claude's - woollahra

Sliders. They're more prolific in Sydney bars and diners than grit-your-teeth moments on The Shire. Countless restaurants are jumping on the US-copycat bandwagon - which is fine in theory, but when the execution involves serving overdone meat, slathered in flavoured mayo and squished between bulk-bought brioche buns, the baby-burgers shift from “updated American classics” to “reminiscent of Micky D’s”.

Luckily, the sliders at Claude’s Bar are more likely to have you sliding off your seat than side-stepping for the exit. The sweet, one-bite buns carry the most delectable filling - slices of pork topped with a layer of incredibly tasty black fungus relish. At two for $12 these ain't cheap eats, but the price pinch doesn't detract from the flavour, and with a fine dining digs upstairs, it seems to fit the bill.

Pig's face, black fungus relish sandwiches ($12)

 Whilst the downstairs of Claude's is now labelled as the bar, the decor instantly reveals to the diner that this is not your local drinking hole. The bar clings to the formal, sophisticated atmosphere present in the upstairs of the establishment and expected in a space with so many years of Woollahra fine-dining history (ex-owner, Claude Corne, first opened the restaurant’s doors on Oxford Street in 1976). The food is also marketed to the upper crust. Spanner crab salad ($22) is a classy tangle of shaved fennel, white crab meat and brown butter crumbs. It’s tantalising, but a little light, even for an entree. Owner Chui Lee Luk lends Asian flare to head chef Ben Sear's  dish of chili and tamarind mussels ($22). It’s a masterful reinvigoration of moules marinère in Luk’s distinctly Franco-Singaporean style. For those looking for a more hefty stomach-liner, gruyere souffle ($22) is an easy win, but make sure not to count the calories.

Spanner crab salad ($22)

   

Chili and tamarind mussels ($22)

Suffolk lamb belly ($33) is a quality cut. It’s a refreshing relaxation of the apparent obligation to always serve pork belly, still with sweet layers of fat, sandwiched between the tender pieces of lamb blanketed in a crisp veneer of skin. Accompanying the lamb is a smothering of Jerusalem artichoke puree, rich lamb jus and broad bean leaf garnish. 

Suffolk lamb belly ($33)

By now we’re feeling deeply in restaurant territory, despite the fact that we’re perched metres from the bar. Desserts do nothing to deviate from the trend. Burnt honey soufflé ($12) comes proudly puffed up above the walls of a kitsch copper tin. We're instructed to excavate an enclave in the centre of the soufflé to make room for a pouring of white rum cream, administered by our waiter. The audience participation taunts us into believing that our magic touch is vital to the heavenly taste of the dessert. Whatever. It’s freakin’ delicious.

The lemon custard dessert ($15) is definitively a gift from above. Peppered on top of the gorgeous sweet custard are teensy coffee meringues, cubed Averna jellies, crumbles of lemon shortbread and a coating of milk granita. It only takes one bite to have the choir singing its praises. The interplay of flavours and textures is enough to make you skip church.

Stripping down the formality of service and slapping an alternate label on the menu has not corresponded with a radical step down in the standard of food at Claude's Bar. Rather it's created a dramatic disparity between people's expectations and the dishes laid down in front of them. The menu reads like any mid-range Sydney restaurant rather than a list of bar snacks and munchies. It’s confusing, but at least the surprise is an exceedingly pleasant one. Claude’s Bar makes a midweek boozer not only feel legitimate but special. It seems almost a shame to fill up on beer.

claude's
10 oxford street, woollahra
t: 9331 2325
e: reservations@claudes.com.au
http://claudes.com.au/