Intimate and classy dining
Schmick: Australian informal; smart or stylish . . . which pretty well describes Grand Bar and Bistro upstairs at Grand Central Park, where you can enjoy an elevated view of the Terrace at night in elegant 1980s New York sophistication.
It's all very black and light: the black provided by the carpet and ceiling in a couple of shades of charcoal, and the light by red fluorescents interspersed with small, white downlights.
The back-lit bar with its artistically arranged bottles put me in mind of the Globe before it was turned into a burger bar, and the bar fascia also gives off subdued light, with the overall effect being mysteriously intimate, but not so dark that you can't read the menu.
A lot of thought has gone into the details here, from the custom- designed monogrammed glassware to the "low-high-chairs" which I just had to try. They were surprisingly comfy but, for my vertically challenged beloved, they could possibly be a problem.
The food's fairly schmick, too, although without any modernist grandstanding. Chef Allan Nutty is, after all, classically trained and his presentation is more restrained than some of the whimsically architectural dishes around the place.
Sourdough ciabatta with dips ($14) was well executed and the beloved was particularly taken with the sundried tomato and yellow capsicum puree, which avoided the sometimes strident flavour of the red variety.
The duck liver pate was earthy and robust, and a beetroot and mint rounded out a well-balanced trio.
Lamb cutlets ($15), dukkah dredged, dribbling with deliquescent fat and flush with a rubescent interior, came with a dreamy pureed eggplant and a couple of sizeable fresh artichokes grilled to textural precision. These could have done with a squeeze of lemon.
Shallow-fried whiting ($14) comprised three delicately flavoured, flaky-moist whole fillets. The salsa verde which came with it was curiously insubstantial, while a well-constructed hollandaise, which caressed a terrific serve of snap-to-the-bite asparagus, was again a trifle underpowered in the lemon department.
A veal cutlet ($38) was cooked au point and its gruyere stuffing left lovely cheesy filaments sticking round the chin. The marsala sauce had the right balance of stock so took the edge off over-sweetness, but I'm not convinced truffle oil did much for the mashed potatoes the cutlet rested on.
All desserts are $10 and they are probably the best $10 worth in town. They included a simple, yet rich, full-bodied chocolate torte with a white chocolate sauce, and a cappuccino mousse which came with two very cute chocolate-dipped piccolo cones, one with chocky mousse and the other lemon sorbet.
A well-priced wine list with 20- odd grape varieties and an index has a somewhat idiosyncratic feel. It's nice to see 30-plus wines by the glass but I would have thought eight premium champagnes, from $28 (Veuve) up to $100 (Louis Roederer 2005), was pretty brave.
Grand Bar and Bistro
Address 150B St Georges Terrace, Perth
Phone 9486 7333
Web grandbarandbistro.com.au
Open Monday-Tuesday: 11am-10.am; Wednesday-Thursday: 11am-11pm; Friday: 11am-midnight;
Saturday: 5pm-midnight
The buzz As the lady said, this is fairly posh nosh for a lot less dosh. Generally, good-value, well-cooked, well-presented fare using quality ingredients and served quite competently in very elegant surroundings. We enjoyed it.
14/20
