St. Katherine's

9th March 2012

With my friend Clare, who originally suggested going to St. Katherine's when it opened, leaving for a 6 month holiday to Europe we decided we would probably go and check it out. A group of four of us headed to the closest restaurant in the good food guide to our houses for a 8pm dinner.

Always packed and busy and noisy, the open and high ceilings of the restaurant help to create the desired atmosphere of welcoming, sharing and homeliness. The staff were friendly, playful but competent (apart from one incident where i was bumped in the shoulder by a fork as the server cleared the plates) and the overall evening was a pleasant and fun one. However if you came in expecting the quality of the Press Club you would be sorely disappointed.

Given the style of food, potions and the goal of the restaurant, it made sharing several entrees and main between the four of us. I left Clare up to deciding the majority of the dishes with only some input from me (KFC half bucket and Pork Belly with Spicy Peanut sauce) and each person was left up to their own for desert.

We decided on a selection of 3 entrees, 1 Pide and 2 mains with a side. For entrees we went with the grilled flat breads brushed with olive oil and Za'atar (middle eastern herb), Coal grilled haloumi with mint, currants, fresh apricots and pine nuts and the half bucket of KFC.
The grilled flat breads were nicely cooked, warm and well spiced. The haloumi was only slightly grilled and the salty taste of the cheese was well matched by the fresh sweet fruit and nuts. The KFC was nicely spiced and boneless and better than the 'original recipe' and was served with a spicy BBQ sauce and Japanese mayo. Delicious.

The next out was the Pide. Clare choose the mint, ricotta, haloumi and peppered figs. Good combinations but nothing spectacular flavour wise.

We had 2 main courses served at the same time with a side of rice pilaf. The rice pilaf was nicely spiced and flavoured and contained many different elements and was well cooked. The first main course was the rotisserie. As we had had chicken in the entree we decided to just go for the Lamb. However the lamb was slightly overcooked and was nothing spectacular. The second main course was also slightly disappointing. Cinnamon rubbed pork belly that had an excellent layer of crackling and the flesh was good but too much of the fat layer. It was combined with a roast peanut sauce which was good on its own but not sure about combined with the pork belly.

After the main course we all decided to forgo the option to add more savoury courses and went straight for desert. I went for one of the Mr Whippy ice creams. I went with the salted caramel (great), pomegranate brownie (delicious) and a chocolate pomegranate sauce (decent). The ice cream was better than usually Mr. Whippy but not on the level of top class restaurants. It was a decent desert but nothing fantastic. (should have gone withe the peanut butter parfait, choc sorbet, baklava crumbs and orange blossom foam).

The others all decided on the mousse and donuts. A layer of whisky jelly, choc chip mousse, chocolate shavings and topped with 2 mini jam donuts. Very nice mousse and decent donuts, it was a very good decent.

A decent restaurant that achieved great heights but had some significant let downs. Very decent value though at less than $50 each (with $50 on drinks) and pleasant service. Wont be rushing back and rushing out to recommend it but a quality local restaurant.