I finally make it Felix after having it on my wishlist for about 2 years. Miss M and I decide it's the perfect city location to catch up and it brings back memories of our New York trip last year as it reminds us of Balthazar- just a tad more "polished". The restaurant is large, elegant and tres chic in that French Bistro kind of way. It feels posh, but not intimidating as there are all types of people dining here - older couples (who whip out their iPhone torches to help read the menu), fashionistas (or the Merivale crew as I call them), suits having a nice dinner after work, blokes wandering in in t-shirts and...me!
Somewhere along the two year journey to my dinner at Felix my thoughts about eating meat had changed. Which was kind of a pain as I had ALWAYS really really REALLY wanted to try the Steak Tartare here (having heard such good things about it). I don't think I'll ever be flexible about eating pork, eggs or poultry when I'm dubious about it's provenance, but I'm allowing myself to be a bit flexible when it comes to beef and lamb as it is more likely to have lead a mostly pasture raised life - so enter the Steak Tartare ($22).
When the waitress set down a tray of Worcestershire Sauce and mustard's on our table I knew one of my "food nightmares" was about to come true = DIY Steak Tartare. ARGH! I've got no idea how to mix a steak tartare to ensure it tastes as good as it should...so I batted my eyelids at the waiter and he did it for us! And it was WONDERFUL! The steak was so tender it was like eating butter and the salty crackers matched it perfectly. The mix of condiments + spices give it an almost marinated and zesty flavour.
Now that we've my lamb/beef pact sorted out Miss M and I decided to order the share plate of Lamb Shoulder cooked with oregano, lemon, garlic which came served on a bed of mixed grains with a tasty spiced yoghurt ($68 for two people). The Middle Eastern flavours were unexpected (this being a French restaurant and all), but it was such a flavoursome dish that we polished off the whole lot. We also ordered a side salad of spinach, rocket, Spanish onion, feta and croutons ($8.00).
We may have shared our entree and main but there was no way we were sharing a dessert! The Peanut Parfait ($16.00) had my name all over it! Served with a dark chocolate mousse and salted macadamia caramel it was the perfect end to the dinner! Miss M couldn't resist the hot chocolate and orange fondant with tonka bean ice cream ($18.00) that was calling to her.
So was it worth the wait? To quote Mr Big "abso-bloody-lutely"!
Felix is at 2 Ash Street, Sydney.
