Aria

A last minute decision, finding out that the Sepia super degustation starts only next week and not getting a booking at Rockpool Bar and Grill resulted in a strange decision to go to Aria. I thought, well, I haven’t been for a few years and it was quite good last time. Stuff it. Don’t think about the money, let’s just go! In hindsight, it was not the greatest decision as it turned out to be a pretty average experience.

The problems started right at the beginning. I ordered my usual dry sherry. I think it is the sweetest *dry* sherry I have ever had. After questioning this, the sommelier eventually came out and told us that it had a dry finish with lots of fruit up front. Hm...Well, the problem for him was two part: our palates were a slick of sweetness by the time the first dish had arrived (the amuse bouche had arrived almost at the same time as the sherry) and after an initial discussion with us, he got busy with some other people and didn’t get around to even taking our wine order. Perhaps the sommelier was too slow or more likely the food came out too quickly. Disorganisation abound like 10 seconds before the first dish (Goose) came out in two plates (split in the kitchen for us), someone came with two empty plates for us. Small, but representative.

I initially didn’t want to eat the goose without any wine. After another 5 minutes of waiting and the partly hot dish getting cold, I decided to try it. It tasted pretty poor. After another 5 minutes the sommelier finally took our order – a bottle of Bindi composition and two glasses of the Albarino. We had ordered the later partly as a test to see whether the very textual grape would go with the dish as the sommelier thought (I wasn’t sure). It came out almost immediately and improved the taste of the goose. It took some time to clear the sweetness of the sherry and the texture worked a little. But it was not until the gorgeous pinot came out another 5 minutes later that I could really taste the goose dish. In fact, as time went by, the pinot was, as Hayden put it – a “continuation of the food”.

1. Cured goose breast with chicken liver parfait, poached rhubarb, black pepper and ginger bread –light and smokey. Its savouriness combined well with the saltiness of the chicken liver parfait which contrasted nicely to the sweetness of the poached rhubarb while articulating to the Goose meat itself. Good textures with small things like the crispy cabbage too. Would willingly eat again. 7/10
2. John Dory roasted with crushed kipfler potatoes, crab, peas, poached quail egg and minted hollandaise. The fish itself was tasty, crispy skin, perfectly cooked. Lots of flavour. When combined the peas, it was also very good. The rest of the dish did not really come together. It seemed all over the shop. The quail egg was average. Adding some salt improved it and the potates. Would eat if given. 5.5/10
3. Barramundi sourdough crusted fillet of barramundi with silverbeet, smoked eel and horseradish. Decent dish. The horseradish came in a hard pastry cylinder which you could break. That really added some texture and loved playing with the fish and horseradish combinations. The eel was a little bit disappointing and did not seem to sit perfectly with the dish. Everything well cooked. Would eat if given. 5.5-6/10
4. Spiced roast duck breast with smoked duck tortellini, turnips and figs. Maybe it wasn’t our day. The duck was very strangely gamey. If I had blind tasted it, I am sure I would have thought it was a gamey pigeon squab or something else. Something else, not duck. So, the turnips and the figs didn’t really complement the gaminess. The tortellini was very tasty and went well with the other ingredients, but too small part of the dish to bring the whole dish through. Would probably order something else. 5.5/10

Solid technical performance, but no wow factor. For the price ($400 for two people including a $100 bottle of wine), I would go elsewhere.