Review: Blancharu by Yomo

Shop 1
21 Elizabeth Bay Road

Elizabeth Bay, 2011

P: 02-9360 3555

Lunch Mon- Sat 12-2 pm
Dinner Mon- Sat 6- 10pm


Haru Inukai has left the building, preferring to concentrate his efforts on a ramen outlet at Sussex Centre Food Court. 
Masahiko Yomoda has taken over the reins - hence, we have Blancharu by Yomo.

Tonight we are embarking on a 5 course tasting menu and are looking forward to the Japanese/French fusion.

Review: Claude's (Bar)

10 Oxford Street, 
Woollahra 

Ph: 9331 2325

Bar: Tues to Sat 6-11pm, Sat & Sun 12-3pm
Restaurant: Wed to Sat 6.30-11pm


So how long has it been? How long have we wanted to dine at Claude's - the answer is, a very long time. 

Truth be told, I'm so ancient I could have visited when Damien and Josephine Pignolet were in their first flush of greatness. 
It has only taken 31 years, but we are finally making the visit.

Sure, much has changed in that time - we completely missed the Tim Pak Poy years and current owner and Executive Chef Chui Lee Luk has been successfully running the restaurant since 2004 - but better late than never I say!

So for our first visit we have decided on a leisurely Saturday lunch in the downstairs bar section (we shall save the upstairs fine diner for another time).

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. 

Review : Panama House

251 Bondi Road
Bondi

Ph: 93650839
Facebook

7 days 7am til late


My old stomping ground of Bondi is not an area we visit nearly as often as we should. The dining landscape has changed dramatically and it really is a suburb we need to be paying a lot more attention to.

Panama House is one of newer establishments to hit the Bondi Road strip and what a welcome addition it is.

Brought to us by the chaps behind 'shop & wine bar' and 'the corner house' - Panama House endeavours to take us on a culinary journey through Central & South America with a stopover in Mexico, on our way to good ol' Southern USA.

Review : Chiswick

65 Ocean Street

Woollahra


02 8388 8688
info@chiswickrestaurant.com.au


Lunch and Dinner
Tuesday-Sunday

Tonight finds us dining with The Hamiltons. We love dining with food loving, like minded folk, and The Hamiltons are one such couple.

The four of us have been looking forward to this dinner at Matt Moran's newbie Chiswick for a while now, and from the moment we step into Chiswick Gardens, we know we are not going to be disappointed.

The beautifully manicured lawns give way to a large, contemporary space which is already starting to fill quickly, when we arrive at 7pm

Review : The Montpellier Public House - CLOSED

141 Belmore Road 
Randwick NSW 2031



Tel: 61 2 9399 9660
e: enquiries@montpellierpublichouse.com.au

Public Bar – 7 days – Midday to Midnight

Dining Room – Tuesday to Sunday – from 6pm

I ended up losing count of the number of times we said we would book a dinner at Balzac. It seems everytime we planned to, something came up, until finally Balzac closed its doors.

Thankfully we didn't have to wait too long for Matthew Kemp to reopen the doors again, this time under the guise of The Montpellier Public House.

Having learnt our lesson, we decide a visit this time is very much in order.

The restaurant is split in two - the Public Bar & the Fine Dining Restaurant. Tonight we decide to dine downstairs in the Public Bar.

Review : Veda - CLOSED

85 Bronte Road
Bondi Junction

p: 02 9389 9950

e: veda@veda.net.au

5.30pm - late
7 nights


I look back on my time at Curlewis Street, Bondi with fondness.

Back then the ‘beautiful people’ were anyone who didn’t regularly put needle to arm.
Swimming in summer inevitably lead to an encounter with the ‘Bondi Cigar’; and in winter it became a ghost town, where the ever present junkies & grotty, old buildings just added to its abundant charm.

It was rough and scary, but thrilling at the same time.


Who can forget late nights drinking at the Bondi Tram; the blood splattered walls of the pool room at the Bondi Hotel and the freaky goings on at the legendary Astra Hotel….those were the days indeed, my friends.

There was no Icebergs, no North Bondi Italian. Fine dining was a counter lunch of meatloaf and 'deb' at the Bondi Hotel; or a dodgy pie from The Flying Pieman (rumour had it they contained cat food).


I miss the ‘old’ Bondi.


Buggles and I very rarely return to Bondi these days. We have made the trip for Icebergs, the occasional breakfast at Blue/Orange, the odd pizza & gelato at Pompei’s and the fantastic tempura vegetables & chips at Mongers.


We visit Bondi Junction even more rarely, usually just for a Gold Class session at the Event Cinemas.


So it is odd, that this Monday night, finds us standing outside Veda on Bronte Road.

Review : Ad Lib Bistro (Double Bay) - CLOSED

21 Bay Street
Double Bay

9988 0120
doublebay@adlibbistro.com

Tuesday-Sunday:
Lunch (from Midday) and Dinner (from 5pm)
Saturday/Sunday:
Breakfast from 9am

It is yet another cold, wet & windy Sydney day. We need comfort food, something warming to the body & soul. We have long wanted to dine at Dietmar Sawyere's Ad Lib Bistro and today seemed a better day than most to sample his take on bistro fare.

Ad Lib Double Bay is quite a large space with a classic 'bistro' fitout (think dark, warm woods & classic white tablecloths).

The menu is also classic bistro with entrees that include: Duck Liver parfait, Onion marmalade; Onion Soup Gratinee; Roast Portobello mushrooms, snails & parsley crumbs....all very appealing.

Review: Avido (Dinner) - CLOSED

438 Oxford St
Paddington

Lunch
Thurs - Sat
Dinner
7 days from 5:30pm til late

We had a 'taster' of the Avido experience a little while ago with a sneaky mid week lunch. We were so impressed with the food that we decided to head back to see what dinner could offer.

Review: Avido......followed by The Bentley Restaurant and Bar

438 Oxford Street
Paddington



5pm til late Mon - Tues
Midday til late Wed - Sun

Don't you love it when you have one of those lazy midweek escapes from the drudgery of work?
After an exciting evening with Heston, we decided we needed a sleep in & a day of leisurely lunching.

We decided to kick things off at Avido, somewhere we have been meaning to try for a while now.

Review : Iggy's Bread

49 Belgrave Street
Bronte

Tuesday-Sunday
8am-4pm

Review : Four in Hand Restaurant

105 Sutherland Street
Paddington 2021

lunch Tuesday to Sunday 12pm - 2.30pm

dinner Tuesday to Sunday 6.30 pm - 10pm (Sunday -9pm)

The last time we sampled the wonderful offerings from Colin Fassnidge he was still cooking at La Grande Bouffe in Rozelle and the last time we dined at the wonderfully cosy Four in Hand restaurant, Brent Savage was in the kitchen working his magic prior to opening the Bentley.
So it really was about time we caught up with Colin Fassnidge & the Four in Hand.

Review : Pink Salt

53 Cross Street
Double Bay

Lunch: Tuesday – Sunday from 12pm

Dinner: Tuesday – Sunday from 6pm


Double Bay is not a suburb viewed as a dining mecca. The recent opening of  Dietmar Sawyere's Ad Lib Bistro is somewhat of a surprise really. Perhaps he chose the Double Bay location due to lack of competition or as a way of putting Double Bay back on the map, certainly the suburb could do with the help.

A recent dining offer of $69 for a three course meal for two people (plus a bottle of wine) at Pink Salt, Double Bay seemed an offer too good to refuse, and so it was that Buggles & Squeak headed to Double Bay for a spot of lunch.

When we arrived at Double Bay around midday, we were immediately struck by the lack of activity & the 'ghost town' feel of the place. The suburb has certainly lost the glitz & glamour of its 80's heyday. It feels dated.

Review : La Scala on Jersey

Corner of Jersey Road and Melrose Lane

Woollahra NSW 2025

Opening Hours

Monday to Saturday
Dinner from 6pm until late


Buggles & Squeak have been admirers of Darren Simpson since his days at ‘Aqua Luna’. We decided a visit to La Scala on Jersey was in order.



The evening started well with parking very close to the restaurant.

On alighting the stairs we were greeted by the maitre’d & shown to our table…lovely just by the window.

Review: Bellevue Hotel Dining Room

159 Hargrave Street
Paddington  NSW

LUNCH
Tuesday - Friday: 12.00 noon – 2.30pm
Saturday and Sunday: 12.30pm - 3.00pm
Closed Monday Lunch

DINNER
Monday - Saturday: 6pm – 10pm
Closed Sunday Dinner

We all require different things from our food experiences and these will inevitably alter over the course of any given day, week or month. Squeak and I love fine dining, we love experimental cuisine, we are not averse to a bit of cheap and cheerful, but sometimes what everyone really needs is comfort, homely food.  This is the niche where The Bellevue Hotel's restaurant resides.... and they do it well!