April 2006 - Sydney Table

Sydney Table

Over 3000 readers every month

Get paid to write for Sydneytable.com

E-mail Subscription

Receive an e-mail notification of new posts on this site:

Vimu Subscription

Sydney Table - April 2006

The Paddington Inn

April 29th 2006 04:12

The Paddington Inn bistro is in the back of the pub-cum-bar (I couldn't find any pokies!) in an old style building on Oxford Street. We're here because of a discount in the Entertainment Book and a recommendation in the Good Food Guide for cheap-ish bistro-style food.

The Paddington Inn has a definite bar/club feel; the stylish setup, modern and slick says "it's worth lining up for half an hour and paying the $20 door fee to get it". Luckily this isn't a club so there's no line, and no door fee. There's also no hardcore house or trance music (also a good thing), instead more relaxed chill out music, which can make it hard to talk at times.

The bar and bistro are full of 'the beautiful people'; this isn't a place for the trackies, wife beater and thongs look; unfortunate for some. You need to order at the bistro's bar, and find your own table.
But it's worth it, for food at this price; mains (which are easily enough for a meal) are $16-$20. The menu, like a good bistro menu, is based largely on protein; with much more effort to create more elaborate dishes then just slapping a steak on the grill.

Talking of steak...

The grilled scotch fillet with mushrooms and garlic butter has deep meaty flavours, but I must admit when they said mushrooms I did expect more then one; albeit a very large one. Instead there was one grilled giant mushroom nearly covering the steak, with the knob of butter on top; and a nice watercress and onion salad on the side. The meat was perfectly cooked and tender, the flavours from the mushroom and sauce right on the ball.

We had sausages with crushed potatoes, onion and pea gravy that were indeed "pure beef". Of a quality not usually seen, they were either home made, or made with an unusual amount of care. The potatoes onions and peas worked well as they always do with beef, but it was the finesse of the sausages that made this special.

Now I must say I am really not a fan of al dente risotto. Pasta ok, I can understand that although I'm definitely not fussed, but al dente risotto for me is a big no-no. There are no points for undercooking rice, to the point where the inside of the grain is still resistive. Rice, and risotto especially, is meant to be creamy, soft and starchy; not lots of little semi cooked grains that haven’t had the chance to meld together.
But I never hold this against anyone because I'm in the minority; it's accepted that risotto and pasta should be al dente, and I would not expect them to do any less in attempting to please the majority of people. It may even be just me.
Having said that, the mushroom and asparagus risotto with truffle oil and parmesan is wonderfully flavoured; too al dente for me, but I've explained that. The asparagus is grilled to tender, the mushrooms blend nicely, and the truffle oil ties it all together.

The pan roasted kingfish with cauliflower, capsicum, rosemary and pecorino was another hit; nicely grilled vegetables and the moist fish was brought together by the rosemary and salty pecorino, showing how simple good flavours can be. Side dishes of chips with garlic aioli and steamed broccoli with pine nuts were right on the money, the aioli thick and rich and the chips perfectly crisp on the outside and soft inside. The broccoli was broccoli; got to have some vegies.

The Paddington Inn is a fantastic bistro; a real effort is made with the food and for this sort of price it's food you can afford to eat whenever you want. In a bar style setting it's a great place to socialise, bring a date, or hand out with friends before kicking on down Oxford Street into the city.

First photo from The Paddington Inn