Soooooo we finally got to try Ben Shewry's
Attica for my birthday in September. Thanks Quynh for taking me out! Attica is ranked number 32 in the world's top restaurants and has retained the 'three hat' rating from the Australia Good Food Guide this year. It has been on my list of fine dining go-to for ages and to say I was excited was an understatement.
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| ATTICA TIME |
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| Table Setting |
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| Lemon Aspen & Apple Cider and Rose |
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| Course 1 - Cook's Leaves |
To start, we had the courses without cutlery. We were advised these were small bites we could eat with our hands. The first course was Cook's Leaves. It was explained as leaves (in season now) that was picked from the Ripponlea Estate. We were to dip it in sour cream with apple balsamic and olive oil. Since we are not the biggest fans of herbs/leafy greens growing up, it did taste like leaves...... but the combination of the sour cream was nice and tangy with it.
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| Course 2 - Aged Santa Claus Melon |
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| Close-up shot! |
Next was the Aged Santa Claus Melon. It was sweet and sour melon as it covered in dried native plum powder. Very refreshing but a tad hard to eat cleanly.
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| Course 3 - Pearl Cooked in Paper Bark |
Hmm, Pearl Cooked in Paperback. It came out as parcel. I love surprises. Inside were 3 succulent pearl oysters coated in butter. It was slightly sweet but rich in flavour.
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| Course 4 - Smashed Avo on Toast |
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| That detail! |
One of my favourite dishes was the Smashed on Avo on Toast. Call me basic, I don't care. The pixelation of the avocado was super extra but gave it a great texture and it was bang on pure avocado flavour. I loved the bursts of fingerlime. Just so good.
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| Course 5 - Smoked Pork |
Next was the Smoked Pork. It was smoked pork neck with an apple skin vinagrette. Very porky and very soft.
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| Course 6 - An Imperfect History of Ripponlea |
I really liked this dish. It was called An Imperfect History of Ripponlea. The 3 tarts were representations of the area in Aboriginal, English and Jewish times. The Berries were quite acidic. The English black pudding with fermented walnut cream was my favourite, as it was the only warm one and super savoury. The last tart was Jewish chicken jelly with dill and corn cream. It was cold so the jelly didn't sit right in my mouth.
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| Course 7 - Gazza's Vegemite Pie |
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| Mmm cheese |
Next was Gazza's Vegemite Pie. This was organic lamb vegemite and cheese. This really packed a punch. Quynh said there was too much cheese but let's be real, that's not a thing.
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| Course 8 - Scallops and Wattlesoy |
The Scallops and Wattlesoy were beautifully thin and a great bite to eat. They were translucent Port Phillip Bay scallops that were glazed with the wattlesoy on a buttery puff pastry. Yum!
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| Course 9 - Chewy Carrots |
The Chewy Carrots were a surprise to eat. Who knew carrots could be this texture! It was sweet but peppery and the smoked egg with tarragon made a great dipping sauce.
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| Before |
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| After |
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| Course 10 - Mutton Shell |
Next was the Mutton Shell.This was aptly named as the Australian term for abalone is a mutton fish apparently. The delicate flesh was hidden under a giant mutton shell and we had to lift it up to reveal it. It was paired with black cream and seaweed butter, yum!
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| Course 11 - Bread and butter |
YAS, next was my favourite course of any fine dining meal. The bread and butter course. To make it super Australian, we were served fresh warm wattleseed damper, house churned butter and macadamia cream and saltbush. It was so nice, we obviously had 2 servings.
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| Course 12 - Kangaroo, Wattles and Waxflower |
The Kangaroo, Wattles and Waxflower arrived at the same time as well. The Flinders Valley kangaroo was hidden under all the other components and it was such a great dish. Really unique flavours that popped in your mouth.
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| Before |
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| After |
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| Close-up of Course 13 - All Parts of the Pumpkin |
Next was All Parts of the Pumpkin. The waiter would set the plate in front of us and then quenelle some pumpkin cream from a pumpkin on our plate. It really celebrated the pumpkin!
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| Course 14 - Grilled Marron with Desert Lime |
The Grilled Marron with Desert Lime was so aesthetic. They left the vibrant marron head on the dish and the tail meat was wrapped in a cos leaf and then topped with dessert lime. They pair so well together. Just yum!
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| Course 15 - Tulips and Jumbuck |
Next was Tulips and Jumbuck. The lamb sat on a macadamia puree and then topped with a single tulip petal and ash and pink verjus. It was really delicious. Who knew you could eat tulips.
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| Tulip Garden! |
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| Course 16 - Hot Jam Donuts |
We were then asked to step outside to the garden. They said it was nice to stretch your legs before having dessert. We got to walk around the mini garden and were fed a Hot Jam Donut and drank some Gumbi Gumbi tea. The complemented each other well.
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| Course 17 - Camel Milk Ice |
Our first proper dessert was Camel Milk Ice. This was camel's milk ice cream, topped with fingerlime, ants and honey. Yes, that's ants in my dessert!!! I really enjoyed this one. The honey lent sweetness to the ice cream and the ants were a fun texture to eat.
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| Course 18 - Whipped Emu Egg with Quandong |
Next was Attica's famous Whipped Emu Egg with Quandong. It was artfully presented in the emu shell. It was a bit too runny for my liking but the quandongs gave it a much needed citrusy burst.
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| Chocolate Sponge Cake with Jellybean Ice Cream |
Since, it was my birthday, they brought out a Chocolate Sponge cake drenched in chocolate sauce and some jellybean ice cream. At this point, our stomachs were basically bursting. But we finished it and it was oh so good. my favourite was the jellybean ice cream. It just tasted like childhood.
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| Course 19 - Chef Fantales |
To end the night, we were given Chef Fantales, a play on the regular fantales. I didn't have room to eat the sweet treat but it was still great the next day. Inside the wrapper was a story (tale) about one of Attica's chef. Very cute.
Overall, we had an amazing time at Attica. The service was so top-notch but still relaxed enough that we felt truly comfortable. The wait-staff are really down to earth. The food was everything I expected and more. Great Australian produce and not missing the mark on delivering great flavours. There were some really interesting flavour combinations. The whole dining experience does take around 4 hours with 19 courses. We were ridiculously full by the end of it. I can really see why Attica is deserving of its world ranking. It makes me really excited to try other fine dining restaurants to see how it compares. I've posted this review pretty late so the menu has definitely changed but they have kept most of their staples. It is definitely a restaurant to try at least once in your life!
Taste: 9.5/10
Presentation: 8.5/10
Value for Money: 9/10
Service: 9/10
