons.
Great looking dishes you tried; I wonder how this will fare against Bloodwood across the road?
The rolled spatchcock looks wonderful, but the liver mousse makes me want to weep–it sounds soooo good. If really fresh, strong fish works for me. Like just out of the water.
Interesting, and lots of red there
. I like the beetroot appetizer best, my kind of food 
.
And Assman is not a nice nom de plume, I agree
LOL. Assman? That’s a cute but undesirable nickname indeed.
I love bold, oily fish more than boring white ones like tilapia. Mackerel…croaker…pike…sardines…salmon…mmmm
absolutely mouth watering!
Hi Lorraine, we had a dinner party and we did indeed participate in Earth Hour! We really enjoyed cooking and eating by candlelight!
I’ve never had mackerel! But I do like sardines!
I love beetroot with cheese, that entree would have been great!
Didn’t do Earth Hour, but I’m never home anyway, lol.
Love sardines, and love mackerel, and today for lunch I had sardines. Mackerel is hard to come by in this parts of the country…
For some reason really like the look of these dishes! And the stylishly simple food styling! Would love to try a few dishes here
! Yes, Earth Hour surely is part of my life, and, frankly, I have a tendency to get somewhat cross at people who do not understand this is such vital SYMBOLISM. And I also love sardines and mackerel, but, living in the country, oft have to make do with a good brand of the tinned variety 
!
thats a generous serving of parfait! the desserts look so good
I love a simple menu that changes often, like this one! I had a good laugh at myself as I was scrolling down the photo’s first (while eating) and thought your fowl parfait was dessert
I have participated in Earth Hour before and would have this year, but my partner and I had planned a dinner date at Makan @ Alices, a super delicious, always satisfying Malaysian Restaurant. We felt especially compelled to go after my poor dear had a rather disappointing game of soccer earlier in the day, and ended up bringing one of his teammates/long time friends along too for a bit of cheering up
The food most definitely cheered us all up and filled up our tummies nicely too!
Dear Lorraine,
I’m not a fan of Newtown but I loved Bloodwood. The food looks good although half side of mackerel might be a little light for $30.
I actually forgot about Earth Hour, how bad of me!
I like the look of this place and the gnochi and eggplant dishes would be my choices. Yum!
Small but impressive menu! I’m afraid to say that I completely forgot about Earth Hour
Despite living in newtown, I had no idea about this place. Might hold out for a while, though. Seems more like a dinner out rather than a casual lunch.
Amazing looking food. Something new for Newtown.
Ooh that gnocchi! We were out for dinner at a local pub on Saturday, but all lights remained blazing. And I’m sure a lynch mob would have quickly formed if they tried to turn off the massive flat screen TV’s showing the footy.
I absolutely adore mackerel, both smoked and fresh, and it’s so incredibly cheap. The only thing I don’t love is how much it makes the house smell when you cook it!
Your meals out never fail to make me extremely jealous – this all looks delicious.
LOL funny how Mr NQN’s brother doesn’t want to be called ‘Assman’ anymore hehe
Looks like a great place to dine at ~ But with such a small menu I’d feel a little nervous what if I didn’t like the food lol but the desserts all look spectacular! YUM!
I always say i’ll ‘participate’ in earth hour…but never end up doing it…because I forget
and end up turning the lights on >_< gosh i'm so bad ~
I like both sardines and mackerel but maybe because I’m used to eating them from childhood. It has some oil on the skin and I think the flavor is really delicious. This restaurant food particular don’t interest me as much as others you review, but the baby octopus sounds unique and would love to try!
Hello i am Darren Butt
I enjoy reading your articles
I am looking forward to read more..
I have been here once before and sampled the same menu as you have reviewed. It is quite nice and a welcomed addition to Newtown. I would point out however there is no way you would have had a three course meal for $50 each. Your review notes each dish and their corresponding price, totaling close to $65 each before drinks and corkage.
I was still at my workplace during Earth Hour so I didn’t get to sit in the dark. The entree’s look really great! How good is the brioche and liver/fig pate? Definitely need to hit Newtown!
I always liked reading about Assman, it a.ways gave me a giggle. I guess Manu will do though
I really don’t go for Earth Hour, I think it’s better to conserve energy wherever possi le rather than one token hour once a year.
I would love to try this place, but when we stopped to take a look at the menu one day as we walked past we saw that corkage was $8 per person!!!! Perhaps I’m being stingy but I really think that this is too much
Post a Comment