Reuben Hills, Sydney: soft-baked eggs with jamón, ranchero sauce, and Taste rye; Dogg’s (left) , wine and the hot gourmet destinations.

✈ 140 restaurants / the Best for breakfast & lunch ✈ 148 food / sydney’s top regional chinese ✈ 151 wine / WA Cabernet

QUEENSLAND The Gunshop Cafe NEW SOUTH WALES The Chelsea Bistro 53 Mollison Street, West End. Reuben Hills The Barracks, 61 Petrie Terrace. (07) 3844 2241. 61 Albion Street, Surry Hills. (07) 3367 1288. www.thegunshopcafe.com (02) 9211 5556. reubenhills.com.au www.thechelsea.com.au There’s a reason people line up around Say hello to the Dogg’s breakfast: Nobody gets enough these days. the corner to get in here. The Gunshop a Monaco bar for 2012, an ice-cream Not handmade , at any rate. The has been one of Brisbane’s best morning perfect for breakfast dessert. Chelsea is unusual in that it still practises options for so long that nobody can really It’s just one highlight on a menu of fun, the noble and ancient art of turning flour remember a time before its fetta sometimes irreverent and frequently Latin and yeast into a savoury griddle cake, hash cakes or vodka-cured ocean trout American-influenced eats at Surry Hills’ spotted with yawning holes perfectly sized rescued hungry morning folks from limp, hottest new cafe. The Latin American and spaced to drink up thick, melting fatty and pale, overcooked eggs. angle – borne out by the presence of eggs knobs of honeycomb . One of the As the day gets on, be prepared to wait for with queso fresco and black beans, pioneers of reimagining breakfast and a table – worth it for old faves such as the Colombian-style empanadas and ocean pleased as brunch in the city, the Chelsea plays to the soft Swiss brown with herbed trout ceviche – ties into Reuben Hills’ traditionalists with perfectly poached eggs ricotta and heirloom cherry tomatoes on raison d’être: coffee. The beans are sourced jiggling up against slabs of smoky bacon sourdough, or the Toulouse direct and roasted on the upper floor, and golden potato , while with sweet potato mash. Every now and making for java with real juice. Don’t fancy riffing on the classics such as scrambled then, a new champion emerges – this caffeine? Go a couple of rounds with the eggs on chilli corn with spicy cumin year’s Bundaberg figs with berry compote, caramel milkshake. It’s a KO in a cup. sauce and a lively, sizzling, grilled . vanilla mascarpone and hazelnut granola; Open: breakfast & lunch daily. The coffee is never anything but superb, or and poached duck egg Breakfast/lunch $7-$16. and if any of the specials seem to feature on crumpet. But most regulars will return brunch an overabundance of chocolate sauce, to the warm, welcoming cave of bare brick Al Aseel Rise and shine, but swap the and for our damn the diet and just plough right in. and polished wooden floors for the same 189 Missenden Road, Newtown. definitive nationwide guide to the best of breakfast and lunch. The kitchen has sent out some amazingly dish they’ve been having for years. (02) 9550 3194. alaseel.com.au decadent numbers over the years. Open: breakfast daily, Al Aseel is a name familiar to Sydney’s Open: breakfast & lunch daily, dinner lunch Mon-Sat, dinner Tue-Sat. serious Lebanese food fanciers, uttered

photography: katie kaars Tue-Sat. Breakfast $6-$19, lunch $12-$37. Breakfast $8-$20, lunch $22-$32. with enthusiasm in the same breath as  reviews by ✜ JOHN BIRMINGHAM (QLD) ✜ PAT NOURSE (NSW) ✜ GARETH MEYER (ACT) ✜ MICHAEL HARDEN (VIC) ✜ SUE DYSON & ROGER McSHANE (TAS) ✜ PETER FORRESTAL (WA) ✜ NIGEL HOPKINS (SA) ✜ SAM McCUE (NT) august 2012 QANTAS 141 Sardinian with , , saffron and

such institutions as El Jannah (“the chicken!”) and Jasmin’s (“those felafels!”). The big news is that the chainlet’s latest branch now does breakfast on weekends. The warmth of the welcome is comple- mented neatly by the quality of the eats: fatteh, and fried Lebanese bread mixed with yoghurt, toasted pine nuts and melted butter comes with or without fried lamb mince; while with Lebanese sausage can only be improved with a side of felafels and/or a good dollop of baba ganoush. Open: dinner daily, breakfast & lunch new south wales Popolo Sat-Sun. Breakfast $16-$26, lunch $10-$15. 50 McLachlan Avenue, Rushcutters Bay. (02) 9361 6641. popolo.com.au AUSTRALIAN Quail: split, salted, skewered , grilled and plated with bitter chicory and a wedge of CAPITAL TERRITORY lemon. A giant golden raviolo with a liquid and buffalo ricotta filling. Gnochetti Silo Bakery pasta tossed with saffron, sausage, tomato and pungent pecorino cheese. The part- 36 Giles Street, Kingston. ners behind this sunny newcomer hail from Campania, Sardinia and Basilicata. Their (02) 6260 6060. silobakery.com.au view of southern/island is at once crisply modern and deeply rustic – and utterly On weekends, Silo can seem as frenzied seductive. The level of care – from the wonderful wine list, to the excellent pizze, to the as the local emergency ward. Fortunately, hospitable service – conspires to produce the kind of lunching weekends are made for. co-owner Graham Hudson is on triage, Open: dinner daily, breakfast & lunch Fri-Sun. Breakfast $6-$15, lunch $16-$30. managing the no-bookings breakfast policy. Amid the chaos, there’s plenty of structure in a menu that ranges from fine specials board. Interesting egg options orange and olive cake with maple bacon pastries through to the no-holds-barred abound, including Spanish with and burnt orange custard, or pop tarts “black” breakfast – earthy black pudding chorizo, or a lighter Asian version made with cream. Weekend that oozes out onto dense , with eggwhites only. The menu is flexible breakfast runs all day alongside a lunch balanced by some sweet pickled and lunch options kick in around 11.30am. menu that goes from wagyu burger to and well-composed greenery. Welsh Open: breakfast & lunch Tue-Sat. Middle Eastern-inspired . rarebit with , sausage and cavolo Breakfast $8-$17, lunch $12-$27. Open: breakfast & lunch Tue-Sun, dinner nero is another popular stayer. And there’s Wed-Sat. Breakfast $9-$18, lunch $12-$25. always a sweet closer, such as crepes and VICTORIA poached quince, or apple pudding. & Soul Pope Joan Open: breakfast & lunch Tue-Sat. 162 Queens Parade, Fitzroy North. 77-79 Nicholson Street, East Breakfast $3-$22, lunch $8-$24. (03) 9486 2740. Brunswick. (03) 9388 8858. www.marmaladeandsoul.com www.popejoan.com.au Beess & Co Ray Capaldi may be best known There’s a lovely sense of light and space at 5/29 Bentham Street, Yarralumla. for the experimental and the molecular, Pope Joan, both in the double-shopfront (02) 6285 0116. but at Marmalade & Soul he tones down dining room with its expansive windows A couple of ex-Silo employees broke ranks the theatrics in favour of a more homely and in the timber-decked outdoor space a few years back to provide some solid approach. It starts with the room, former that opens onto the cafe’s vegie garden. competition a few klicks from the GG’s public bar of a decommissioned pub, that Co-owner Matt Wilkinson loves the residence in Yarralumla. There are few features country kitchen touches – light garden, but he’s a chef first and so never better outdoor breakfast options in the fittings made from dangling wooden sacrifices flavour on the altar of locavore ACT than beneath the sprawling plane spoons, produce in baskets – that stick self-sufficiency. The usual breakfast trees that line the courtyard entrance. to the right side of cute. The menu is ingredient suspects are all here, but in Inside it’s cosy, the service is friendly a something-for-everybody affair with more creative forms than the usual fry-up. and options are numerous and varied. straightforward dishes of the eggs and Eggs might come with black pudding, A decadent brioche with caramelised bacon kind sharing space with more scallops and hazelnuts, or with smoked

photography: katie kaars pears and mascarpone never departs the out-there concoctions such as caramelised , and parsnip . 

august 2012 QANTAS 143 Fish and prawn pie

new south wales Chiswick 65 Ocean Street, Woollahra. (02) 8388 8688. chiswickrestaurant.com.au Did somebody say buttermilk fried chicken? Actually, just about everyone did, but it can be hard to hear them over the rockin’ good-time, all-vinyl soundtrack. Chiswick is Pruniers reborn, but the Woollahra landmark is also now the casual offshoot of Matt Moran and Peter Sullivan’s Aria restaurants, so it’s out with the silver service and in with the finger-lickin’ fun. Score a table by the windows and make an afternoon of it with big sharing dishes: fish pie rich with prawns, or fall-apart tender lamb from Moran’s own family pastures. Find yourself at the bar, by the open kitchen, and it’s all about sliders, three-bite burgers with a vitello tonnato-inspired sauce. A truly brilliant wine list, extend- ing to clever picks on the , sake and spirit fronts seals the deal, regardless. Open: lunch & dinner Tue-Sun. Lunch $18-$65.

And Pope Joan also serves a mean Bloody Melbourne’s most fashionable exercise customers choosing from a selection Mary which, when teamed with one of the circuit in the Royal Botanic Gardens, is of small plates that include cheddar and hangover-busting , can really a great place to enjoy the contrast. Street- pickled , terrine, or help to put the weekend back on track. side tables are primo on sunny days, but eye fillet carpaccio with sherry jelly and Open: breakfast & lunch daily. the recently refreshed interior rooms pecorino. Alternatively, it’s possible to Breakfast/lunch $6-$19. – all white-on-white, Nordic-channelling share large dishes such as whole roast minimalism with Shaker-inspired chairs chicken with gremolata and polenta. South of Johnston and bare timber tables – are an excellent, While the courtyard is perfect on a 46 Oxford Street, Collingwood. light-filled second choice. Part of the sunny morning, at this time of year, (03) 9417 2741. menu pays tribute to the exercisers with a cosy inside table is warranted. www.southofjohnston.com.au a leaning towards cold-pressed juices, Open: breakfast & lunch Tue-Sun, dinner A newcomer to Collingwood’s backstreets, bircher muesli and the like, but there are Tue-Sat. Breakfast $7-$16, lunch $5-$47. “SoJo” combines a sense of style with the also good versions of , a big ability to do simple things well. The former breakfast with all the sausage and hash WESTERN warehouse has had a casually elegant brown trimmings and, as brunch morphs Sayers going-over that combines original features into lunch, heftier fare such as burgers and 224 Carr Place, Leederville. with limed timber floors, a lounge area chicken parfait. And there is Champagne, (08) 9227 0429. clustered around an open fire and two to toast the joggers puffing past. www.sayersfood.com.au outdoor areas. The menu reads like a Open: breakfast, lunch & dinner Tue-Sun. Mark and Stephanie Sayers’ vibrant coffee cafe greatest-hits, combining breakfast Breakfast $5-$16, two-course lunch $38. house zings from dawn until dusk on dishes – corn with and weekends. The rich, dark coffee – their bacon, stuffed croissant, TASMANIA own Five Senses blend – is consistently served with gingerbread ice-cream – with Ethos transformed into some of the best cups in a (including an excellent 100 Elizabeth Street, Hobart. town by clever baristas. The other key to ) and larger dishes such (03) 6223 3933. ethoseatdrink.com Sayers’ success is the originality of the as a Caesar-esque salad and house-made Less than a block from Hobart’s Sunday breakfast menu – a personal favourite is gnocchi. Best of all, there’s plenty of room Farm Gate market, Ethos is a good address the tagine of spicy and cumin to out with the weekend papers, to have tucked away for a post-market beans, baba ganoush, poached egg and friends and/or thoughts. brunch. Early in the morning the options sourdough. There’s also potato rosti, Open: breakfast & lunch daily. are – no surprises here – breakfast-like, but poached eggs, bacon, onion jam and Breakfast/lunch $6-$19. more interesting than most cafe menus. lemon-scented wilted spinach, and Chinese omelette, porridge with quinces, charred sweet corn and pecorino cheese The Millswyn roast walnuts and malted milk, or vanilla- croquette, poached eggs, beetroot leaf and 131-133 Domain Road, South Yarra. flavoured polenta with roast pear are bearnaise. Vegetarians are kept happy (03) 9866 5627. typical. Even some of the egg options, with ripe, fresh tomato guacamole and www.themillswyn.com.au such as slow-cooked eggs with black Danish feta, poached egg and rocket Watching other people exercise while pudding, are beyond basic. Later, as the served with toasted lupin sourdough. having brunch is immensely satisfying morning merges into lunch, Ethos’ flexible Open: breakfast & lunch daily. Breakfast

and The Millswyn, with its views of menu lends itself to languid grazing, with $6-$22, lunch $16-$29.  williamphotography: meppem/acpsyndication.com

144 QANTAS august 2012 restaurants taste

Voyage Jolleys Boathouse 128 West Coast Drive, Sorrento. 1 Jolleys Lane, Adelaide. (08) 9447 2443. (08) 8223 2891. www.voyagekitchen.com.au www.jolleysboathouse.com Recent extensions have dramatically The blissful bucolic charm beside improved this popular seaside cafe. the River Torrens is interrupted only There’s an abundance of natural light, by the distant exertions of joggers, a comfortable newness to the place and shielded from diners by floor-to-ceiling the menu is more diverse than most. windows. Jolleys’ interior has been A large pea and potato croquette considerably refreshed, but chef Tony is served with poached eggs and a Carroll’s menu requires no such reno- lively harissa-roasted pepper sauce; vation and remains one of the best in roasted field mushrooms are cooked town. Lunch can start with a plate of in a splash of sherry, with taleggio, freshly shucked Angasi oysters, before candied walnuts and toasted sour- moving on to caramelised pork belly dough; and a salmon and leek omelette with spanner crab, and comes with lemon ricotta, a zucchini coconut salad. Among the mains, the herb , rocket and toast. -smoked duck with Chinese spinach More usual offerings include excellent never leaves the menu, although the buttermilk pancakes with berries, Moroccan-style slow-braised lamb mascarpone and maple syrup; and shoulder (for two) is a close contender free-range eggs on ciabatta toast for top billing. with a range of extras. Open: lunch Sun-Fri, dinner Mon-Sat. Open: breakfast & lunch Mon-Sun, Lunch $28-$65. dinner Thu-Sun. Breakfast $6-$20, lunch $14-$30. NORTHERN TERRITORY SOUTH AUSTRALIA Saffrron Urban Bistro Shop 14, 34 Parap Road, Parap. 160 Fullarton Road, Rose Park. (08) 8981 2383. www.saffrron.com (08) 8331 2400. urbanbistro.com.au For a brunch that goes beyond the egg, Urban is the sort of place where the Saffrron has it covered with a special best breakfast in town segues gently Sunday menu. South Indian specialties into brunch, both of which can be such as dosa (filled crispy rice pan- enjoyed inside, behind big windows cakes), medu (savoury ) and overlooking Adelaide’s eastern park- idli (steamed rice cakes) complement lands, or on the expansive deck. The standard dishes such as pumpkin kara committed local clientele might order kari, barramundi mooli, okra in masala crisp ricotta pancakes with blueberry sauce and snake beans with chillies, compote, or the stir-fried blue swimmer lentils, onion, and coconut. crab omelette – they may even splash Open: brunch Sun, lunch Tue-Fri, out on a half-bottle of Krug to go with dinner Tue-Sun. Set menus $20-$40. c the lobster thermidor omelette. Lunch might be sesame-crusted tuna with soba noodles, or roasted pork loin with a parsnip fritter and apple and parsnip puree. The generous side dishes – such as the roast pumpkin with chorizo, chilli and coriander – are almost brunch-style meals in themselves. To find out which restaurants Open: breakfast (until 11.30am) you can earn points at, visit & lunch Tue-Sun, dinner Tue-Sat. qantas.com/restaurants Breakfast $17-$25, lunch $30-$40.