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Graeme Phillips - 'Savour' The Mercury
continued..
The surprises on the current winter menu are the chocolate sauce accompanying
blue eye – the chocolate added like butter to bind and gloss the
savoury sauce, and a terrine composed of layered duck confit, duck and
walnut mousse and duck foie gras. Both work wonderfully well.
And then there are the little complimentary in-betweens – a house-salted-and-dried
blue-eye brandade with your bread roll; a small soup for those ordering
entrees; a palate cleanser of porcini popcorn, olives and chilli grissini;
and a refreshing, palate-cleansing, after-mains lime and lime zest jelly.
Everything from the bread rolls to the quince paste accompanying the excellent
cheese selection, is made in-house.
Cheeses are served at the right temperature, an array of interesting vegetable
accompaniments get the attention they deserve and in dishes as simply
composed as these are non of the distracting garnishes so often used elsewhere
to unnecessarily add colour or hide mistakes and dud ingredients.
Entrees straddle $15, mains and desserts are about $27 and $11 respectively,
and the thoughtfully selected wine list is kindly priced.
Restaurant 373 has only been opened a little over two months and, as good
as it already is, I have a feeling it will only get better and will quickly
take its place among the city’s very top dining experiences.
Let’s hope so – we need it.
