Marron

Well, that was a surprise. Seems I should take more note of the places that I have on my list. I rocked up, and little did I know I would be at Firedoor for a good few hours working through the tasting menu.

I’m thinking about the absolutely beautiful toasted marshmallow that I finished off with, thinking about the saltiness the lamb rib, thinking about how good the tataki kangaroo was. I’m thinking about the marron with finger line. It was a very, very good meal.

Tataki kangaroo, wasabi oil, purple turnip

It’s so hard to compare places, but I will say that this experience took me by surprise. It’s so cool. The kitchen’s cool. The whole concept is very cool. Fire touched food is not a new concept but here the treatment with heat is more diversified.

There are staff all over the place, though there is still order. Dining up on the bar, watching the chefs feels like a privilege on bar stool “table 68” as it is often shouted out. It is great service helped by the fact I’m on the end of the bar, where it meets the entry to the kitchen. So even when small mistakes are made, they’re corrected quickly.

For once, the weakest dish is the first, surprisingly as I normally love any crab. Here spanner crab is treated uniquely, and while beautifully presented, it doesn’t cut it for me, but everything else does. Next I have the tataki kangaroo that I was talking about earlier, with purple turnips. It is brilliant. Kangaroo is becoming such an iconic dish in Australia, and more and more places are doing it well. In this case, doing it well includes the chef cutting it right in front of me with a very sharp knife and letting it rest for what must have been at least fifteen minutes. Added are precisely cut purple radishes after they have been subjected to severe heat. It’s the yeast dressing with wasabi oil that brings it all together so brilliantly.

Then there’s dishes like the lamb rib. I took three absolutely delicious bites. It’s so good. There’s a complicated process involved that I cannot explain, but it leads to a brilliant result. The other rib later on is wagyu. Cooked medium rare, perhaps more on the rare side, it is also beautiful, but the star on the plate is the artichoke. It is immaculate. Fire on vegetables is something that should be used early to get children on side, as it brings out so much flavour.

The marron is huge. Finger lime marries well, adding some texture, and it’s all delicious together. The chef sitting on the bar to the left of me manages to scoop out all of the residual marron meat. My effort is embarrassing, but at least I was able to access the claw. On the seafood spectrum, there is also the intricate calamari, cut very thinly in a rich pork broth, with a quail egg cooked in the middle. The dish is unusual. You mix it around once you’ve taken in the presentation, and the combination is fantastic.

Dessert comes as two. It starts with a refresher, which is a tradition I’ve always enjoyed. The mandarine granita is tasty to start, with a leaf of Mexican marigold, which really adds a new element with delicious custard at the base. Finally, the main dessert is the beer ice cream. It’s a Cooper’s stout ice cream, covered in cream, with Federation Chocolate from Tasmania on top. An enjoyable ending to a tremendous meal.

Finishing off with a toasted marshmallow

The wine list is interesting, diverse, and very reasonably priced. One tip I have for any fine dining wine list is to trust the wines by the glass. There is no way the sommelier is choosing any wines that will be uncomfortable, or create doubt about the next selection. When you trust the list, you can choose the more unusual wines, or at least ask about them to decide whether you will take a step outside of your comfort zone.

In this spirt, I tried the Quinta do Ermizio, Electrico, which is a combination of Loureiro and Arinto from Portugal. It is very reasonably priced, a great light introduction into the evening, with crispness and acidity. More serious in my opinion, comes the Bicknell Applecross Chardonnay from the Yarra Valley. I order it a little early and save half of the glass for the marron. Both reds I try are from further afield like the Portuguese wine. The first is a Nebbiolo by Menotti Rosavica, and the other is a Cabernet Franc by Les Athletes du Vin from the Loire Valley. Sometimes I like to stick to recommendations on what matches with certain dishes. In the case of the Nebbiolo, I just simply felt like a well chosen Italian wine from the wine team at Firedoor.

Perhaps this experience isn’t for everyone. There is some expense in having only a tasting menu, and a lot of rich dishes through the courses. For someone who loves diverse ingredients, treated to a lot of heat and fire, the expense is worth it. People dining here are as into the concept as the kitchen and floor staff. You can feel the excitement. When a chef douses marron with what looks like molten lava it is hard not to stand and applaud.

Firedoor
https://firedoor.com.au
23-33 Mary Street, Surry Hills, NSW
Lunch Fri & Sat; Dinner Wed-Sat
02 8204 0800
info@firedoor.com.au

Our third time in the hallowed dining room of Attica feels more comfortable. We know certain aspects will take care of themselves. The heights of attentive service are assured, and we have already long since paid for the food, which is required upon booking.

Whilst comfortable, there is certainly no feeling of “been there; done that” whatsoever. Part of the script is to continue to evolve and change, and the native Australian ingredients are probably no more prevalent in everyday dining than they were the last time we dined here in 2016. There is always intrigue in the dishes to come.

As I write, I realise that already more than three weeks has passed since our experience, and yet much of it is more vivid than normal dining, because it is so unique. Four hours passes effortlessly, with the only confrontation the occasional ingredient which especially puts Catherine on the back foot.

An example is the parfait, which in this case lives up to its French meaning. You don’t need to look far to find someone who is a bit hesitant to eat liver. So what’s the consensus on Emu liver? Utterly exceptional and my favourite dish of the evening!

The wine is delightful throughout the evening, but the kitchen remains easily the star of the show, and there is some theatre here. Later in the evening, the now usual foray into the back courtyard reveals a camp setting this time around, with the most delicious Basque cheesecake our first dessert. Cooked over the fire, it is still semi-molten, and lives in my memory so vividly I can almost taste it.

Crocodile ribs appeal in a manner hard to imagine. The look, texture, and taste, with the barbeque used to compelling effect, is just really cool. It’s a dish served early on, but I’m not pacing myself tonight, and every piece of flesh is valuable. The wattle dahl is just the same. I’m not leaving a trace.

The final savoury course is another winner, but it is difficult to pick my favourites after the parfait. Here we have a skewer of delicately treated kangaroo, served with frites, béarnaise (Aussie style with local thyme), and a rich pepper sauce too. There’s a spray bottle of vinegar for the frites for obvious reasons. It is so very good. My wish is that in some later stage of life we go to the local pub for kangaroo almost this good, instead of cow.

From interesting, difficult to ordinarily obtain Rose Champagne by Pierre Paillard, to 2013 Lethbridge ‘Allegra’ Chardonnay, to 2021 Jasper Hill Shiraz, there is exceptional wine by the glass to suit any palate, and it is possible to have glasses for less than $20 if you like, or even to try some half glasses. The sommerlier does a superb job, and assisted us several times. Showing an interest always helps.

Attica is expensive. It is a tribute to the restaurant that we’ve been three times and couldn’t imagine not continuing to go back. It is not comfort food, and does not remind us of travel and holidays. It does however make me somehow feel more connected with Australia. How beautiful that a New Zealander writes a menu, and his team execute it impeccably, and it takes you to a place you already live in.