Review : Pickwick's.... for dinner - CLOSED

129 Enmore Rd
Enmore

9557 2607
pickwicksbistro@gmail.com

Tue 8am-4pm
Wed-Sat 8am-11pm
Sun 8am-5pm

Our plan for the weekend was simple. Catch a movie on Saturday, potter about the house a bit in between, then lunch at the Four in Hand on Sunday. A spanner was thrown into the works when I spotted this comment on Pickwick's facebook page "All-day red wine braised beef cheeks / heirloom carrots / caramelized eschallots / garlic confit mashed potatoes". I am obsessed with beef cheeks, and as we had been meaning to revisit Pickwick's for dinner (after really enjoying their brunch), I convinced Buggles to forgo lunch at the Four in Hand in favour of dinner at Pickwick's.

When we arrive the restaurant is all but empty & we are sat in a dark corner under the stairs. We have forgotten that the restaurant is BYO, so I dash up the road & pick up, what turns out to be, a not so great Cooks Lot Pinot Gris (I really have to stop picking wine just because I like the look of the label).

We start off with some Luxe Sourdough which is served warm & is quite delicious.

Buggles' entree of Ocean Trout Rillette (white wine-poached ocean trout, cured ocean trout, remoulade, caviar, chives and crostini) is a rather bland affair. It seems to be devoid of any flavour or seasoning. So while you wouldn't say it was inedible, you do have to wonder...what is the point?

I do much better with my Roasted Quail (pomegranate and rosewater glaze, macerated beetroot, fennel and walnuts). The skin is wonderfully crispy, while the meat very moist & tender. The slightly acidic pomegranate & aniseedy fennel work very well together & complement the quail beautifully. A very good dish.



This photo makes steak look much more appealing than it did in the 'flesh'

Buggles follows her trout with the Sirloin (Bindaree 100 day grain finished Angus with butter beans, potatoes gratin, king oyster mushroms and a port-red wine jus). The old adage 'you eat with your eyes first', was never truer than in this instance. The very pale grey slab of meat that Buggles is presented with is incredibly unappealing on sight. I guess the menu doesn't state how it is cooked, but it does look like it has been boiled first, then waved over a grill. On cutting it, the interior is also a grey/red colour. There is also quite a bad aftertaste to it. Surely a somewhat accomplished chef is capable of searing a steak & serving it medium rare? The 12 year old cooks at our local pub seem to manage just fine.
This is without doubt the worst tasting & most poorly presented steak that either of us has ever encountered.
The accompanying gratin is dull & flavourless, the same can be said for the limp butter beans & the port wine jus is all but non existent.

I fair marginally better with the Beef Cheeks. For an all day braise the connective tissue is still pretty well connected. This is the first time I have had beef cheeks where I have had to use a knife & fork to separate the meat, usually a fork is all that is needed. The meat isn't tough, but it isn't unctuous and melt in the mouth. Also, unusually, it isn't served with very much of the braising liquid, so it is a little dry as well. The best thing about this dish is the mashed potato, which is creamy & garlicy.


Our main meals have banished all thought of dessert, so we ask for the bill.


Having enjoyed brunch at Pickwick's very much, we are quite stunned at how truly awful dinner was.


While we do think we will return for their brunch, I don't know what it would take for us to return for dinner.

Utterly disappointing.


Squeak