Dinner with Bill Granger

One of the things I really wanted to do while in Sydney is to go visit one of Bill Granger's restaurants. I have watched a few of his TV shows and own some of his books, and I have always admired his flair for flavours. I know that we have Granger & Co. in London, but somehow I had it in my had that only visiting one of the original restaurants in Australia would give me the full experience. I got very excited when my friend Ivonne told me that she lived just a short walk away from one, and one evening we went as a treat for me. Thanks for indulging me, friends and husband!

Unfortunately, Bill's does not take dinner reservations, but we were lucky and did not have to wait for a table long. I apologize that all these photos are a bit meh, by the way, I always feel self-conscious when I take my camera into restaurants, and always just take quick snapshots.

I was slightly disappointed by the décor. The interior was very plain and functional, and for some reason I had thought that the restaurant might resemble the airy beach houses and leafy patios that Bill usually cooks at on TV. I did like the coloured dessert bowls against the white tiles and the display of produce on the shelves in the open kitchen. You can see Ivonne and I are excited about being there! 

For drinks, I chose a Kölsch. This is a light German beer, usually native to Cologne. It is hard to get even in Germany when you are not actually IN Cologne, so I was surprised to see a version on a menu in Sydney. 

We had to wait for our drinks for a while, as there was only one waiter for the whole floor. Even though he was trying his best and was really nice, he desperately needed at least another colleague to help him out.

We shared bread and olives for a starter and I decided to go for a vegetarian main of fried rice and vegetables with kimchi and omelette. 

I mainly chose this dish because I wanted to try the kimchi. In hindsight, I wish I gad gone for a fish or meat option, because even though this was tasty and filling, it was blander than I had hoped and offered nothing of the great, fresh Asian flavours that often are essential to Mr. Grangers dishes. It was quite earthy, as a a matter of fact, more comfort food than summer delight. Here's the menu if you want to see what you might have picked...

For dessert, I obviously had to go for the Australian staple and ordered a Pavlova. This was a simple but delicious combination of meringue, cream and juicy-sweet strawberries and although it looks light, I was utterly stuffed when I finished.
All in all, my visit to Bill's filled my stomach with good, solid food and I am glad I was able to go. I might try the London location once, to see if another dish might just sweep me off my feet a little more. But I think I will mostly just stick to re-creating Bill Granger's recipes in my own kitchen in the long run.
© Text & Photos - Annika - All The Live Long Day (unless otherwise stated).