Ayers and Graces: Henry’s Table

A restaurant has opened in the home that was the hub of politics and high society in colonial Adelaide — but has it kept up with the times?

Korean style crispy skin spatchcock on black vinegar cabbage with kimchi pancake at Henry's in Adelaide. Picture: Matt Loxton

Sir Henry Ayers is a significant figure in the history of this state, a pioneer of the mining industry and politician who was premier on seven separate occasions as ministries formed and collapsed in a way that makes the recent federal shenanigans look a model of stability.

Clearly, Sir Henry was a canny judge of the capricious mood of the infant colony, as well as having a strong survival instinct.

These are qualities that the owners of Henry’s Table, the restaurant that bears his name and occupies his former bedroom, would do well to bear in mind. For if a recent midweek dinner is anything to go by, it falls short of what is expected in a modern restaurant on a number of levels.

Henry’s Table is a recent addition to the offerings at historic Ayers House, where the elegant colonial features, extensive grounds and flexible floorplan mean weddings and other functions have long been the bread-and-butter.

While it is accessed via the not-so-historic glass-panel addition to one side, the new restaurant is at the heart of the original building, a space with both possibilities and limitations. One option would have been to celebrate all this heritage, to put a few clever, playful twists on the dining traditions of yesteryear. The other, as has happened here, is to try and force a contemporary concept where, in my view, it doesn’t fit.

Putting aside issues in the kitchen, and there are a few, the biggest problem is that Henry’s Table still looks, acts and sounds like a function room. Perhaps when more than two tables are occupied the flaws aren’t as obvious. Perhaps.

Dining room at Henry's in Ayers House. Picture: Matt Loxton

On this night, however, the lingering impressions are of a windowless room with impressive ceilings and heritage features, freshly painted panelled walls, white tablecloths and high-backed upholstered seats that are showing their age; of a single speaker blaring awful soft-funk muzak for hours on end; and of lacklustre waiting staff who lacked either motivation or direction to cover even the basics like detailing the daily fish special or pouring wine.

The website promises a “no rules menu”, which gives it a licence to skip between East, West and parts in-between — occasionally in the one plate. It is a reflection apparently of the various backgrounds and travels of the kitchen team, led by Irishman Paul Groves.

The signature dish, for instance, is a Balinese spiced duck cooked in banana leaves, which sounds brilliant, particularly if we were sitting in a steamy warung. Anyway, it has to be ordered a day ahead.

So we share a mixed bag of entrees. Pieces of soy braised pork belly are pressed into a loose mound and topped with herbs and a pair of snappy sesame wafers that do a fair impression of a crackling lid.

The delicate sweetness of butterflied gar fillets is somewhat lost in a well-fried panko crumb — more so when a red onion compote and salted lime aioli become involved. Still, it’s infinitely more appealing than fried zucchini flowers stuffed with intense, black gunk I guess is some sort of mushroom farce. They are laid on a dismal risotto that has no sign of being made with stock but relies instead on shreds of basil, watercress and betel leaf that give it a strange flavour reminiscent of old lawn clippings.

Larger plates are more consistent. Mulloway fillet is properly fried and comes with grilled lemon and a mix of greens. Braised lamb shoulder is fragrant with spice and falls apart like an overtired toddler, though the dumplings to the side are stuffed with a strange filling like a dried-out sausage.

Fried spatchcock, coated in what tastes like a five-spice blend, isn’t particularly crisp or Korean, but is still good enough to want to tear every bit of meat from the bone and give it a dip in the black vinegar dressing. Soggy cabbage and a tired kimchi pancake add nothing to the package.

A dessert of “grilled figs” is all about the fig leaf ice cream, three big balls of the stuff, with a single, quartered fruit reduced to the role of garnish.

Dark chocolate “mousse” is shaped into a dense ingot, the sweetness kept in check, and accompanied by a scoop of almond milk sorbet, orange jelly, pickled grapes and a scattering of smashed peanut brittle. It’s a good one to share.

Given the alternatives on offer nearby in the East End, the audience for this hotchpotch of a project would seem to be mostly history buffs and wedding planners. As Henry would have noted, that isn’t a platform for success.

Simon says

HENRY’S TABLE

288 North Tce, Adelaide
8224 0666; henrystable.com.au

OWNERSRichard and Jules McLeod

CHEFS Paul Groves, Simon Orzechowski

FOOD Contemporary

ENTREE $16-$23
MAINS $22-$45
DESSERT $15-$18

DRINKS List of mostly local heroes focuses on established players more than up-and-comers. BYO $25 a bottle

OPENDINNER Wed-Sat

SCORE: 11/20