The Sardine Room

Just off the main strip of Potts Point sits a small seafood bistro that is a true find. Besides superb food at great prices the service is remarkable, making one feel proud to live and dine in Sydney.

I have been lucky enough to dine here a number of times and am just as excited each visit. Before the food however, I mention the owner, Angela. She is without a doubt one ‘hostess with the mostest’, a fantastic person running a fantastic restaurant.

Come once and Angela, also known accordingly as ‘Big Mama’, will greet you with kindness and comforting you with her personal run down of the menu. Come twice and you will no doubt be just as excited the first time while humbled at the familiarity Angela has with you.

Come three times, if not more, and you will feel like you are coming back home, as Big Mama remembers not only your face and name but also your favourite tastes.

The restaurant might be small but the menu is more than accommodating. Predominantly of seafood, the menu is put together with thought, balance and skill, inspired by classical, Mediterranean and Asian flavours.

Appetizers are simple, perfect ways to tie you over as you decide on what meals to have. The White Anchovies tart and salty matched perfectly with crunchy grissini and peppery rocket are a must ($10.00)

For entrée, Salt and Pepper Squid with confit garlic aioli and lemon ($16.00) demonstrates the Sardine Room’s talent for great produce done superbly. Amongst the salt and pepper squid battle of Sydney, this version is proving to be a winner. A crispy, light texture and a perfect balance of pepperiness to saltiness plus the generous portion size will leave you fantasising about this dish in weeks if not days to come.

A beautifully elegant and delicate organic duck egg ravioli, with hand picked crabmeat and trout caviar ($16.00) takes a little longer to get to our table, but the wait is just. Hand made ravioli encases two individual raw duck eggs which are gently warmed when cooked, creating a dish of excitement not only for the eyes but for the taste buds too.

I am still not sure if Angela is at all involved in the slight delayed arrival of this entrée as to create an air of excitement. Nonetheless the lucky diner (me) is looked upon with jealousy as she pierces the pasta to reveal a stream of yellow goodness – the perfect flavour and texture to help mop up the sweet crab and salty roe.

For mains the choice is plentiful and generous at $29 for seafood of this quality.

The fish pie, is delicate yet tasteful. Made with a selection of seafood, aromatics and coated in a beautifully thickened balanced fish stock is popular, hearty and shows why it is a signature dish.

On this dining occasion I was lucky enough to share two mains. I enjoyed the grilled Suzuki mulloway with Vietnamese cabbage and crispy soba noodle salad. As promised this was not just a salad and a fish dish, but a whole meal. The fish was cooked to perfection with a crispy sweet soy glazed skin and tender flesh and the salad was light and crisp with a perfect balance of light Asian inspired flavours.

The other dish I enjoyed was what I hope to think is one of Angela’s favourites. Butterflied sardine fillets grilled and served with a zesty lemon potato dauphine are the perfect balance of creamy potato starch and lemony freshness. The salad that accompanied was simple yet divine. Finest quality fetta, caper berries and cherry tomatoes were the perfect touch, by lightening the natural oiliness of the sardine fillets.

For dessert, this is still a mystery for me. As many times as I have dined there I have been so impressed and satisfied with the selection of appetizers, entrees and mains that all I have needed to finish the night off is a glass of sticky – always recommended perfectly by no one else than Big Mama herself.

The Sardine Room

02 9357 7444

Shop 2, 31 Challis Ave

Potts Point, NSW 2011

www.thesardineroom.com.au