Hartsyard, Newtown

Words cannot begin to describe how phenomenal my dining experience at Hartsyard was. Their menu is split into ‘seed’ (smaller, lighter dishes) and ‘feed’ (larger, heavier dishes) and designed for sharing. Which left me, a solo diner that evening, wondering what to do as I didn’t want to eat an entire dish of lamb ribs on my own when there were so many other delicious things to try! Thankfully, I spotted the $68 chef’s choice option (including dessert), which when I asked the waitress, she confirmed the chef was happy to do it for just me. First tip here – absolutely absolutely do the “let us cook for you” banquet! I’ve been to Hartsyard on one other occasion when I had the ribs and the fried chicken, but enjoyed the experience infinitely more  this time, albeit for a heftier price.

Apologies for the lighting in the photos as well – in case you are wondering about the Hartsyard atmosphere – it is perfect for date nights with nice dim lighting.

Seed

– Gnocco fritto (above) – this was my favourite dish of the night (but will disclose that it was the first dish, so I might have just been ridiculously starving). The textures were amazing with soft creamy duck liver mousse on the inside and crispy foie gras shavings on the outside. The waitress also mentioned something about english breakfast tea though I couldn’t really taste it.

– Tuna crudo (above) – tuna on falafel on sour cream with two different oils on the side. This was refreshing after the duck liver though I can’t say that I loved the falafel as it was a bit on the dry side

– Buffalo chicken skin (above) – served with the Hartsyard ranch dressing and beans. The chicken skins were crisp and the ranch dressing was both a little acidic and a little spicy, cutting through the richness well

– Globe artichoke (above) – I always have this carnivorous feeling of regret when vegetarian dishes come out during a banquet or set menu. What I will say though is, I would turn vegetarian if dishes were as nice as they were at Hartsyard. The artichokes (such an underutilised menu item as well!) were battered and fried but what was the star of the dish for me were the brussel sprout shavings that added crunch to the creamy stracciatella cheese bed

Feed

– Broccoli with fennel and pistachios on dijonnaise with an egg yolk on top (above on right) – I was told to mix the dish well as the dijonnaise was underneath which I was almost disappointed about doing because you lose the beauty of that egg yolk on top. This dish was good, and had a good mix of textures – I really like having pistachios or other nuts such as walnuts in salads, as they provide a welcome relief from softer vegetables or leaves

– Fried chicken with biscuit in a sausage gravy (above on left) – that chicken was so tender on the inside and light and crispy on the outside. It’s a much lighter thinner batter than KFC batter is. The biscuit was nice as well but I was too full at this point to fully enjoy it though I am sure if I wasn’t too full, I would have eaten all of it to mop up the salty sausage gravy. Yum.

Dessert

But dessert is a separate compartment, even when I am at my fullest, and I was glad that was the case because this dish was not to be missed. The Hartsyard soft serve with butterscotch, cinnamon apple, a little cinnamon donut on the side and of course, the horizontal cone. That soft serve was great, not too sweet and was so so smooth. Every mouthful was a moment in heaven…

Details: 33 Enmore Road, Newtown NSW 2042

On a separate note, that end of KIng Street near Enmore Theatre, is absolutely buzzing on Friyay nights – I’ll definitely be reviewing a few other places around there in the near future!