Tapas seems to be the new Thai in Sydney and we are not complaining! I can think of nothing more enjoyable than trying a variety of small plate “tempters” with a few friends and ploughing through a few bottles of Spanish wine (yes the Ramon Bilbao Crianza Tempranillo is fantastic!)
This is exactly what we did on Saturday night at Catalonia in Kirribilli (http://www.catalonia.com.au/). We were seated downstairs and it was oddly quiet for a Saturday night (a slight cause for concern but it was a very wet, stormy evening). We were far too adventurous to be limited by the set menu so we ordered the following from the selection of ~20 dishes on offer with my thoughts on each.
Zucchini flowers with goats cheese mousse and honey (Texturally satisfying and greeted with the strong yet not overpowering flavour of the goats cheese. The honey didn’t add much for me)
Patatas bravas (Essentially twice fried potatoes)
Chorizo with beans and saffron potato puree (were good but lacked the special kick that makes a dish truly memorable)
Crisp pork belly with lavender sauce, apples and swisschard (Surprisingly the pork belly was done extremely well. Not overly fatty not salty with a perfectly crisped skin. Thumbs up here)
Smoked duck, brussel sprouts, turnips and truffle sauce (I am a big fan of smoked anything however this duck would be more accurately described as cured as it didn’t retain much of the smokey flavour that I’ve come to love. All-in-all it was nice, with the soft textures of the duck working well with the crunch of brussel sprouts and turnips but I would of liked a bit more “smoke”)
Scallops with jerusalem artichoke, medjools date, spinach and curried ’amargo y dulce’ (The scallops were juicy, plump and sweet with a well developed crust – cooked exactly how I’d expect)
Prawns with ajo blanco, sobrassada and ‘rossejat’ catalan fried pasta (These prawns had great flavour and the fried pasta really leant an amazing crispy dimension to the overall dish. Another dish to get my thumbs up)
Pimentón braised lamb, panisse, parsley and olives (I can’t actually remember what this tasted like which is never a good sign.)
We ended the night with some hot churros served with melted chocolate and some coffee.
Overall we had an enjoyable evening at Catalonia however I cannot help but compare it to Bodega in Surry Hills (by far our favourite tapas restaurant in Sydney) and give Catalonia a score of 12/20.
- Our culinary adventure one sticky step at a time...
2 comments:
I think you are being a little harsh, I have eaten here before and enjoyed the food and had a fabulous time. 12/20? Surely your expertise in this area is questionable?
I would however agree with your comments on Bodega....definately a tad better!
Hi Anonymous (if that is your real name):)
Yes I agree - the scoring system that I am currently using has been misleading a few people and I am looking to review how I score going forward. That said, I have never said I am an expert - its simply my opinion.
Catalonia is a good restaurant - and I would definitely return. To put the 12/20 in perspective a 10 would be your average meal. Not great, not too bad. Bodega I would probably rate as a 17 or 18. They are by far superior, use better ingredients, have originality, flair and a good use of cooking techniques which were absent at Catalonia.
So a 12/20 id consider "better than average" and a good score.
I guess a 20 would have to be absolutely perfect in everyway possible and a 0 would mean the meal was so bad that I was hospitalised.
However, welcome the feedback and will probably use something different in the future
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