TasWeekend: Spoilt for choice at St Albi

IT’S great to see the frenzy of new restaurants in the CBD in the past 18 months or so finally reaching the suburbs.

TAS WEEKEND: St Abli, Albert Road, Moonah: Seafood paella, shellfish and chorizo with cherry tomatoes and baby peas

IT’S great to see the frenzy of new restaurants in the CBD in the past 18 months or so finally reaching the suburbs. While calling St Albi an “eatery” captures the relaxed informality of the place, it seriously understates the job of Lucy Baker, her father Gary, of Rockwall Bar and Grill, and Lucy’s partner Josh Paull in transforming an old warehouse into a rather glamorous 150-seat restaurant.

With a long bar down one side, a large open kitchen, funky ceiling lights made by Paull from material collected from a skip, a private room seating 30 on the mezzanine floor, a couple of other more intimate spaces, classy tables and chairs, and unadorned industrial walls and raw metal ceiling struts, the feel is one of tasteful, modern minimalism, very different to anything else in town. The menu, though, is anything but minimalist.

The seafood paella, shellfish and chorizo with cherry tomatoes and baby peas.

Of the 11 entrees, Lucy says the most popular is the cider-braised pork belly roulade with apple and fennel slaw. On our visit, a friend at another table raved about the Asian-inspired dish of five spice quail with coriander, lime and chilli.

We were less happy with our first entree of a too-sweet and creamy spanner crab pate in which you had to search for any crab flavour.

On the other hand, a ham hock terrine was generous and well made with traditional cornichons and a rather commercial-tasting tomato relish and other pickles.

The pick of our entrees was the tender, crisp and beautifully spicy Szechuan squid, which was as good as the best spiced squid rings or strips in town.

A seafood paella was an unexpected option among the selection of nine mains and, although it had of necessity been pre-prepared and microwaved, the seafood and saffron flavours were excellent and there was an abundance of shellfish, topped by two grilled king prawns.

Next came what Lucy says is their most popular choice of the eight steak options from the grill, the Cox eye fillet, unusually rubbed with coffee and 10 other spices in a mix developed by head chef George Cox during his time at Rockwall, Salamanca.

“The Cox” 450g eye fillet, rubbed in an unique coffee spice and served with shallot butter with duck fat roasted potatoes, rosemary salt and garlic.

Perfectly cooked rare, it was a wonderfully succulent treat and a nicely charred 300g scotch with a lovely rocket, pear and parmesan side dish was almost as good.

There are also an extensive and interesting selection of side dishes, two vegetarian main course options and two dishes for two to share – a Persian slow-roasted lamb shoulder and a large seafood platter titled St Albi Catch. There’s also a 10-option banquet menu and a choice of five desserts.

The wine, top-shelf spirits and afters, cider and beers selections are large with a wide range of prices, the wines with a reasonable Tasmanian representation and a number of them by the glass.

So, in the best sense possible, St Albi has something for everyone and, just as The Red Velvet Lounge and Lotus Eaters were catalysts in the transformation of Cygnet, and Zepp’s had similar effect in Campbell Town, it is to be hoped the sophisticated style and quality of St Albi might kick-start a more interesting and vibrant, modern food scene in the northern suburbs.

Entrees $16/$18; mains $26 to $38; grills $32 to $50; sides $9; desserts $14; banquet $55 a head

St Albi Bar and Eatery, 49 Albert Rd, Moonah. Licensed. Open daily noon to late. 6228 3257.