Gastropark

Went for the Game of Thrones degustation. Yep, nerdy.
The food was, quite simply, incredible. Barramundi with crispy scales was to die for, deep fried «dragon bone marrow» was heaven. The wines were lovely, generally on the sweet side, but we didn’t think that they were particularly well matched to the food.
For $ 165 a head with wine, I expect a certain level of service. It was shocking. We waited for nearly 10 minutes for someone to notice we had arrived. Hey you cleaning the glassware behind the bar right in front of me, how about a smile and a «hello»? How about an explanation of the menu? How about more than a drop-​and-​run with the food? How about knowing your menu when we ask what things are or how many wines come with it? The exception was the sommelier, he was great.
All in all a good experience. But, despite the great food, we won’t be back.

Our Sydney supper club of six had a 9pm booking for Gastropark. As is the rule with our supper club — the restaurant must be something that is or has been heard to be a cut above the rest as well as new to most of the members. We weren’t sure what to expect as I booked this restaurant after hearing they have a Game of Thrones themed menu and specialised in playing with food.
Although the Game of Thrones themed degustation sounded exciting -(I’ll save that for my boyfriend’s birthday perhaps) the ladies and I as is customary in our supper club selected a variety of dishes to be shared and sampled.
After carefully considering the wine list (Chianti) we decided to try a random sample of snacks, entrees (2) and mains (2) in order to save ourselves for the cheese plate and dessert.
General Comments —
The presentation of all courses were either black slate or stoneware (yes that’s right heated stone) and was in keeping with the restaurants slightly spartan décor. The service was attentive and prompt with dutch accented jokes to boot.
The snacks.
Bread from Sonoma bakery and a schmear of the smoothest butter came quickly before the snacks of putanesca wafer, seared oysters and venison snacks. The seared oysters and venison were the hit from the snack selection and the putanesca wafer (I’m guessing shaved grano padano toasted with drops of a reduced putanesca sauce) were playful and a preview of what was to come.
The entrée
Yes I said we ordered several but really this is where things get a bit fuzzy. The butternut gnocchi with mushroom consommé was nothing short of inspiration. Not only was it a wonder to behold (small fishbowl of consome with floating gnocchis) crowned with a ring of toasted bread. I really wanted to shout bravo at this point. Definitely the entrée to try at Gastropark and well worth the $ 26 price tag.
The mains
At this point I was too focused on the john dory with a crispy skin which should be called john dory crackling with a salt cod, fennel, white anchovy topped with lightly battered and fried piquillo peppers to pay attention to what the carnivores were doing at the other end of the table.
Cheese plate
We had a good slice of the Saint Aguir blue which was displayed in the center table under a cloche and calling to me all night. It was service with lavosh, grapes and apples.
The girls split the chocolate, honeycomb dessert (honeycomb was divine) and all went down a treat.
Next time I will try the degustation menu as this sampling of Gastropark has left me craving mushroom consommé and gnocchi (can I spherify at home?) and the best john dory I’ve had ever.