By Franz Scheurer
I waxed lyrical about Lucienne Francisco’s food at Chelsea Tea House when it was just open throughout the day. The menu is short and concise; the place is BYO and the ratio of serving staff to customers guarantees attentive service (the smiles come for free). A range of typical breakfast foods graces an all day menu, as does a good range of desserts. You can order a coffee (terrific coffee!), read the papers (presented, European style clip-through wooden handles), feast on ‘Organic muesli with muscovado sugar & yoghurt’ ($9) or be tempted by one of the many teas or infusions with ‘Fresh peaches in white balsamic with vanilla bean ice-cream’ ($6) in the afternoon.
If you’re feeling like something heartier try the ‘Steamed eggs with minced pork, ginger & sesame toast’ ($10), a taste sensation with terrific texture, or the ‘Mussels in white wine & parsley broth’ ($16). If you don’t feel like meat but like a filling and satisfying dish with lots of flavour then order the ‘Pumpkin & eggplant curry with steamed jasmine rice & cucumber pickles’ ($15), served Japanese style in three little bowls.
Now for the big news: Lucienne is now open for dinner on Friday and Saturday nights.
The courtyard is lovely during the day but it’s nothing short of enchanting at night. Fairy lights in the trees, candles on the tables, and a very appetising menu make it feel more like a dinner party than a restaurant.
For our entrées, we tried the ‘Avgolemono’, a traditional Greek soup of chicken, lemon and rice ($10), the ‘Asparagus spears with melted Fontina cheese’ ($10), the ‘Warm salad of poached egg, chorizo sausage, rocket & poached kipfler potatoes’ ($15) and loved every one of them. The soup was tart and light, the asparagus perfectly cooked with a gooey, but not cloying cheese topping and the salad spicy with perfect texture. For our mains we ordered the ‘Spring pea & sorrel risotto’ ($18), the ‘Seared Yellowfin tuna with green & white beans & tapenade’ ($24), the ‘Black pepper roasted spatchcock, with jasmine rice, coriander & nuoc cham’ ($22) and finally the ‘Eye filet with mashed potatoes, chestnut mushrooms & fried sage’ ($28). The risotto was made with Arborio rice, quite wet from the green pea stock and cooked to still have a bit of bite without being chalky. The tuna was seared perfectly, moist and warm throughout and an utter delight. The spatchcock, the dish of the night, was spicy, succulent, crisp and juicy with a chilli condiment that had just the right consistency and heat. Great dish! The fillet put a big smile on my carnivorous friend’s face and it took some doing to convince him to share. For dessert we tried the ‘Flourless chocolate & hazelnut tort with vanilla bean ice cream’ ($7), an absolute texture sensation, the ‘Tarte au citron’ ($6), a pastry-heavy quite sweet lemon tart, and the ‘Lemon myrtle infused crème caramel’ ($7), which only just held together. All in all I must say that the food is way beyond what you would ever expect to be served in a café in suburbia. This is seriously good food, prepared with pizzazz and you can taste the chef’s passion for her craft. You better try this whilst you can still get in…
Value for money is
excellent, the restaurant is BYO wine, the service is professional with a smile
and although a long way up the northern peninsula it is well worth the journey.
Score: 7.5/10
For more information
or bookings:
The Chelsea Tea House
Shop 2 / 48 Old
Barrenjoey Road
Avalon
Tel.: 02 9918 6794