Gazebo Wine Garden
Not just a garden, Gazebo Wine Garden
It feels like spring has already sprung in Sydney and to make use of the weather I travelled all the way to Potts Point to eat at a magical garden, Gazebo Wine Garden. You step inside and it gives you the sense of “nature”. It was a very warmish and windy day, so we were offered to sit inside by a friendly staff.
To celebrate the warm weather we had ordered Rosé Wine Sangria ($25) served in a jug. Large strawberry and lemon wedges were soaked in crème de fraise (strawberry), bianco Italian Vermouth and lemonade. The benefit of having strawberries soaked in alcohol is fantastic. I quite enjoyed the crispness and fruitiness along with the after taste, sweet.
It was a bit difficult to share one jug amongst 9 humans, especially the sangrias were filled with chunks of ice cubes. We could only pour 3-4 standard glasses. So we were suggested by the waiter to try Red Wine Sangria ($25). I was pleased with the taste of the sangria, slightly stronger in flavour and a hint of spice but because it contained cognac, cinnamon, star anise and nutmeg, topped with fizzy lemonade. And my personal favourite the soaked seasonal fruits oranges and apples, DELICIOUS!
For myself I mostly enjoyed the Rosé Wine Sangria because of its sweetness, but if you prefer sangria to taste bitter than go for Red Wine Sangria. I believe this is more of a manly twist on a “female drink”. But if you are indecisive, GET BOTH!
Our first starter Veal & Chorizo Sausage Roll ($17) was well presented. I am glad we didn’t have to cut it ourselves, otherwise we would have gotten into a pastry mess. The several layers of pastry turned out to be light and flaky topped with sesame seeds to garnish was a top pick for our table. Dip together with sweet chutney completes the dish.
Next our Pate of chicken & duck liver ($17), a reasonable portion of pate, however a tad odd in presentation. The pate looked irregular. The toasted bread was warm and crunchy, very crunchy. In my opinion I didn’t like spreading pate onto that sliced toast. It was very hard to bite.
On the bright side, I absolutely loved their autumn chutney and pickles. The colours bring out the entire dish. I remembered I finished the entire pickles by myself…. 😛
For our mains Grilled lamb burger ($22) a great version to eat lamb. The bun turned out to be light and puffy. The lamb patty was very juicy. Standard portion of smoked sliced eggplant, fresh sliced tomatoes and lettuce. Perfect texture and reasonable flavour, however I questioned the mint aioli. In fact I couldn’t taste the mint part, but the aioli was there.
Funny how the menu states “Fat chips”. They were indeed FAT CHIPS! Very ADDICTIVE! But a tad undercooked. Much prefer a different sauce rather than the standard tomato sauce. But I guess tomato sauce is a popular pick.
Pasta is one of a classic dish to have in a restaurant and for the Linguine ($27.50) served with a small portion of hand picked spanner crab with overpowering chilli and mint to garnish was unexpectedly full of flavour. With the half slice lemon it gave the pasta a tanginess which was refreshing.
I rarely eat pork cutlets with bones on them and surprisingly this Pork cutlet ($27) cooked in honey and rosemary was exquisite. Served with a bite-sized pork crackle, a dollop of sweet smooth potato mash, sliced carrot and picked relish. And garnished with roasted pine nuts was my personal favourite dish.
The fatty pork crackle being so crispy and crunchy and bursting its porky flavours was happily consumed with a smile on my face. I remembered the meat being tender which made it easy to slice, however it was a challenge to scrap off the meat from the bones. Overall, a JUICY and TENDER dish !
I regretted not having dessert but I was completely full with shared starters and mains. Next time I should remind myself to leave some room for my stomach to try their glorious selection of sweets. And to leave the boys at home so the girls can try “The Girl’s Picnic” lunch.
Very glad we drove by Kings Cross because it’s a GEM for brunch!
Photos by Vanny Tang
Nessy Eater 