Gastro Park, Kings Cross

Severely disappointed that I missed out on the Game of Thrones dinner that was all over the bloggersphere here, here and here, I had been since wanting an opportunity to dine at Gastro Park. My ultimate foodie partner A was craving fine dining after her continual diet on Mcdonalds and lemon juice and consequently the opportunity presented itself. It just so happens that it was also her birthday so I was more than excited to take her here.


A was intent on trying the entire menu through a degustation, I reasoned instead that going A la carte would be more affordable and still be able to have a large amount of food to try.

I love the way this was presented, with the butter almost smeared into a wave. Sonoma sour dough is always a good start; warm, crusty and fluffy. It could do with a larger butter ratio, although I can never have enough butter.

The Green One 22

A ordered 'the green one'. Having just watched the Avengers with Hulk in it, I wasn't sure what to expect because she ordered it. She has a fascination with anything green and it turns out that it was a pea cocktail. Unusual... ly exciting and different she said. I'll take her word for it. 

Raw tuna & scallop, lime, olive oil, chives 16

The first dish of the night and probably the best one as well. We kept going on and on and ooooooon about this dish. It certainly wasn't because of the creativity because all it was was raw scallop and tuna with a vinaigrette. The quality, however, was out of this world extraordinary. The scallop was sublime, the rawness and texture highlighting the superb crisp freshness. The tuna tasted like it had just leaped out of the ocean and onto the bowl, with the cut so incredibly mouth-wateringly tender and melting, there was almost no biting involved. The acidity and quality oil only further amplifies the freshness. I was more than excited about what was to come after this dish.

Foie gras, wild hare, beetroot, plum vinegar, red cabbage granita

The shaven foie gras was wonderfully salty and shaving it results in a lighter, airier version. The fatness matches well with the super tart fruity plum vinegar and the coldness of the granita. I kind of forgot about the wild hare as I found the aforementioned combination to be quite delightful.

Soy & mustard glazed swordfish belly, pickled cucumber 16

The 3 forms of cucumbers; soup, strip and pickled were interesting however I was more captivated by the fatty sword fish belly. Cutting into it was like cutting into air. Deliciously marbled and tender, it brought a smile to my face. My only qualm was there wasn't enough of it.

Seared venison, soy, ginger, bonito dressing 16

When confronted with the option to pick between the previous snacks and the venison and having asked the waitress about it, A said why not have all of them? Urgh, I'm going to be so broke. The venison was beautifully cooked with asian flavours permeating the cut. However, having just eaten the seafood dishes, the tenderness pales in comparison and it just left me craving more of that scallop.

Mid- way through, 2 blaring fire trucks were stationed outside in what I presume was a gentlemen's club. The waiter came by and joking said "Enjoying the light show?". Haha, only in the Cross. I have no idea what happened.

Liquid butternut gnocchi, mushroom consomme, sage 28

One of their signatures here is a butter nut gnocchi with consommé. Having only been used to the hard rubbery balls of gnocchi that some Italian eateries serve out, I wasn't too particularly optimistic about what was to come. The heady mushroom consomme was poured in front of us with the intoxicating aromas generously coating the gnocchi. After one bite, I was smitten. The gnocchi literally explodes in your mouth into a soup of butternut. A soup within a soup, how can you not be impressed? The thin crown of parmesan provided a nice textural counterpoint.

Morning dew infused duck breast, stone fruit, fig, foie gras 32

The morning dew infusion was lost with me and the duck was a tad tough although still delicious. The sweetness of the fruits, particularly the ripe, soft and salty foie gras fig, went well with the duck. 

Crispy scaled snapper, smoked potato puree, calamari crackling, ink sauce 39

I hear the snapper here is one of their signatures so we couldn't miss out. They scale off the snapper, deep fry the scales then attach them back on and the concept is very intriguing. I hear rave reviews about it and I couldn't help but be slightly disappointed having eaten it. Don't get me wrong, it was delicious, it just doesn't match up to the previous dishes we had. The scales were delicious and crispy, however the frying process slightly dried out the snapper. The scored calamari was a tad chewy however the slithers of calamari and crackling were much more successful as they were as tender as can be and crunchy. The squid ink adds a befitting flavour to the mix; salty and vinegary. 

Textures of goats cheese, apple & celery 18

I'm starting to get more and more into cheese after the free sample of pear and blue cheese pairing from Taste of Sydney food festival. In dipping in to the goats cheese snow, I found it the flavour to be quite savoury yet unappealingly ammonic . However, mix it in to the celery sorbet and the whole idea changes. The coolness and clarity of the celery flavour shines through to me, along with the sweetness and tartness of the balsamic glaze and the much more neutralness of the goats cheese ice cream creates a very appealing combination.

Vacherin, served with lavosh, grapes & fig 12

The Vacherin was much more within my stratosphere of cheeses. It's gorgeous creamy ooziness was only out won by the instant hit of it's richness and semi- strong nutty flavour.

Chocolate, honeycomb, mandarin sphere, cookies & cream 22

And then came along the candle, the cookie and the cream. Happy birthday Anne. Cracking into the orb results in a delightful gush of chocolate cream. The flavours weren't that invigorating but the whimsicality is certainly appreciated on our end.

Nitro Pavlova, pineapple, coconut, papaya 20

The nitro pavlova looks like it just exploded out from a science lab hasn't it? Bubbles, liquid nitrogen and all. The papaya and pineapple felt seasonally appropriate and were sweet, although I happily 'gave' my part to A given i'm not a huge fan of papaya. I can't not mention the pavlova, it had a texture nothing like the normal whipped egg whites and was more akin the texture of the frozen goats cheese mousse found at Bentley, except softer. I found the pavlova to be the more exciting of the two dishes.

The front house staff were wonderfully informative, conversational and jovial throughout the night. Never once did we feel forgotten, with water glasses always full and constant reassurance when the pacing of dishes went a little slow. The creativity and excitement was only out-matched by the sheer quality and taste of the ingredients. Although towards the more expensive side, we had a impressive experience here, dare I say probably the best experience this year and it was definitely money well spent. With restaurants like these, the already animated Kings Cross has gotten a little more exciting.



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Posted in: cheese, Consomme, Duck, foie gras, Gnocchi, Grant King, Kings Cross, pavlova, scallop, Sonoma