Spud-tacular: Humble potato has gone posh

Carb-phobes, look away now. At these five Sydney venues, the humble potato has gone posh.

Five Sydney venues elevate the humble spud to a level of opulence.

From a whole potato to creamy mash, and with influences from around the world, these five Sydney venues elevate the humble spud to a level of opulence.

Ursula’s

Paddington

Ursula’s. Picture: Steven Woodburn

If you don’t like butter, there’s a good chance you’re not going to enjoy the Paris mash at chef Phil Wood’s popular Paddington bistro. It’s a shame, because the elegant simplicity of these flawlessly smooth, impossibly buttery mashed potatoes make them one of our favourite sides in town, particularly when paired with the roasted, scallop mousse-stuffed chicken (or, frankly, any of Ursula’s homely but elevated Euro-inspired fare). Grab a seat by the window, order a glass of chablis and promise yourself the diet starts tomorrow.

92 Hargrave St, Paddington

Bar Louise

Enmore

Bar Louise. Picture: Caroline McCredie.

Fancy a Spanish holiday? One bite of Bar Louise’s tender, grilled octopus legs curled over chunks of skin-on kipflers, drizzled with punchy salsa verde and resting over garlicky aioli will transport you to the Galician coastline, where this perfect combination of pulpo and patatas are offered in every waterside eatery. But Louise’s love of the spud doesn’t end there: the patatas bravas features crisp-fried potatoes doused with paprika-spiked bravas sauce and more of that incredible house-made aioli. Viva la potato!

135 Enmore Rd, Enmore

Gildas

Surry Hills

Gildas.

Inspired by chef Lennox Hastie’s time working in Basque Country, Firedoor’s little sister Gildas showcases the flavours of San Sebastian in slick but cosy wine bar surrounds. And while the titular snack – a skewer of anchovy, olive and guindilla pepper named after the Rita Hayworth film, Gilda, typically enjoyed with a martini – is obviously the headliner on the snack-rich menu, a tipple at Gildas isn’t complete without a couple of bunuelos: creamy mashed potatoes combined with briny salt cod, formed into a neat quenelle, fried until crispy and dispatched with a crown of pickled cucumbers.

46-48 Albion St, Surry Hills

Margaret

Double Bay

Margaret.

Every line of Neil Perry’s Margaret menu is a celebration of great produce, so it’s no surprise that the Double Bay restaurant’s signature potato dish is made with the country’s best potatoes. Grown in the rich soil of the Southern Highlands, the superlative spuds are thinly sliced, baked into a gratin-like cake and sliced into squares before being fried to crisp perfection. And while they’re listed as a side, we reckon these crunchy, creamy, perfectly seasoned potato bricks are reason enough for a reservation.

30-36 Bay St, Double Bay

Oncore by Clare Smyth

Barangaroo

Oncore by Clare Smyth.

Inspired by Clare Smyth’s childhood in Northern Ireland, this dish elevates the humble potato to a level of opulence usually reserved for lobsters or Wagyu beef. A whole potato is bathed in kombu-spiked butter, then left overnight to soak up the flavours. The umami-packed spud is then topped with herring and trout roes, scattered (delicately, of course) with edible flowers and served with still more of that butter. If you want to sample it without splashing out on the full set menu, the trademark spud is also available on the bar menu as a single perfect serve.

Crown Sydney, Level 26/1 Barangaroo Ave, Barangaroo

Originally published as Spud-tacular: Humble potato has gone posh