Dear Sainte Éloise, Wine + Kitchen, Potts Point (2 June 2017)

5/29 Orwell Street, Potts Point NSW 2011
http://www.dearsainteeloise.com
https://www.instagram.com/dearsainteeloise/

New wine bar in Potts Point

Waterman's Lobster Co is out and the team from Love Tilly Devine have now opened a cosy little wine bar called Dear Sainte Eloise. Sydney Rock Oysters from Wapengo Lake ($4) come with an interesting fermented horseradish which works well in moderation. Oysters are shucked to order with noticeable brine. Would have loved a slice of lemon as well to mix things up on the palate. The lovely sommelier Jasmin Natterer recommended the Envinate, 2014 'Taganan' Vinos Atlanticos Blanco, Canary Islands, Spain to stand up to the richness of flavours and I agree. Thanks for the suggestion and complimentary glass which seems to be only available by the bottle. Smoked mussels on toast ($14) comes on a highly charred bread for extra flavour and those plump mussels so good with the tasty broth that's best mopped up with some extra Bread ($4). Burrata with charred bread and mint ($20) is a generous amount of burrata which I think can be shared between two. I found the extra bread helpful in finishing. Background music is well chosen, decor is nice, seating neighbourly and cosy, and service was friendly and helpful. The passion for good wine is evident. The limited menu will certainly tempt a small group to want to order everything to try.

Christmas Day Lunch (25 Dec 2013)

Christmas feasting at home

Christmas Day for me usually consists of a casual lunch with the family at my brothers place with a spread of seafood, smoked ham and salad followed by a pre-made pavlova base that we dress ourselves with fresh fruit and whipped cream. This year I got some unshucked oysters from the Sydney Fish Market for the first time. Thankfully they weren't too hard to open but I think I was lucky with the variety I bought which were Pacific Oyster Moulting Bay from Tasmania. I was a bit apprehensive about the best way to store the oysters for the 36 hours leading up to Christmas Day after I bought them. I kept them in the fridge vegetable chiller wrapped loosely with a wet tea towel. Seemed to work OK and the oysters were still alive when it came time to shuck them. The How to Shuck an Oyster video from the Sydney Fish Market was also helpful. I think I've now found a new appreciation for shucking my own oysters rather than buying them pre-shucked which tends to wash out all the lovely brine when they use water to clean the shells which you can see in this video of Lucy the oyster shucker at Sydney Fish Market.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Quality time with the family

CONS: We always prepare too much food

MUST TRY: Shucking more oysters in the future

VERDICT: I love my seafood

—

Henkell is one of my all time favourite sparkling

Tried my hand at shucking oysters this year

Successful oyster shuck of Pacific Oyster Moulting Bay TAS ($16.90/dozen) from Christie's Seafood Excellence 

Pre-shucked oysters in case my shucking failed me — Christie's Seafood Excellence Sydney Rock Oyster Corrie Island ($19.90/dozen), Pacific Oyster Island Inlet ($17.90/dozen) 

Simple salad

Prawns, lobster and alaskan king crab legs from Coles

Potato salad by mum

Smoked ham

Dad's soy chicken wings

Boston Bay Mussels in white wine

Lettuce and stuffed olives

Always have to have a bit of bread at the table

Table spread

Dessert time with pavlova

Strawberries, raspberries and blueberries

Passionfruit

Mango

Coles pavlova

BiteRiot! cherries — so good

Bistro Bruno: Lobsta-Palooza seafood platter, Balmain (4 Feb 2012)

3 Beattie Street, Balmain NSW 2041

http://bistrobruno.com.au

Lobster lovers platter

“Sydney Rock oysters, king prawns, tiger prawns, harbour shrimp, black lip mussels, razor clams, scallops in the half shell, scampi, blue swimmer crab and lobster, reclining on beds of ice, accompanied by tasty and intriguing condiments. ”

I'm a huge lover of quality seafood but that makes me very particular. Its sadly taken me nearly a year to post this review about Bistro Bruno's Lobsta-Palooza seafood platter deal ($55 per person) but thankfully they've launched it again for January 2013 ($59 per person) if you're keen to try. Lobster alone is expensive and this is the main drawcard for trying this seafood platter. It was a decent size and fresh so gets the tick of approval. Lobster legs where fairly easy to extract which is always a good sign. Tiger prawns were pretty large, shelled and deveined ready to eat. King prawns were decent size however flesh and shell was softer than preferred which made the flesh less firm and more mushy after peeling. Scampi had nice flavour although don't provide much meat. The Sydney Rock oysters (Pambula) were freshly shucked and had good flavour although was hoping for more brine. Black lipped mussels were fresh and fairly decent size but a little bit of beard left on some. Blue swimmer crab had nice sweet meat but a challenge to open leaving fingers smelly. Razor clams had a unique texture and flavour although I wasn't a fan to appreciate and would have preferred extra prawns instead. Scallops in half shell seemed to have suffered being a little squashed as shell markings were visible. The Harbour shrimp was my least favourite item and would have preferred without or having them crispy flash fried instead like they do at District Dining. The greenish looking ones didn't look appetising at all and more like fishing bait.

Hand cut chips, saffron aioli ($8.5) were good. Chunky with a nice outer crisp. For dessert we tried the Caramelised Banana parfait, praline, puff pastry ($15) with nice flavours although parfait seemed a little icy so not sure if it was supposed to be. Cappuccino ($4) was decent and Affogato ($8) had nice flavour although hardly any ice cream. Would have preferred at least two scoops served in the large cup to start with. Toilets were clean and functional although no baby change facilities but perhaps it's not the kind of place you might want to bring a baby along as it's a nice dining place. Erez Gordon the owner was friendly and welcoming and sure knows a thing or two about hospitality. There's limited free street parking but check out the free council car park on Beattie Street first for availability. My 10 week old baby daughter was in tow for this visit. We sat on the verandah and thankfully she slept all the way through our dining experience to our amazement — and actually for 12 hours straight for the first time that night. I'm glad I visited because looking at the a la carte menu has made me want to come back and try other things but perhaps without the baby next time.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Friendly and accommodating service, Nice decor, Platter deal seems fairly reasonably priced considering it includes lobster although would tweak a few things to make it even better value

CONS: Could do without the harbour prawns or have them crispy fried, Limited free street parking in the area, Deal only available if seated before 7 pm, Seafood platter sadly doesn't include chips

MUST TRY: Checking out other meal events they have and trying the a la carte menu
VERDICT: I wish Bistro Bruno was closer to home because it seems like a really nice restaurant for a nice meal with friendly service

—

Simon meets Blue Swimmer Crab

Complimentary bread and butter — good

Sydney Rock oysters, king prawns, tiger prawns, harbour shrimp, black lip mussels, razor clams, scallops in the half shell, scampi, blue swimmer crab and lobster ($55 per person, seated between 6-7 pm, minimum two people)

Salt and pepper

Negroni: Campari, Gordons Dry Gin, Cinzano Rosso, soda & ice ($17) — nicely made and didn't skimp on the alcohol
SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Dal Zotto Prosecco Pucino NV King Valley Victoria ($8)

Hand cut chips, saffron aioli ($8.5) — cooked well, chunky, decent crisp outer
WORTH TRYING :-) 

Sartori Soave 2010 Veneto Italy ($10), O’Leary Walker Watervale Riesling 2011 Clare Valley South Australia ($9)

Red wine vinaigrette, seafood sauce, chilli mash sauce — needed to ask for small serving spoons

Lobster — decent size and freshness

Lobster legs where fairly easy to keep flesh intact showing evidence of freshness

Tiger prawns — pretty large, shelled and deveined

Sydney Rock oysters (Pambula) — freshly shucked with good flavour although was hoping for more brine

Black lipped mussels — fresh and fairly decent size, a little bit of beard left on some though

Blue swimmer crab — nice sweet meat but a challenge to open and crack leaving fingers smelly

Razor clams — unique texture and flavour although I wasn't a fan to appreciate and would have preferred extra prawns instead or Omega Seafood clams

Scampi — nice flavour although doesn't provide much meat

Harbour shrimp — least favourite and would have preferred crispy flash fried instead like District Dining. The greenish ones didn't look appetising to me.

Scallops in half shell — perhaps a little squashed, could see shell marks indented so they've been stacked

King prawns — decent size although flesh and shell was softer than preferred which made the flesh less firm and more mushy, flavour OK

Caramelised Banana parfait, praline, puff pastry ($15) — nice flavours, parfait was a little icy though

Cappuccino ($4)

Affogato ($8) — nice flavour although hardly any ice cream. Would have preferred at least two scoops already served in large cup and just pour coffee into this

Lobster-palooza menu

10 week old Isabelle thankfully slept through the whole dinner

Bill $189.50 for two

Woolworths and air conditioning unit view on verandah. Air con unit had a bit of a hum so perhaps opt for the other side if you can although it'll be more in direct sunlight.

Verandah seating

Upstairs dining inside

Downstairs dining

Clean and functional toilets although not suited for baby changing

Erez Gordon owner restaurateur

Free council car park on Beattie Street — pity about the graffiti

View Larger Map