The Woollahra Hotel shakes things up
Since the 1930s the Woollahra Hotel has been a bastion of tradition, but it’s come out of lockdown looking to make a statement with a new Asian-inspired menu. Upstairs, classic chicken schnitzels and burgers have been swapped out for master-stock pork belly, steamed snapper and raw tuna salad. Downstairs, Bistro Moncur continues its 27-year tenure serving French classics such as duck cassoulet with confit duck leg and Toulouse sausage, and grilled sirloin with Café de Paris sauce. General Manager Simon Barbato sees upstairs as a space for experimentation, but if you’re after a simple rump steak or a chicken burger, you can still get it – it’ll just come with chilli mayo and pickled daikon on top or an Asian-style slaw on the side.
Vanto keeps it up
Vanto has been pumping out topnotch pizzas in the QVB since 2008, and, post-lockdown, its signature pizza dough is as excellent as ever. Napoli-born co-owner Luigi Peluso says there are two secrets to his perfect dough: the first is a 72-hour maturation process, which develops flavour and lightness, and the second is getting the oven temperature just right. Because pizza dough is sensitive to humidity and ambient temperature, the heat needs to be adjusted from day to day. After 25 years making pizza, Peluso can determine the right oven temperature just by touching the dough – but to make sure, he does a test margherita every morning. Vanto’s menu has a range of pies (from the classic marg to one topped with Italian sausage, smoked fior di latte and truffle-oil); panozzo (woodfired folded sandwiches made with pizza dough); house-made pastas; and antipasti.
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There’s a tradition in Sam Ayyash’s native Jordan: if a guest arrives at your home, you must feed them for three days without asking them why they’re there. (On the third day, the host can ask.) Hospitality is central to Middle Eastern cultures, and it’s evident at Ayyash’s new eatery, Hello Habibi in Wetherill Park. The charcoal grill is the star of the kitchen, which churns out a range of Levantine dishes, from shawarma to kofta to whole chickens. The bread is made daily in-house, as is the well-balanced hummus and garlicky toum. Coffee is heated on sand in a rakwe (a spouted copper pot with a long handle), and there’s even an in-house Hello Habibi beer, a pale ale brewed in the Blue Mountains.
Unlimited wine in an inner-city cellar
Chef-owner Gary Prebble’s menu at Bistro St Jacques takes a modern approach to classic French bistro food. The traditionally heavy cassoulet is reimagined with confit duck leg on haricot beans, braised in stock with sausage and topped with fennel breadcrumbs, and chicken in creamy Dijon mustard sauce is brightened with roasted swede and leek puree. But for the new private-dining set menu ($85, bookings of 10 only), hosted in the cosy street-level wine cellar, Prebble decided to go classic with duck-liver parfait to start and steak frites as the main. The simplicity of the dishes allows the local, organic ingredients to shine. Plus, included in the package is 90 minutes of unlimited French rosé.
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