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Grand National, Paddington

Another celebratory dinner, another fabulous meal! In recent times, there has been a surge of top notch pub restaurants; Four in Hand, Bistro Moncur, The Light Brigade… just to name a few. Grand National has been around for a while and has been known to locals for good pub grub and steaks. Located next to the Grand National hotel/pub in the back streets of Paddington, the restaurant didn’t turn out to be quite what I expected. In fact, my expectations were much worse than what I saw when I walked inside! Classy, spacious and fancy is what was presented in front of me.

Service was top notch from the moment I stepped into the restaurant till the last goodbye. The maitre’d was very professional, well spoken, well-informed and friendly. When asking about wines, I made a comment about the Lake George wine (which I had just passed 2 hours before) and he dropped in a line to inform us exactly where the Lake George winery was. Quite impressed!

The kitchen is manned by Ian Oakes. It is his creative aspirations along with his posse, that have earned Grand National 1-hat for the The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2009 (they have earned a hat in previous years as well). So as my tummy grumbled that night, here comes the food to make your tummy grumble…! I really wish I remembered the names of these dishes (their website is under construction) so instead of guessing, I’m just going to post the pictures and describe the feeling from each dish.

The scallops were extremely fat and juicy! As my brother cut through each of the scallops, each bite was accompanied with a bit of soured celery. The “marriage” of the two was perfect. My taste buds were partying!

It skips my mind as to what fish this was, but this dish was served with a lemony, olive oil dressing. In a previous post, I made a comment about micro-leaves making a surge to the fine dining scene, and this dish is another supporter of this ingredient. Each micro-leaf is full of flavour, possibly more flavoursome than its larger sized companion.

This was a vegetarian dish. The lasagne was quite light as there was not much sauce. Also, the sheets of pastry were light but tasty!

The pork was served medium rare, and as they served this sliced, you can see the perfection of the cooking. The meat was very tender and juicy and full of flavour.

According to my brother, the meat was tender, and you could tell with every cut he made. The asian influence to this dish was the side serving of bok choy and noodles with a soy dressing.

This was probably one of the best cooked tuna dishes I’ve ever had. The funnel butter was the highlight of this dish. It made the tuna taste SO much yummier! The tuna itself was cooked very nice. I like my fish medium rare. I think there was a baby like potato as well which went very well with the sauce. This was quite a large serving size. The balance of all ingredients are JUST right.

 After our Italy trip in 2006, my family has been rather obsessive with buffalo cheese: mozzerella, boccocini, etc. So every and any time we see this on the menu, we order it without hesitation. My dad is a huge fan of vegetables and so he nearly gobbled down this whole side. The ingredients went well together and the light dressing was a great addition.

I always like to top off my meals with dessert and I usually do when there is enough people to share with. So tonight, we ordered just one dessert:

 The dessert was fabulous! You could say it was similar to an Eton Mess but not in a glass. Everything was very light and not very creamy. I love sorbet!

I tend to love the restaurants the give that warm, cosy, inviting yet professional vibes. With an open kitchen, it gives you a feel and connection with the food.

I was HIGHLY impressed with my dining experience on this night. Grand National, I will be seeing you again next time in the NEAR future!

OVERALL
Food very good. Unlike your type pub grub. Flavours went well together and very structured.
Service Perfect. Friendly, professional and helpful. Deserves that extra tip.
Atmosphere Intimate and cosy yet relaxed.
Value I would pay that extra few dollars to eat food here. Entrees: ~$18. Mains: ~$30. Dessert: ~$12.
Would I come again? YES!
Occasions Relaxed, small group dinner. Borderline romantic dinner due to noise.

Grand National
161 Underwood St, Paddington 
Sydney, NSW, 2000
Ph: (02) 9363 3096
Hours : Lunch: Friday to Sunday. Dinner: Tuesday to Saturday, 6-10.30pm; Sunday, 6-9pm