Chiswick is a sunny Sunday lunch place. So how does it fare on a chilly school night?

The different week, connected a cold, bedewed nighttime – the archetypal decently acold nighttime of the twelvemonth – I recovered myself saying thing I haven’t uttered successful a agelong time. “Why don’t we cheque retired Chiswick?” My woman dropped her blistery toddy successful shock. “But you get truthful annoyed erstwhile a edifice bangs connected with each that ‘farm to table’ selling similar it’s the lone spot to ever usage caller produce. Plus, isn’t it a Sunday luncheon place?”

True connected some points, but a caller cook had started astatine Chiswick successful November – a feline named Daniel Cooper, who was antecedently astatine The Prince successful Melbourne. Matt Moran whitethorn person co-founded Chiswick successful 2012, but the Aria cook seldom works immoderate services there, what with each his different restaurants to restaurateur. Cooper, meanwhile, was starring the room astatine The Prince when it was awarded a chapeau past year, and I was keen to spot what helium was bringing to Woollahra.

Spanner crab, witlof and apple.Jennifer Soo

The glasshouse-style eating country is objectively beautiful: soumak rugs, cascading ferns, views to an immaculate tract and progressive rootlike garden. But determination are besides a batch of surfaces that aren’t perfect for absorbing sound, and the spot tin get noisy, adjacent connected a schoolhouse night.

Never mind, we’ll person a martini. Join the party! I privation Chiswick to succeed. Ah, damn it. This Poor Toms gin martini is not a bully cocktail. Wetter than requested, excessively diluted, and $28. Well, we tried.

What other is determination to drink? Head sommelier Georgia Davidson-Brown has assembled a compact, divers vino list, but she has the nighttime disconnected and nary 1 other seems to cognize overmuch astir it. A 2019 Kate Hill pinot noir from Tasmania ($24 a glass) takes a portion to unfastened up, but it’s gorgeously fruit-forward erstwhile it does.

Another red, that shall not beryllium named, smells similar a shucked oyster near excessively agelong successful the sun. We nonstop it back, and it’s removed from the bill, but I would reason that the vino shouldn’t person been served successful the archetypal place. (Glasses are poured distant from the table, truthful we ne'er spot the bottle, either.)

Maybe it’s a smoother cognition connected a weekend, erstwhile the sun’s out, and the sommelier’s on.

Cooper’s autumn menu, for the astir part, fares amended than the vino service. Witlof cradling a remoulade-ish premix of pome and spanner crab starts things disconnected close for $15 a pop. Bright. Delicate. Fun. A $14 scallop (the seafood kind) is roasted successful herb food and covered with juicy kernels of sweetcorn. Good one.

But a saccharine murphy scallop ($8) is lukewarm and brushed wherever it should beryllium piping blistery and crisp. A gloop of greenish mayonnaise connected apical de-crunches the batter adjacent more.

Discs of aureate babe beetroot are teamed with shiso leaves and diced orange, and smartly dressed with a citrus vinaigrette ($26). It’s not a atrocious clip by immoderate means; it conscionable feels similar a broadside crockery that’s snuck its mode into the entree section.

Go-to dish: Wood-baked halloumi with pear and Malfroy’s Gold honey (plus optional rosemary flatbread, apical left).Jennifer Soo

Baked halloumi drenched successful chaotic chromatic ($32) is acold much satisfying, textured with fennel seeds and batons of nashi pear. Fresh mint from the plot is simply a invited touch, arsenic is our waiter’s proposition to bid a rosemary flatbread ($14) and swipe it done the leftover honey. What aggressively acold upwind outside?

Everyone astir america is ordering the full roast chickenhearted with wood-fired kipflers ($76), and just enough. Chiswick has agelong bronzed a chook with the champion of them.

For $56 there’s besides a meaty assiette of dry-aged duck enhanced with a humor plum condiment and wholegrain mustard. A small brik pastry parcel of confit duck nether wilted radicchio is simply a bully surprise.

King George whiting ($58) is crumbed similar a food finger, and comes with mandolined fennel and creamy condiment gribiche. Give it a compression of lemon, disregard the price, and blessed days. It’s fine. Except I can’t disregard the price, and I can’t halt reasoning astir the King George whiting of long, nonstop flavour that Neil Perry grills down the roadworthy astatine Margaret for conscionable 1 dollar more.

Strawberry pudding with buttermilk gelato and shortbread.Jennifer Soo

A slab of strawberry pudding with buttermilk gelato ($18) is overmuch amended worth erstwhile shared betwixt two, and would person been adjacent much cracking with a solid of Egly-Ouriet ratafia de champagne ($28). It’s listed connected the dessert menu, but nary 1 tin find a bottle.

“Does galore things right. All the elements for a chapeau are present if it could halt fumbling the ball.” That’s from my Chiswick reappraisal notes 5 years ago, but it mightiness person been written past week. And possibly it is simply a smoother cognition connected a weekend, erstwhile the sun’s out, and the sommelier’s on, and you instrumentality to the chickenhearted and chips.

But prices don’t spell down connected off-peak nights, and neither should impermanent expectations. The nationalist plot tract could (should) present 1 of the champion eating experiences successful town. I stay optimistic that Chiswick tin supply it.

This reappraisal was primitively published successful Good Weekend magazine

Restaurant reviews, quality and the hottest openings served to your inbox.

Sign up