7

Bert’s

2 Kalinya St,

Newport,

(02) 9114 7350

merivale.com

Licensed

CardsAE MC V EFT

OpenLunch Wed-

Sun noon-3pm

dinner Wed, Thu

& Sun 5.30pm-

9.30pm, Fri-Sat

5.30pm-10.30pm

PricesEntrées

$16-$33, main

courses $33-$125,

desserts $18

NoiseWell

handled

Wheelchair

accessYe s

MinusNot cheap

PlusA lot of fun

AND ALSO...

Details

LUNAR TICK

With prawns in the pad see ew,

bone marrow (above) among the

appetisers and a kingfish poke on

the lunch menu, it’s clear that the

team fromRestaurant Moonis

less interested in Thai tradition than

chasing flavour beyond borders.

Fans of Darlinghurst landmark Onde,

which occupied the site for more

than 20 years, may be cheered to

see duck confit still on the menu

• albeit with five-spice and pumpkin
  in a Penang-style curry.346 Liverpool
  St, Darlinghurst, (02) 9357 6084

BEST SERVED COLD

On the other hand, tradition is very

much at the fore atKimsakat. The

Eastwood standby, tucked away in

a mini-mall opposite the local Aldi,

has quietly established a following

among deep-diving fans of Korean

food for its naengmyeon. If you

like your noodles long, stretchy,

served chilled and dressed with

mustard and vinegar, this is your

new happy place.76 Rowe St,

Eastwood, (02) 7901 3393

BOLT FROM THE BLE

Good Greek dining remains

surprisingly thin on the ground

in Sydney. HappilyBle, a newish

restaurant in Ramsgate, lands on

the right side of the ledger. Chef

Natalia Gaspari, an alumna of

the kitchen at Alpha, enlivens her

menus with regional references,

chiefly from Kefalonia. That could

mean octopus and black olive in

a fillo pie stained with squid ink,

lobster ravioli with a haloumi

cream and mussels, or a chicken

pastichada with kokkinisto

macaroni.Shop 2, 203-207 Ramsgate

Rd, Ramsgate, (02) 9529 4335

contemporary offerings like

d’Yquem and other marquee

wines served by the glass.

Not into crab? Don’t want

to relinquish the EpiPen for the

grilled lobster with hojiblanca oil

and lemon? What about fingers

of brioche lavished with trout roe

and something Toft calls chicken

butter? (I can confirm it is both

chickeny and buttery.)

“Fred’s goes to the beach”

might be the pat elevator-pitch

for Bert’s, but Jordan Toft’s style

is all his own. He has a keen grasp

of when to dial things up and when

to let the ingredients do the talking.

He lays top-notch anchovy fillets in

a pool of oil and scatters them with

lemon thyme and black pepper.

The spines left from filleting the

anchovies are fried crisp and used

to garnish little fried buns. Superb.

There’s similar restraint at

work with the whole flounder,

the sunflower oil and salad

burnet accompaniment ceding

the limelight to the quality of the

fish, which the staff fillet at the

table with perfect ease.

It’s not just the glam proteins

that fire Toft’s imagination. He

roasts onions and pairs them with

sherry vinegar and sour cream,

dresses salad leaves with flowers

and ewe’s milk cheese, and

complements charred sugarloaf

cabbage with a sauce of ground

pepitas. Grilled cucumbers,

scattered with linseeds and set

on a mixture of yoghurt and

avocado oil, have crunch, character

and a fine green flavour.

There’s something to be said

for the pasta, too. Reginette, a

ruffled pasta lunga that’s a bit like

fettuccine with attitude, is tossed

with dry chilli and sea succulents

and then topped with a pan-fried

fillet of red mullet. Smart.

Dessert? What about a bundt

cake for one, served with a spoon

of sour-cream sorbet, its carrot

and walnut crumb fragrant with

nutmeg. Or a coffee jelly with

a granita made of Branca Menta,

Fernet Branca’s minty cousin,

a caffè corretto gone baroque.

Yes, Bert’s can and will take all

of your money. But that’s true of

many restaurants in Sydney, and

only a small number can make so

convincing a claim on your time

in return. It’s a place designed

around dining rather than eating.

If you like to feel looked after at a

restaurant rather than challenged,

and you’re prepared to pay, you’re

going to love Bert’s. Crab and all.●

Cofee jelly

with Branca

Menta granita

and peanuts.

Sydney review

PHOTOGRAPHY ROB SHAW (BERT’S), JESSICA VUONG (RESTAURANT MOON)

GOURMET TRAVELLER 55