Chiswick at the Gallery

I can see why people like this restaurant soo much, with the view of Sydney, being close to some of the greatest artwork and a celebrity chef menu.
We were lucky to jag a table for three for Sunday lunch without a booking. It wasn’t a window table, but good enough. Staff were running around attending to other patrons, yet attentive. The menu offers delicately crafted, seasonal produce until you get to the battered flathead with chips and tartare sauce. Of course no one wants to order fish and chips at a nice establishment, but I think most people are secretly longing for some hot chips and fish. The portion of this dish is big enough for two, possibly even three people to share.
The other nibbles we shared were the garlic flathead with sea salt and rosemary which was light and not too garlicy that you needed a breath mint. The crispy chicken with papaya and red curry mayonnaise was Japanese inspired and reminded me of chicken karaage. Good sized chicken pieces and plenty of dipping sauce.
I thought that I didn’t have enough room for dessert, but when I saw it, it was instant mouth watering love. The honeycomb crunch with banana icecream was the only one I had eyes for. As I highly dislike banana’s they added extra chocolate mousse and wattleseed icecream instead. That should have a frame around it in the gallery, because it was artfully crafted and displayed and of course tasted delicious!
I don’t think I’ll be able to resist indulging myself when I’m next at the gallery.

Have the slow cooked lamb. You won’t be sorry! Actually everything melds together well in this light, bright space in the middle of our Art Gallery of NSW. The serving size was plentiful without being too much and the flavours clearly showed the hand of Chef Matt Moran and the high quality team he’s employed. Sophisticated but not overly pretentious menu, a wine list which can get up there in price — but there are a few reasonable choices as well (thank you). I’d go again to try the dishes I didn’t get to this time. My friends agreed.

Prompt seating without a booking on a weekend lunch outing. Lovely service, great food. A little expensive for my tastes, but left feeling satiated after four tasting plates shared with my partner.

Having experienced Chiswick at Woollahra, I was keen to try this one. Overall, I was very impressed! The food was delicious and the restaurant had a great relaxed buzz. Will be back!

After a great experience at Chiswick in Woollahra I had friends visiting from overseas so I decided to take them to Chiswick at the Gallery.
I made a booking ahead of time so there was no trouble getting seating. We were promptly seated and we didn’t feel rushed, even though they were due to close in an hour. However, as a result of that service was a little off balance, probably because they were busy trying to serve and clean up at the same time.
We ordered a decent amount of dishes with wine and it was all just OK. Unfortunately, no dish actually gave a wow factor like it did back in the original Chiswick. The crisps were stale with our beef tartare, not sure if this was on purpose. The best dishes were probably the sirloin (even then it was only OK) and the snow crab sliders. The tartare was OK, the yellowfin tuna was bland, the fried quail was OK, and the scallops were OK.
All in all, just OK.
A little disappointed and kind of wish I took my friends elsewhere.
Will stick to the original establishment.

A birthday lunch for 6 was the order of the day at this new establishment.
As a keen supporter of Chiswick in Woolhara I was fairly keen to give the latest addition to the stable of Matt Moran a whirl.
The space is large and feels bigger than Woolhara, although others debated the point. With views across Woolloomooloo and the gardens it is hard to beat for outlook.
We had a booking for 2pm and arrived a little early — had to wait 15 or so for the table to clear and clean but all ok. Drinks service was pretty slow as we waited at the large communal brass topped table but not exceptionally so. Vale Ale is a great drop and pleased to see it on the list, tbh.
We got a nice table in the window and proceeded to give the menu a once over. Plenty of old favs here and a few new ones as well, including a Collective Menu for tables of 6 or more, which we decided looked like us. This is a selection of three small plates, two each of chilli quail, tuna tartare and mozzarella with tomatoes. For the main event a lamb shoulder, while snapper and a cous cous dish, plus a side of greens. We added a couple of fries to round it out. The desert was alternate drop of a chocolate mouse cake and a mixture of strawberries and watermelon with strawberry ice cream.
The food was all very nice, almost but not quite exceptional, let down a little by the service. I think that was more because they had the busiest day since they opened 6 weeks ago rather than anything else, but we did struggle to get attention a couple of times. I especially liked the quail and the lamb, but the lamb is always good.
Recommended and we’ll be back.