Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Review : the corner house

281 Bondi Rd
Bondi

02 80206698
info@thecornerhouse.com.au
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Tues-Sat 5pm - midnight
Sun 5pm - 10pm

After our fabulous lunch at Panama House, it just stood to reason that we needed to visit its (big) sister restaurant - the corner house.
So thanks (again) to Nat from Folke & boys from the corner house - we are heading out this Wednesday evening to do just that.

The corner house is situated just down the road from Panama House, in a space formerly occupied by Castile Pizza.

We are seated in the front section of the restaurant overlooking Bondi Rd, we snuggle into our corner bench, enveloped by the warmth of the room.

Now, prior to our visit we had read Simon Thomsen's review, with all it's talk of hip, young things & music loud enough to rival a rock concert - well not tonight.
Tonight, it is blissfully quiet & relaxing - sure there is the odd 'hip, young thing', but there are also families enjoying a night out. Tonight it has the feel of an up market 'local' - somewhere for family & friends to come together and enjoy great food and wine. 


The blackboard menu lists about 6 pizzas, they all sound incredible but we decide on the 'Gonzo' - Sauteed Swiss browns, button mushrooms, fontina cheese, torn oyster mushrooms, roasted garlic & thyme dressing.





While we await our pizza we tuck into some bread drizzled with olive oil & enjoy a glass of wine each - a Malbec for Buggles and a Pinot Gris for me.




Our pizza arrives and scissors in hand we set about cutting this baby up!
We love this pizza, the base is thin, light & crispy - the perfect vehicle for the generous smattering of earthy, plump mushrooms. The garlic flavour is pronounced, but it also has a slight sweetness to it. I adore fontina cheese, so the oozing mass of it on this pizza goes down a treat - its flavour perfectly complementing the mushrooms. This is what pizza is all about. 






Having a look over the rest of the Italian inspired menu and Buggles decides on, Caramelised onion & potato gnocchi, beef cheek and beetroot ragu with fresh horseradish cream, for her main.
This is a very rich and hearty dish - the beef cheek is abundant & its richness is somewhat tempered by the slight sweetness of the beetroot. The gnocchi are light & fluffy, without a trace of stodge  - the horseradish cream adds that slight bit of heat.  A great dish on this coldish night.


I decide on Rib Eye served medium rare (of course) with glazed eschallot & cafe de paris butter.
The menu doesn't say if this is a grass fed steak - it has the great flavour that seems to come from grass fed beef, but it is also very tender. The glazed eschallot is lovely and sweet, while the cafe de Paris butter is perhaps not as spicy as some others I have tried.


We accompany our mains with a really fresh & delicious Shredded iceberg, Radicchio & tomato salad.





Full to the brim, we can but share a dessert of Crema Catalana. The caramel top is perfectly scorched and once cracked reveals the gorgeous, citrusy custard - it is rich, creamy and indulgent - perfect.

We are as equally impressed with the corner house as we are with Panama House - these guys really know their stuff. The spectacular food at the corner house is matched by the down to earth & incredibly knowledgeable service.

Dining here is an absolute pleasure.

Squeak
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* We would love to hear if your experience dining at the corner house matched ours



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