Neutral Bay Bar & Dining
By Franz Scheurer
Alex Kearns, well-known chef and partner of Glebe Point Diner has expanded to the lower North Shore with the opening of the group’s latest venture, Neutral Bay Bar & Dining. His motto: ‘Guests should feel warm, comfortable and welcome – as though this is their second home’. The dining space certainly reflects a desire for conviviality and privacy with a modern but warm space and booths with comfortable banquettes and high, wooden dividers, which also serve as a storage area. The sound dampening panels on the ceiling fit in perfectly with the modern design and work well, as even when the place is jumping (which is most of the time) you can hear yourself think and easily hold a conversation). The bar (with its own menu of bar snacks) is at the front and the dining room towards the back, with the toilets upstairs. A long, state-of-the-art open kitchen runs almost the full length of the dining room.
The menu structure is simple but effective: it’s broken down for you into sections, making it easy for the customer to put together a balanced meal. The only problem is that there are too many things you might want to eat, so the remedy is simple: you need to revisit, several times.
We tried the ‘Snapper broth with flesh and chilli’ accompanied by an unusually dry Alsatian Riesling, the Jean Luc Mader 2008. A plate of ‘Chook, duck and quail terrine with pickled lemon’ followed with a glass of 2008 New Zealand Gewürztraminer from Huia. The snapper broth was a fabulously rich broth with enough acidity to work well as a starter and the dried snapper skin garnish proved to be a terrific textural component. The terrine looked a million dollars and was well crafted but it was the pickled melon that stood out. A skewer of pork belly and kingfish on a bed of tarragon salsa worked well with the 2008 Pichot Vouvray Sec. It just proved to me how good pork belly can be and in my opinion the kingfish added nothing to the dish. The dish of the night was next, a ‘Steamed Murray cod with lentils & rainbow chard’; a brilliant combination of textures and contrasting tastes, colourful and appetisingly plated. The only criticism would have to be that the fish should be seasoned before it is wrapped; it lacked salt. A 2008 Beaujolais from Paul and Eric Janin complemented the deep, dark flavours in the lentils and it was certainly not a strawberry bomb. Next was Coorong Angus grass fed slices of steak, using flat iron, scotch fillet and t-bone, served with chips and horseradish cream. I adore good chips and they were terrific. The Eloquesta Shiraz Petit Verdot from Mudgee was neither a good wine nor did it work with the meat. It was interesting to try, no doubt, but for me, once will have to be enough.
For dessert we had a little plate with a ricotta and lemonade fruit cannolo, a piece of mandarin and hazelnut nougat and a chocolate coated, marzipan date. The cannolo was the best cannolo I have ever eaten (and I have had a few!). The nougat was interesting texturally and the mandarin worked well, but it was far too sweet. The date? Give me more!
The wine list is small but comprehensive and the wines have obviously been chosen carefully to reflect a ‘boutique’ feel and are chosen to work well with the food and every wine is exceedingly well priced.
Service was efficient, friendly without being effusive, and the kitchen’s timing worked well. The space looks and feels good, unless you’re a big bloke like me and sit at one of the banquettes, as there really is not enough room between the belly and the table. Feels a bit like flying in economy.
Did I like it? Absolutely
Average noise: 80 DB
What stood out? The simplicity of the food, gloriously cooked
Would I go again: err… tomorrow… and the day after
Value for money: exceptional
Point of interest: more industry people eating there than you can poke a stick at
Score: 7.5/10
For more information and bookings:
Neutral Bay Bar & Dining
132 Military Road
Neutral Bay
Tel.: 02 9953 5853