When the local restaurant's chef boasts credentials such as Tetsuyas, Forbes and Burton, it is embarrassing to admit its taken me about 2 years to actually get there to eat. I think its a bit like travelling overseas. So often we go further afield when a little piece of heaven is right on our door step.
Bronte Road Bistro is our little piece of heaven.
We sat in the airy annex over looking the courtyard with the yellow and white stripey awning in sight. For me, there is something really appealing about looking at a yellow and white stripey awning. It is memories of The Ivy? Surely not. Maybe its a flashback to the Gold Coast in the 80's which to me, conjures feelings of summer, possibilities, fun and old age.
Back to the restaurant.
As soon as we sat down Miss 9 decided to have a tantrum about something inconsequential and Stu Parsons, the co-owner, handled it with style and grace. Stu got some well-deserved points before we ordered.
Although light on kid-friendly options, we managed to choose some fish & chips for one child and deep fried prawns with lime aioli for the second. We started with the charcuterie plate ($27) which offered a selection of wagyu bresaola, salami, jamon de trevelez, cornichons and chicken liver parfait, served with Iggy's bread. The parfait, I might add, was particularly par-fait, spread liberally on the Iggy's bread, especially with a wee bit o' cornichon..... The parfait was light and airy and delicious, full of livery goodness.
That was enough of a starter for me, but hubby, the one of the hollow legs, ordered half a dozen Sydney rock oysters ($3 each) which he assures me were amazing.
The kids meals were also very good. Miss 9 thankfully assured us that the fish and chips ($15) was better than the standard beach side fish & chips. Phew.
Our mains then arrived. I ordered an entree sized seared scallops with peas & spring onions ($18). The scallops were incredibly tender and moist and were lovely with the pureed peas. This sort of dish reminds me of spring.
Hubby ordered the mulloway with crispy polenta, swiss chard and agrodolce sauce ($31). We forgot to even ask what the sauce was, but being adept at google searches, I later discovered (thanks to Wikipedia) that agrodolce sauce is is a traditional sweet and sour sauce in Italian. Its name comes from "agro" (sour) and "dolce" (sweet). So basically its a fancy-schmancy way of saying "fish with sweet & sour sauce". Hubby said it tasted very fancy-schmancy too.
Apologies for the embarrassingly bad photography. I really must take my digital camera out with me more often. Shocker!
Our side had me swooning in green veggie heaven. The 3 pea salad, marjoram & fetta salad ($10) was a crispy, crunchy delight and even though I was thoroughly peed with my scallops I wanted to pea some more.
To go with the meal we ordered a 2009 Shaky Bridge "Pioneer" pinot gris from New Zealand ($45). I loved it. Not too fruity and very drinkable indeed, perfect with our seafood.
As we'd taken so long to visit Bronte Road Bistro we thought it would be rude not to sample a dessert and since I am a big fan of a lemon tart with vanilla icecream ($12), we ordered that with 2 spoons. Except we tucked in so quickly that I forgot to take a photo of it when it hit the table. Oh well. The spoon action shot will give you an indication of what it was like ;-)
And the verdict? Bronte Road Bistro is an excellent local bistro/restaurant. The prices are a little steeper than other local restaurants, but I think the food is better and you really can't beat that beautiful courtyard for al fresco dining. So good we've been back already and other family members have also made a return visit. Approval dutifully stamped!
282 Bronte Rd
Charing Cross
Ph. 9389 3028
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