Sydney's Gastro Park restaurant a great excuse to come to the city

FEW of us travel just to dine, but Brian Johnston would make an exception for Gastro Park, which he reckons is the perfect excuse to visit Sydney.

Roast veal sweetbread with turnip and potato ravioli at Gastro Park Photo by Gastro Park. Picture: Supplied

WHEN the first course arrives, I'm a little confused.

What happened to my foie gras and how do I eat the curious arrangement on my plate? It consists of a slushy purple blob and beige shavings that might have been collected from a sawmill. Perhaps a spoon would be best.

Apparently the blob is granita, not something I expect for an entree and, given that it's red cabbage-flavoured, not something I'd expect at all.

Silly me for being so unimaginative, and thank the gourmet gods for Grant King.

I discover that red cabbage granita is utterly delicious, and am soon wondering why it isn't sold on every street corner.

As for the wood shavings, my foie gras is right there in spectacular, flavour-filled style, if not in its usual form.

This is just the opening salvo of my tasting meal at Gastro Park, a restaurant in Sydney's Potts Point just an alley away from Kings Cross.

King was for seven years executive chef at the three-hatted Rose Bay restaurant Pier. Now he puts eccentric ideas and cutting-edge cooking techniques to the test in his own restaurant, where some dishes look as if they were designed by Picasso.

Roast veal sweetbread with turnip and potato ravioli at Gastro Park Photo by Gastro Park. Picture: Supplied

But for all his wizardry and whimsy, King never loses sight of what people really want, which is simply well-cooked food that tastes great. The menu isn't enormous and the tasting menu provides a good overview of what's on offer.

The flavours are part European and part Asian, with quite the nod to Japan in ingredients and presentation.

Critics laud the liquid butternut gnocchi with shimiji mushrooms and onion crumb, served in a mushroom consomme. The gnocchi burst with pumpkin soup in the mouth, soft as silken tofu.

King has a particularly adept hand with fish, and I enjoy an excellent crispy scaled barramundi on an ink sauce. For me, the dish of the night is the perfectly cooked soy-and-mustard glazed swordfish with pickled daikon and crushed wasabi peas.

Accompanying wines supply some interesting, lesser-known varietals from France and Italy but sometimes sacrifice quality for quirkiness.

The restaurant itself is effortlessly cool. The decor is stripped bare with exposed concrete walls and plain wooden tables. Service is good but a little unbending, and missing a bit of genuine warmth.

Still, for such an ambitious restaurant so serious about food, Gastro Park is relaxed and even fun, just a little edgy without being confrontational.

I get the feeling King thinks food is to be enjoyed, and eating it should be a playful, happy occasion. And happy I am indeed when my dessert arrives.

I crack open a chocolate sphere that oozes chocolate mousse and honeycomb spiced with cardamom, saffron and ginger. It's a sophisticated version of a Cadbury Creme Egg, perfectly catering to both the gourmet and kid in me.

And surely leaving a restaurant with a big smile on your face is just the experience that everybody wants.

The writer was a guest of Gastro Park. Follow his travel blog at www.thoughtfultravelwriter.com

GO2 - GASTRO PARK

Staying there

Hotel Pullman Sydney Hyde Park offers stylish rooms in the heart of the city.

Ph 1300 656 565.

Eating there

Gastro Park has a seven-course ($140) and 10-course ($170) tasting menus as well as a la carte dining. Open for lunch Thursday to Saturday and dinner Tuesday to Saturday. 5-9 Roslyn St, Potts Point.

Ph 8068 1017.

More: sydney.com or Sydney Visitors Centre. Ph 9240 8788.

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