Glass Wine Bar: $20 Corporate Lunch menu including a Glass of Wine, CBD Sydney (3 Feb 2012)

Level 2, 488 George Street, Sydney NSW 2000

http://www.glassbrasserie.com.au

Luke's $20 meal deal for lunch

Thanks to Lorna O’Neill from the Hilton for inviting me to sample Luke Mangan’s Corporate Lunches available Monday to Friday, noon til 3 pm for $20 each which includes a glass of wine. If you consider a glass of wine will set you back at least $10 at Glass Wine Bar you’re getting your meal for only $10 or less which seems to be a bit of bargain, especially in such a nice dining area and cooked by a 1 hatted restaurant. I also thought while nearby Charlie & Co charge $18 (dine in) just for their wagyu burger without fries it’s a bit of a no brainer who’s got the better burger deal. The Wagyu burger ($20) was my favourite dish of the day which was juicy and came with BBQ sauce, bacon, cheese & French fries including a glass of wine. I’m a sucker for beetroot in my burgers so if they added this I’d give them an extra point. A pretty large pickle is supplied on the side although I’m a fan of having it in the burger. Wines available at the time were Longbend Pinot Gris ($10) or Luke Mangan Pinot Noir ($13) and for those favouring a beer it was Vale Ale ($8).

The Tempura Fish, fries and tartare sauce ($20) was nicely cooked with a thin cripy batter although I would have preferred a nice garden salad or coleslaw on the side instead of the pretty boring rocket leaves which seemed to be more of a garnish. The Luke Mangan Pie ($20) was a home-style chunky beef pie with mash potato and mushy peas. Nice pastry and I wondered if the peas had mint in it. If so I reckon a bit more would have gone down a treat for me. The Minute Steak, fries & bearnaise ($20) was cooked medium-rare as ordered. Meat was quite tender and decent quality leaving little gristle to compete with. I know it’s probably not traditional for such a dish but a small side salad would have been nice to balance the meal. For afters I tried their Affogato with Frangelico ($18) which was nicely presented with a decent amount of ice cream as hoped. Nice touch with the mini macaron on the side. I think there’s opportunity to add a few simple and reasonably priced desserts on the menu as well like a chocolate brownie with ice cream, meringue with seasonal fruit and whipped cream or panna cotta with berry coulis for those with a bit more time to enjoy their lunch.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Nice décor, Quality ingredients, Efficient and professional service, Reasonably priced meal when you consider it includes a glass of wine

CONS: Limited menu choices, Only available for a limited time, No desserts included on the menu, Toilet is located outside the restaurant with a little bit of a walk

MUST TRY: Wagyu burger, Affogato with Frangelico

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Corporate Lunch menu ($20 including a glass of wine, beer or San Pellegrino water)

When spoilt for choice try one of everything

Longbend Pinot Gris ($10), Luke Mangan Pinot Noir ($13), Vale Ale ($8)

The Chef's Burger: Wagyu burger, BBQ sauce, bacon, cheese & French fries inc glass of wine ($20)

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Tempura Fish, fries and tartare sauce inc glass of wine ($20)

Luke Magan Pie: A home-style chunky beef pie, mash potato and mushy peas inc glass of wine ($20)

Minute Steak, fries & bearnaise inc glass of wine ($20)

Affogato with Frangelico ($18)

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Chef Luke Mangan in the kitchen

Glass Wine Bar dining with a view of QVB

Restaurant dining

For those with a bit more cash to burn

This scallop dish looks like something I'd love to try

Restaurant dining options when you have a bit more time and money

Very impressive wine selection

Glass branding and bread station

A bit of a walk to the toilets but the mens urinals have privacy screens which gets a tick in my book

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Xanthi Restaurant & Bar: Greek, Westfield Sydney CBD (25 Oct 2011)

Level 6 Dining Precinct, Westfield Sydney
Cnr Pitt St Mall and Market Street, Sydney NSW 2000
Phone: (02) 9232 8535
http://xanthi.com.au

Sharing the spirit of ouzo

It was probably a brave move by Chef Owner David Tsirekas to close his successful and much-loved Perama restaurant in Petersham to start Xanthi in the dining precinct in Westfield Sydney but it seems Petersham’s loss is a successful gain to the CBD. There’s lots of tempting choices on the Ouzomezedakia menu (small sharing plates) which were reasonably price. If you order a 200ml bottle of ouza you’ll get 3 ouzomezedakia chosen by the chef to match making it quite a bargain. I first ordered the cheapest ouza of Barbayianni Green ($34, 200ml) to see what the kitchen would include and then ordered more dishes after. BBQ Haloumi, BBQ smoked lamb cutlets and Sheftalies were provided to match the ouza. Nicely cooked haloumi was tender flavoursome lamb cutlets were a treat I’d happily order again.

Our friendly and informative waiter Spyros recommended the Herbed skordalia croquettes ($7.50) which we thought were quite light on flavour but we preferred the Fried School prawns ($9) which were crispy and flavoursome and tossed in a honey making them slightly sweet. I still prefer the ones at District Dining, maybe because they’re kept more savoury than sweet. We found the Zucchini fritters ($8) a little disappointing. Not as fresh tasting and crispy as hoped and perhaps a bit cluggy inside but the Vine Dolmades ($9) were flavoursome and moist. We then had a particularly long wait of over 25 minutes for the Fried Calamari ($9) due to a busy kitchen we were told after asking about our order. It had nice flavours with a light batter I prefer but not as tender as hoped. I’d probably order it again though in the hope it would be more tender next time.

Due to the lateness of the calamari dish our waiter kindly offered us a glass of Samos Nectar dessert wine to try which was very nice and not overly sweet which went well with the Caramel Baklava ice cream ($13.50). Overall it was a nice meal which only came to $99 for four people which we thought was good value for the quality of dishes received and included a bottle of ouzo easy enough to share. I’d probably opt for a table in the middle next time as I found the booth seating a bit too squashed for leg room, especially when sharing with three other guys. Hopefully the kitchen can turnaround the dishes quickly under busy times so the restaurant can be a suitable lunch option for those with only limited time.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Flavoursome dishes, Quality ingredients, 3 complimentary dishes come with 200ml ouzo, Reasonably priced if you can share with a small group

CONS: Booth seating was a little hard to sit on and slightly cramped, Toilets are located outside the restaurant

MUST TRY: BBQ Haloumi, BBQ smoked lamb cutlets

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Ouzo Barbayianni Green ($34, 200ml) includes 3 ouzomezedakia to match selected by the chef

Ouzo goes milky when you add ice — apparently if you want to dilute ouzo you should just add water according to About.com

Ouzo trolley and menu

BBQ Haloumi: Locally produced Cypriot style haloumi cheese ($10, included as dish 1 with Ouzo)

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Sheftalies: BBQ Cypriot style spiced pork meatballs wrapped in caul fat ($11, included as dish 2 with Ouzo)

BBQ smoked lamb cutlets - BBQ smoked and cured spiced cutlets ($12, included as dish 3 with Ouzo)

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Herbed skordalia croquettes: Creamy mint, dill and celery leaf skordalia crumbed in polenta and breadcrumbs ($7.50)

Loukanika: BBQ sliced Northern Greece village style loukanika ($9)

Fried School Prawns: Tossed in a honey, fish sauce, sesame seed and flaked almond dressing ($9)

WORTH TRYING :-)

Zucchini fritters: A mixture of shredded zucchini and haloumi with dill, mint and parsley ($8)

Vine Dolmades ($9)

Fried Calamari ($9)

Caramel Baklava ice cream: Sliced layers of vanilla bean ice cream, caramel sauce and baklava ($13.50)

Samos Nectar complimentary glasses due to lateness of dishes

WORTH TRYING :-)

Dessert wine menu

Menus

Seating

Booth seating actually quite awkward and a bit uncomfortable for four people. Seating was quite stiff and felt squashed in.

Athena inscribed on the knife

Tiny forks

Lamb in the kitchen

Outside seating

Bill $99 for four people - good value for quality of dishes

Outside entrance with window into kitchen


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