Sunday, January 15, 2012

Courtney's Brasserie, Parramatta

Courtney’s Brassiere is Parramatta’s very own fine-dining restaurant and as part of this year’s Sydney Festival they were offering Fast Food Feasts. In short, a fabulous and quick meal for $30 designed to get in you in, fed and out to see the sights at the Festival...toot sweet.


Never one to pass up a good deal I jumped on this and made a booking for Parramatta’s Festival opening night. It also seemed like a great opportunity to try one of Sydney’s most sustainable restaurants.

Courtney’s sources fresh ingredients direct for farms that are within a 200km radius of Parramatta which leads to super-fresh produce and a menu that can change daily depending on what is in season. They also source meat and eggs from animals that are raised outdoors in a natural environment.   Blackboards around the restaurant tell diners what's in season, which farms the meal has come from, where the wine is sourced from.  Sounds good to me!

The grown-ups (myself and Niecy Poo) start things of with a glass of 2005 McGuigan ‘The ShortList’ King Valley Riesling which is much more crisp and less sweet than I was expecting. The Boy chooses a bottle of sparkling Tasmanian Rainwater - trying to relive his Hobart holiday I think.  At first we all had a bit of a WTF giggle about the Tasmanian Rainwater, but it's not any different to drinking Perrier with your meal so why not I say. At least it's made in Australia and it tastes...fresh.


A nice little surprise not included in the deal is an amuse bouche.  Our amuse bouche is a savoury style "doughnut" sitting atop a dainty dollop of pesto.  The doughnut quite dense in texture and tastes a little like felafel.  Oh, and a bread roll served with butter, balsamic and olive oil.
 

We had a choice of two mains, Barramundi  or Pork Belly.  It's little surprise to me that we all choose the Eco Farmed Pork Belly with Potato Pave, Wilted Summer Greens, Caramelised Apple and Crackling.  I mean Barramundi is nice...really nice, but unless it comes with Pork Crackling I can't see anyone at this table favouring it over Pork Belly.  The pork was so tender, and I really loved the Potato Pave (a fancy Potato slice to you and me). The apple was lovely - slightly tart and still retaining its crispness.


Another nice, and generous surprise not included in the deal is dessert - Mango Soufflé served with a little pot of custard and another pot of bitter chocolate. I'm wracking my feeble little brain trying to remember if I've tried Soufflé before and I don't think I have.  This was certainly a good specimen to pop my Soufflé cherry with - look how high it is, and it was so light and fluffy. I want more. Now!


Courtney's has a degusation menu that I'm very keen to come back and try - $79, what a bargain!  On occasion they also have dinners where the local farmers attend - a great chance to talk to the suppliers first hand.

Courtney's Brasserie on Urbanspoon

Courtney's Brasserie is at 70 Phillip Street, Parramatta. Phone them on 9635-3288.

21 comments:

  1. Parra is definitely growing hey? Must make my way down here soon, food looks great and I can't believe how cheap it is!

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  2. Oh nice! I've walked past Courtney's so many times and wrote it off, thinking it would be a boring, dull old bistro sort of thing. But it looks really good! Will definitely have to check it out.

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  3. oh Mango Soufflé, hello sexual beast

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  4. I remember you suggested this place for our anniversary, and it was WONDERFUL. Must try the degustation next time as well!

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  5. You have said the magic words. Mango.Souffle'. Sold!

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  6. Wow, I never knew parramatta had a hatted restaurant. Maybe I'll try eating out in parra afterall!

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  7. 79 bucks wow, take me, take me!!! I must try this placd....

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  8. I am laughing at the souffle cherry comment...all the organic bits and the info on the farms etc sound great. Yum on the pork belly too :)

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  9. Tasmanian Rainwater sounds excellent. Having walked the Overland Track in Tassie I can tell you that there is an enormous amount of rainfall (near Cradle Mtn its about 5m-7m p.a.!!!). So there quite a lot of Tassie Rainwater around.

    On the other hand think about all the greenhouse gases emitted (from transportation activities) to get this water from Tassie to Sydney. It's about 1L of diesel to move 1L of water from Tassie to Sydney.

    Therefore I highly subscribe to the practice of drinking local water.

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    Replies
    1. I was thinking that very same thing regarding the transportation of the water...however I don't think it's their normal drinks offer. All of the Sydney Festival restaurants are offering it...marketing I guess.

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  10. Looks good, and wow, $79!? yay to affordable degustations!

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  11. Oh just look at the souffle... and the pork belly!!!! Come to mama!

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  12. What a great gem in Parramatta.

    let's go when I am back in feb :)?

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    1. Hi Julie, I'm on holidays in February - but if we're around at the same time we should def get everyone together for the Degustration...

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  13. What a fantastic spot! You know what, I don't think I've ever had soufflé either! Must rectify that immediately. The dinner with local farmers attending sounds like a great idea.

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  14. These Sydney Festival deals are great aren't they. And I like how they bring out the dishes quickly so that you don't have to worry about making the show!

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  15. Looks like you got two souffles for the price of one! Thanks for sharing your lovely photos.

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    1. The desserts were ENORMOUS and so generous consdiering they were freebies.

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  16. Ohhh I love great deals :) The food all looks amazing ~ and i like how the desserts are big ~ cuz they never seem big enough to me hahaha

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  17. Mouth watering food and great deals . Thanks for sharing such fantastic information with us .

    Regards

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