Freedom never tasted so good!! Sydney was released from a 4 month Covid lockdown on 11th October and I swear, no one has come home since then 😂 The first restaurant we got dressed up for was Monopole – winners of the Best Wine List for 2022.
The best thing about this restaurant was not just their delicious European dishes but their extensive list of wines by the glass. We got to try so many different wines 🍷.
Between the two of us, we ordered 7 dishes and 6 wines for a total of $300 (but one glass was $66 so.. 🤑). You could definitely spend $100 and leave with full bellies.
We dined here on 29th October 2021.
The best thing about this restaurant was not just their delicious European dishes but their extensive list of wines by the glass. We got to try so many different wines 🍷.
Between the two of us, we ordered 7 dishes and 6 wines for a total of $300 (but one glass was $66 so.. 🤑). You could definitely spend $100 and leave with full bellies.
We dined here on 29th October 2021.
Entrée
We missed fresh oysters soooo much! It’s such a nice feeling when the oysters are shucked and prepared by expertise hands instead of our gluttonous butterfingers. We got half a dozen Sydney Rock oysters for $5 each. These were fished from Wagonga South Coast. They were super fresh, plump and perfectly salted to our satisfaction 🤤.
This was a special off-menu item offered on the night called Beef Tartare. It was a very interesting way of preparing ‘tartare’ with raw beef, cured egg yolk, parmesan cheese, and crouton.
Our first impression was that this was an overwhelming cheesy umami bite, however, a strong beef flavour followed shortly after, travelling underneath the initial taste. It was surprising and left us impressed with the craftsmanship. This was definitely not a traditional tartare. The crouton bed was slightly dry and crispy. We forgot the price but it was between $10-$20.
Our first impression was that this was an overwhelming cheesy umami bite, however, a strong beef flavour followed shortly after, travelling underneath the initial taste. It was surprising and left us impressed with the craftsmanship. This was definitely not a traditional tartare. The crouton bed was slightly dry and crispy. We forgot the price but it was between $10-$20.
We were advised to order one to share because despite how small this was, this Balmain Bug Sandwich, Cucumber, Yuzu Mayonnaise for $13 was very filling.
But wow! Pairing the sweet and tender Balmain Bug with juicy cucumber was so beautifully refreshing and light. The brioche was airy and fluffy, adding to this light and sweet bite going on. The yuzu mayonnaise balanced everything to perfection 😍. This was the best entrée of the lot.
But wow! Pairing the sweet and tender Balmain Bug with juicy cucumber was so beautifully refreshing and light. The brioche was airy and fluffy, adding to this light and sweet bite going on. The yuzu mayonnaise balanced everything to perfection 😍. This was the best entrée of the lot.
We would come back to Monopole for this Chicken Liver Parfait, Port Jelly, Grilled Peach $20 alone because this reminded us a lot of the famous Dinner By Heston Blumenthal’s meat fruit (LINK).
This was a rich, smooth and decadent piece of parfait, with the right hints of salt seasoning. Paired with their sweet port jelly, side of grilled peach and crunchy sourdough and oooft the gastronomical stars have aligned 🤩. It was such a delicious parfait, simple as that.
This was a rich, smooth and decadent piece of parfait, with the right hints of salt seasoning. Paired with their sweet port jelly, side of grilled peach and crunchy sourdough and oooft the gastronomical stars have aligned 🤩. It was such a delicious parfait, simple as that.
This Spencer GulfKingfish, Smoked Sour Cream, Kumquat for $24 was *chefs kiss* fresh 👌🏻. The kumquat was an amazing balance to the squirts of creme cheese. Light and sweet enough to equalise the tang of the vinaigrette too.
Main Course
We didn’t want to overfill ourselves because we’re both trying to lose our lockdown weight 😅 so we only ordered one main, the Steamed Snapper, Parsley, Lemon, Caper $38 to share. Its green presentation was very unique, drenched in the parsley and seaweed sauce.
Taste-wise, Monopole know exactly how to cook a perfect fish. It was so tender and soft, we could even taste how recent the fish was caught – i.e. fresh AF! The salty seaweed didn’t overshadow the creamy fish flesh at all. And combined with the refreshing and earthy dill salad, this was an insatiable main dish 😋.
Taste-wise, Monopole know exactly how to cook a perfect fish. It was so tender and soft, we could even taste how recent the fish was caught – i.e. fresh AF! The salty seaweed didn’t overshadow the creamy fish flesh at all. And combined with the refreshing and earthy dill salad, this was an insatiable main dish 😋.
Dessert
For dessert we got the Milk Cake, Preserved Berries, Buttermilk Sorbet $16 paired with a 2017 Inkwell ‘Sweet Thing’ Vlognier, McLaren Vale from South Australi for an extra $13.
This was an enjoyable light and creamy treat, that had just the right amount of sweetness and tartness. We got the matching wine too and oh boy, what a great combination. The sommelier did a fantastic job pairing this overly sweet dessert wine with this mild dessert, as it left a satisfying taste on our tongues.
This was an enjoyable light and creamy treat, that had just the right amount of sweetness and tartness. We got the matching wine too and oh boy, what a great combination. The sommelier did a fantastic job pairing this overly sweet dessert wine with this mild dessert, as it left a satisfying taste on our tongues.
Service
The service was amazing. Our female server (forgot her name) was very accomodating and conversational, trying to get us a seated table and organise our dishes. We appreciated her efforts but we knew what we got ourselves into for booking a reservation last minute for a Friday night (i.e. high bar seat).
Review
I’m trying to remember to take photos more, especially before the wrinkles kick in 😉.
Overall we loved the food, wines, vibe and service Monopole offered that night. We would definitely return for another taste of their wine menu in the near future. We have been recommending this place to our friends so to my blog readers, I hope you get the chance to eat here.
Thank you so much for reading.
We’re back so happy eating!! 😝
Overall we loved the food, wines, vibe and service Monopole offered that night. We would definitely return for another taste of their wine menu in the near future. We have been recommending this place to our friends so to my blog readers, I hope you get the chance to eat here.
Thank you so much for reading.
We’re back so happy eating!! 😝
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