minh 17 January 2010 Dinner, Featured, Modern Australian, Sydney, Inner West 16 Comments  Print This Post  Email This Post

Glebe Point Diner has been on my radar for a while now, they were voted by Time Out Sydney readers as the People’s Choice, but conversely lost a hat in the 2010 Good Food Guide. It’s hard these days to know which source to trust and as always I decide to let my stomach do the deciding. I’m not sure what took me so long to make it out to Glebe Point Diner, but trust me I’ll be back soon enough.

You’d think it would be easy, but choosing a restaurant to eat at on a Friday night is surprisingly difficult. On this Friday our only certainty was that there would be three of us, and that we definitely did not want to eat Japanese! Forgoing our usual Surry Hills and Chinatown haunts we decide to go a little further out of the city and visit Glebe Point Diner, located at the far end of Glebe Point Rd far enough out of the city that the majority of the surrounding buildings are all residential.

Glebe Point Diner - Interior

As we approach the restaurant the tables inside are already full and buzzing with people, luckily we’ve made a booking earlier in the week and despite this are still seated outside on the balcony. The weather is beautifully balmy and sitting outdoors is lovely, especially with the white wicker chairs and cushions provided (at one point we have to get rid of a few cushions as they’re so big!).

The restaurant itself is a curious mix of old school American Diner mixed with modern retro, the waitresses are dressed in modern chique while the kitchen is a stark contrast with its bright lights and stainless steel tables, the walls are black and white stripes all lit by oversized skirt style lampshades. Combined it all creates a strange homey feeling, backed up by the smiles and friendly service of our serving staff for the night.

Lemonade - $4.50

There’s an extensive (extensive!!) wine list available, spanning 3 of the 4 pages of the menu but for tonight we’re in the mood for something else. I think our waitress must have been surprised at the radiant reaction she gets when she asks if we’re interested in some fresh lemonade, the response at the table is immediately and unanimous and we’re not disappointed by the results. Served in tall glasses with paper straws, the lemonade is refreshing and tart with a hint of carbonate – just enough that even I, a devoted carbonate hater become a lover. The paper straws are a nice touch, and as the night continues they begin to soften and wilt in the glasses.

Hiramasa Kingfish Tartare with Radish and Celery - $18

We decide to keep things simple for our starter and go with the Kingfish Tartare option, the resulting plate is similar to a salad of sorts with the Kingfish, Radish and Celery tossed together with a light citrus vinaigrette. Conveniently each of the ingredients have been diced in approximate sizes which means they’re perfect to gather together on the cannoli also presented on the plate.

Has anyone seen ‘The Mirror Has Two Faces’? (Yes, I do mean the Barbra Streisand film!) I take my approach to salad eating from that film and I love having that perfect bite, which in this case is a piece of Kingfish, Radish and Celery followed by a chaser of cannoli. Perfection itself.

Orecchiette with Crystal Bay Prawns, Zucchini Blossoms and Basil - $26

There’s always one ingredient on a menu which inevitably no one on the table can recognise, on this night it was Orecchiette. Our waitress explains it’s a type of pasta, curved to resemble a tiny bowl of sorts served with Prawns, Zucchini in a sauce made from the prawn shells and we’re immediately sold on the idea. The pasta is wonderfully colourful with orange and green tossed throughout the pasta, with a hint of chilli powder in the aftertaste. I find it curious that the prawns have been pre-diced in the dish but the relative size of each of the ingredients makes for easy eating.

Burrawong Pasture Raised Chook Roasted with Panzanella and Snake Beans - $34

There’s a note of approval in our Waiter’s voice as he sets down each of our plates, ‘I like the way you’re eating girls! Food is meant to be shared!’. I can’t help but laugh, knowing that for the last year almost all my meals have been shared in this way and it really does make the meal better in the end. The Chook is pure old school cooking with moist tender meat covered by the crispy skin, and it pulls apart easily with fork and knife. In contrast with the meat is the Panzanella salad which is covered with a tart vinaigrette providing a great counterpoint.

Byron Bay Kurobuta Pork Rack slow roasted with Sweet Potato, Sauteed Cabbage and Broccolini - $34

If we’re impressed by the serving size of the Chook we’re absolutely blown away by the size of the Pork Rack. Thoughtfully our waitresses has asked the kitchen to pre-slice the serving into 3 pieces knowing our intention to share, each slice is easily 1.5-2cm thick and is topped with a glistening piece of pork crackling. We all have our favourites throughout the night and the pork is easily mine, despite the thick serving sizes each slice remains wonderfully moist even towards the end of our meal as we’re picking at the remains of each dish.

Poached Peach with Vanilla Ice Cream and Raspberry - $15

Dessert is an easy choice for us and we’re only limited by the room in our stomachs! Sadly enough there seems to only be room for 2 among the three of and we have to choose our desserts wisely. Poached Peach is an easy option and there are a few Ooohs at the table when the Pink and White mound approaches the table. The Peach has been drenched in the raspberry sauce and remains firm until we pull away the flesh to reveal the stone in the center, the vanilla ice-cream is decadently rich with a creamy vanilla texture providing a brilliant counterpoint to the peach.

Diner Style Cherry Ripe - $12

Despite loving Cherries I’m not usually a fan of cherries in my desserts, however in this case the name is enough to get us curious and it’s a natural second choice. When the bowl comes out I’ll confess that I felt a little disappointed, all that anticipation for a scoop of chocolate ice-cream and a couple of cherries? Oh how wrong I was, the Chocolate scoop is actually one of the smoothest ice-creams I’ve ever tasted and actually hides a chocolate mousse centre, the entire scoop sitting on frozen young coconut juice all topped with stewed cherries. One last perfect bite!

Tea for two? $4.50

Squishies has found a stowaway in her bag, who decides to join us for a cup of tea as we sit back and digest our meal. Thankfully the rain has held off on this night and we’re simply enjoying the warm weather as we enjoy our tea, the staff are happy to let us be and service is still buzzing despite the hour.

Glebe Point Diner is a prime example of a restaurant who has decided to do good food well, it’s one of the few restaurants where I’ve been singularly impressed by both mains and desserts (oh boy those desserts!). There are 6 items listed under their mains, we’ve managed to cover half of them and I would gladly return to taste the other half. I’m listening to my stomach for this one, and it’s definitely a keeper.

Glebe Point Diner
407 Glebe Point Rd
Glebe, NSW 2037
Ph: (02) 9660 2646