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The Final Sojourn, Sojourn, Balmain

It’s always with a heavy heart when I read about the closing of a restaurant that I’ve been to, regardless of the meal I had at the restaurant there’s a moment where I think about the owners and all the people who work there and hope that they’re closing on their own terms. When we read about Sojourn closing its doors we knew we had to go back for the very aptly titled ‘The Final Sojourn’.

Our first visit to Sojourn was in December 2008, and it was in celebration of the seemly longevity of the blog, at that time it was six friends writing together for nearly a year (since that time Helena has drifted off into the distance and Teresa has abandoned us for the shiny shores of NYC though she has promised us a Mac & Cheese post). Ironically enough we visited Sojourn in 2008 as they were ending their degustation services and switching to ala carte, for their final weeks of service they were serving their $95 degustation once again as a final farewell.

Anyone who knows me knows that I adore soup and I’m rather charmed by the miniature tea cup the amuse is served in. I’m a little hesitant by the fact that it’s a pea soup, I’m not overly fond of the little green pieces of hell but I’m blown away by the flavour in this tiny cup. My only complaint would be that there wasn’t enough!

Linda has been continuing her non-red meat diet and a number of replacements have been organised for her throughout the degustation, I thought it was a shame that she wasn’t served the pea soup as it would have easily met her requirements without the Pancetta. I sneak a bite of the salad and while I enjoy the tartness of the dressing, still think it pales in comparison to the soup.

I’m partial to scallops, especially pan fried so am always a little disappointed when they’re prepared differently. The ceviche is a refreshing dish with the salt from the Jamon blending well with the clean seafood ending with the tart bitterness of the roquette. The silence at the table is a little telling as our respective ceviche are devoured and demolished in seconds.

Sometimes I’m utterly surprised by a dish and am blown away by the most unexpected portion of the dish, while the angolliti and fennel puree are enjoyable it’s the tarty crab salad that has me coming back for more. The tartness is almost too much but is the perfect combination with the creamy fennel.

I can’t help but smile when the Carpaccio comes out, it’s virtually identical to the one we ate almost a year and a half ago and lives up to my memory. The plating with the square cut of beef on the long rectangular plate is a striking contrast and the warm still runny quail egg and brioche solders make me feel as though I’m having a rather decadent breakfast. Sadly Linda still cannot abide raw meat and is infinitely grateful when her alternate dish arrives.

RISOTTO. I feel like this dish is following me wherever I go! I keep feeling as though I’ve missed the boat on this style of cooking but in the interest of trying everything I sneak a bite from the dish. Sweet peas are once again featuring and again take me by surprise in how much I enjoy them, sadly the risotto simply remains a risotto for me and I happy go back to my quail egg.

Another blast from the past has arrived and it’s one I’ve been eagerly anticipating the entire night, souffle! The plating for the souffle has changed but the cotton soft souffle is a dream to the mouth with a eggy pillow-like texture paired with the salty goat’s curd and frozen at the end with a sweet sorbet… It’s the hot/cold contrast which I love in this dish and I’ve yet to taste a better example.

I’m on a little bit of a high after the souffle but I’m starting to crash a little as the duck comes out, the saucing and various components on the plate are executed well but the somewhat dry texture of the duck ruins a little of my pleasure, we’ve got a bit of disagreement at the table as Howard on the other hand enjoys his duck. In hindsight I should have tasted his meat portion to see if the texture on his side was any different.

Gnocchi used to be one of those dishes I never really got the point of, it’s kind of spongy and strange looking and I couldn’t for the life of me see the fun in eating it. Strangely enough it was Nigella Lawson who changed my mind on Gnocchi when I made up a batch with a cider, seeded mustard and cream sauce – bliss! The gnocci on the dish are deliciously soft and I can’t seem to stop myself of stealing more and more.

The fried chicken was the first thing to grab my eye on the plate and I have no shame in admitting that it was the first thing I ate, nothing tastes better than fried! The fish was perfectly cooked with a lovely sauce to match but the frypan must have been a little hot that night as the skin was so crisp i felt like I was eating a chip, an awesomely fishy crisp but a chip none the less.

As the night went on we started to notice service becoming slower and slower, the restaurant spans two levels and although I wasn’t able to see the patronage downstairs, upstairs the tables were full of large groups all of whom had ordered the degustation. Feeling under the weather on the day and missing my +1 (Oh Teresa I miss you T_T) I decided to forgo the matching wines and could only watch the other tables enjoying their wine.

On the verge of asking a waiter for a status update, the veal dishes came out all at once. Another blast from the past there was no way I’d ever forget that bright green sauce, sadly the dish did not live up to memory as the meat although tender was strangely flavourless as too was the sauce.

Linda’s last alternate dish was another fish dish, which I thought was a strange choice considering the dish preceding it had also been fish cooked in an almost identical style. The Zucchini frittes are an interesting look on the dish and as with the previous fish dish was a good matching with its side components but not earthshattering.

Baklava is always a winner in my books and after our savory dishes we’re more than ready for the sweets. The sweet flaky layers are a welcome flavor change and the texture of the almond ice-cream has me smiling again. The pinkness of the jelly makes me happy and I feel like a little kid tucking into the jelly suares.

It’s almost with a sigh of relief that we tackle our last dessert. The Vacherin is unmistakable and is my clearest memory of our first sojourn visit, primarily as I don’t really enjoy meringue! Undeterred I pass my meringue portion over to the girls and tuck into the ice-cream. I always use Vanilla as my baseline for my judgement of an ice-cream and Sojourn’s vanilla is definitely a winner, paired with a sweet tart strawberry it’s an ideal way to end the meal.

Dinner over the night has been a mixture of ups and downs with food wavering between acceptable and amazing, service is attentive and polite if a little slow on the night but the customers in the restaurant are clearly enjoying themselves with laughter all around. It’s interesting to see that our dinner the first time around was also 4 hours long, I wonder what it says about us that we were ready to fall asleep by 11pm!

Thanks for the food and the memories Sojourn!

Restaurant Soujourn (Closed)
79 Darling St
Balmain East NSW 2041