Bistrode CBD

Meh… has dinner at bistrode with business partners, definitely not my choice and well was not too impressed with the dinner.
The dishes are not very inventive and I found the food quite blend ! Only highlights was the dessert, a dark chocolate crème brûlée, rich and delicious. Hence 2 stars.
But considering the price it was fairly disappointing for a merivale venue. Duck leg was overcooked and dry, broccoli were raw and boring, salmon as an entrée had just no twist to keep it interesting. Even the service was slow !

We started our evening with a weave through the rambunctious crowd having Friday night drinks at Hotel CBD, just below the Bistrode CBD restaurant. In stark contrast to the floor below, It’s classy up here with Romanesque ornamental architecture finely complementing its black and white décor.
To start, we had the Rock Oysters & Merlot Vinegar that resembled a flower, with the oysters as the petals and the sauce as the pollen. Despite appearances, the merlot vinegar provided a delicate tang and sweetness to the oyster’s creamy taste and smooth texture.
Closely behind was the Saltfish Croquettes & Smoked Garlic Mayonnaise which was an absolute treat. Crispy on the outside and soft as a cloud on the inside, the saltfish just melts in your mouth with that smoky sauce.
Following up, came the Octopus, Fennel & Chilli with its mélange of flavors. Adding depth to the naturally sweet crunch of the octopus was the chilli with the dill bringing complexity to the table and the fennel refreshing our tastebuds readying us for the next bite.
While intimidating at first, the Black Sausage, Crumbed Pigs Ear & Soft Boiled Egg was hands down the highlight of the entrees! Soft on the tongue and gentle on the taste buds, the black sausage is a provincial gem with a delicious herby flavor. The crumbed pig’s ear tasted as if it was a delectable thinly sliced chicken schnitzel while the egg was absolutely perfect with its runny yolk slivering across the plate making its way to the refreshing coriander salad. Eating this dish was akin to listening to symphony playing in harmony!
Any menu that serves Cape Grim steak has my attention and this restaurant was no different. Then I lamented about the menu lacking eye-​fillet — my preferred cut. However, this quickly dissipated when my Cape Grim Scotch Fillet Steak with Fresh Green Peppercorn Sauce came. Chargrilled to perfection, the steak was soft and tender and had a proper smoky aftertaste. The salad though plain with no dressing didn’t need any as it would have just interfered with the beautiful steak. As beautiful as it was, there were places where it wastough to cut and chewy. My lament haunts me.
My partner opted for the Ocean Trout & Clams which came with a thin pool of creamy sauce that was rich but neutral. Again, despite appearances, the sauce never overpowers the star of the dish: the trout. The clams had a bit of bite that contrasts with the tender trout and becomes somewhat of a palate cleanser for the trout.
For dessert, we shared the Ricotta Cheesecake, Crumble Crumb & Glazed Quince that served as the perfect crescendo to our meal. The cheesecake was more like a panna cotta in that it’s not that sweet and had an almost mousse-​like texture to it. Encasing the cheesecake were finely salted caramelized crushed nuts that gave the dish pop and crackle. Countering this was the glazed quince covered in a syrup with undertones of cinnamon and tea while remaining refreshingly tangy.
Lit by candlelight, this restaurant has the makings of being romantic but marred by the occasional DJing the floor above and below. But as with all romantics, the attentive staff are quite charming as much as they are self-​deprecating. Like an impressionist painting, the dishes are presented with artistic flair that delight your tongue as well as your eyes.
~ Jambon Cochon

We were pleased to get a table at short notice on a rainy Friday night, the bar downstairs heaving. Up the spiral stairs into the quiet of the bistro
Bistrode has been on the list for a while so the arrival of a visitor from overseas was seemingly serendipity.
Nice décor, attentive waiter, menu looks ok.
Great bottle of NZ Pinot noir (overpriced but o well) and away we go.
Quail, octopus and chicken liver parfait to start. The quail, butterflied and wood fired — excellent. Octopus, spicy and tasty, likewise. Parfait? Fail. Wood fired bread delicious, but the parfait (for two, in a jar) was bland and tasteless.
Next please.
Wagyu corned beef, sirloin on the bone and scotch fillet.
Sirloin was outstanding, scotch fillet was fatty but tasty, corned beef — wow, so salty. I mean, I love corned beef, cook it myself often. With mustard sauce and kipfler spuds should have been a knockout, but regrettably a fail as it was waaay too salty. For al of us at the table, not just me and she.
Service attentive although slow to take our order, and although the obligatory ‘everything alright?’ was breathed they weren’t really interested in feedback, we felt.
All in all, yes it is a bistro, and no it isn’t anything really special, and yes we had a dud dish, but it’s not too bad.

Bistrode CBD has been around for a while now, and it’s become a staple for a business lunch or dinner. I thought I’d make the most of the latest Merivale lunch special and head on down to check it out.
Bistrode CBD is an elegant restaurant, serving up modern British cuisine. Awarded one hat in the 2012 SMH Good Food Guide, chef Jeremy Strode is continuing with his winning ways.
Their latest lunch special, ‘Dish of the Day’, is available now until 31 July 2012. For $ 29.50, you can have a glass of wine or beer and the ‘dish of the day’.
The ‘dish of the day’ on the day Ms A and I visited was ‘Sirloin Steak, Hand Cut Chips, Béarnaise Sauce’. This is served as a share dish, but is plated up separately. Luckily, Ms A and I both like our steak medium rare — it would have been a slight issue for one of us otherwise.
* Sirloin Steak, Hand Cut Chips, Béarnaise Sauce
The steak was delicious and a very traditional dish. No complaints here! In fact, for under $ 30 for a meal of this quality plus a glass of wine, not to mention the beautiful sourdough bread — Ms A and I were laughing!
Bistrode CBD is a restaurant of class, from the décor, to the service, it is simplistic elegance at its best.
By the way, there’s also a great bar downstairs (Hotel CBD), that’s well worth checking out for an after work drink.

Bistrode has developed a reputation for simple comfort food classics cooked to perfection. The critic reviews are strong and so is their cookbook/​recipe contribution.
So the sum of the parts might be technically well put together, but the food is so simple that the plane cannot liftoff beyond boring. Yes there are people who pay ridiculous sums for a steak, but what they are buying is produce and preparation that cannot be easily replicated in a kitchen (wagyu +9, wood fire grill etc. It was very hard to shake off the fact you are paying a fair amount of money for something your neighbour could whip up.
I’ve read someone mention this place is «boring food cooked well» — sums it up nicely.

Yesterday I was lucky enough to have a friend take me to the Bistrode CBD for lunch…
When i first walked in, I was a bit unsure of where the restaurant was because on the ground level was an open bar but not much eating… but then, I was shown a gorgeous white stair case which took me to the upstairs restaurant… and voila, i was there…
Firstly aesthetically the Bistrode if gorgeous… tres chic, which black and white striped chairs, high ceilings and mood lighting… it’s a really beautiful restaurant… the staff were really friendly and didn’t miss a beat making me feel like a star… they were attentatve and helpful…
We ordered entrees and mains…
For entrees I had kingfish sashimi… which was absolutely superb. The flavours were delicious, a salty, oil, jalapeño mix which was so yummy I reckon I could eat it all day (this cost around $ 20)
Now for mains… i ordered the whiting fish… and here’s why the low review… firstly, I have to say it was delicious… but it cost 40 and it was a tiny piece of fish — but it tasted like battered fish that you’d get in a fish and chip store… it was yum, but not «wow» — i thought it was overpriced and i couldn’t say the cost could be justified… honestly, i think i would have been better off having fish and salad on Bondi Beach — pretty much tasted the same except that the serving on Bondi would have been bigger…
Cost should equal quality and quantity… disappointed…

After all the great things I’d heard about the original Bistrode in Surry Hills, I was a little disappointed with the food at the newer Bistrode CBD.
The interiors are certainly stylish and play up the architectural features of the building, decorated in a classic black and white colour palette that emphasizes the striking columns and high ceilings in the dining room. Service was also noteworthy, our waiter ensuring orders arrived quickly so my friend and I could make it to a performance we were headed to afterwards.
The entrée of white asparagus with a fried duck egg and ham was just that — no funny business or anything fancy. It was tasty, but kind of felt like a breakfast dish that didn’t involve much technique. For our main course we shared a confit duck leg with a frisee, red lentil and watercress salad. Again, the duck was well-​cooked but the overall the dish was pretty boring and not a substantial meal for one person. The dessert of honey tart and its accompanying peanut butter ice cream, however, was very delicious.
I get the whole back-​to-​basics approach, but I left this place feeling underwhelmed and overcharged for what I got. It’s a good option for midday lunches and after work dinners in the city, but I’m not in a hurry to recommend it to anyone.