Oncore by Clare Smyth – experience as celiac and serious allergy havers
Oncore by Clare Smyth – experience as celiac and serious allergy havers
by MoscaMye
4 Comments
Screechscreamyellahh
Haha you’re a celiac so they proceed to send literal wheat to your table. For 395 on par with a Sydney bdsm kink escort so not bad
MoscaMye
My partner and I are the absolute most inconvenient people to have dine at your restaurant. He’s a celiac and I have an anaphylactic allergy to all nuts.
Oncore in Sydney was our first leap onto that next step up in dining. At $390 each for the seasonal menu it’s not an experience we will be repeating again anytime soon no matter how much we wish we could go back (and we do wish we could go back! Perhaps if some financial miracle hits us! As it stands it’s a wonderful once and done situation)
As you walk into the bright naturally lit space you’re greeted enthusiastically by the wait staff and the kitchen. The view of the Sydney Harbour is a complete picture perfect panorama (and we were so lucky to be here on a beautiful day).
The staff took the news of our absolute inconvenient food issues cheerfully and let us know that they had everything prepared menu wise for us. And they weren’t wrong – at no point in the meal did we feel like we’d been given a stop gap – something to fill the place where the real thing should have been – the replacement dishes were all stunningly beautiful, well thought out and delicious. It’s an element of course meals we’ve come to expect a little bit (a recent one replaced Moreton Bay Bugs with a cabbage dish – it was still delicious, of course, but it did not feel like it was where it should be in the flow of the meal) so this flow was a remarkable surprise.
Course one: Paroo Kangaroo Tartare with beetroot, buttermilk and wattleseed (as well as wattleseed crackers). (For celiac, the wattleseed was removed and different crackers provided).
I’ve never had kangaroo before but tartare is always a bit of a highlight for me on a menu so I let that squeamishness go. My giant wheat cracker holder was kept very far from my partner so hopefully that’s fine.
Course two: Potato and Turnip Rose.
This took the place of the macadamia spanner crab for me. It’s beautifully light and earthy.
Course three: Murray Cod with Sydney Rock Oyster, Queen May potato and caviar.
Fish was flakey and velvety. The highlight of the savoury part of this meal for me.
Course four: Pea and Ham Tart
This is a very nostalgic flavour combination, having grown up with harsh winters I feel like I ate pea and ham soup like this nearly every week in winter as a child. I’m not a ham person in general but it was a very comforting meal and not heavy.
Course five: Wagyu surf and turf
My partners favourite part of the meal no holds barred. I struggle with red meat, generally finding it too rich it weighs me down but the other elements helped cut through that (and any lingering Steak feelings I had were eliminated with the coming dessert in any case). It had a strong iron flavour which I appreciate a lot and was delightfully red inside.
Course six: Pims Cup
Topped with a lemonade flavoured…. Thing? It’s not an ice-cream or a sorbet it’s too soft – it has the texture of whipped cream but much lighter and airier. Then a cucumber sorbet, then strawberries all sitting in a pool of strawberry champagne sauce. It’s so fun to eat and absolutely cuts through the richness of the savoury meals.
Course seven: Pear and Lemon Balm
Another alteration for both my partner and I. This is the final dessert from the Classic menu. And honestly, maybe this is a hot take but I don’t like chocolate all that much so I was relieved. This here is the thing I will think about for the rest of my life – my dragon to chase. It was so perfectly cultivated to be My Thing.
Inside the merengue shell there are little cubes of mild pear jelly and a lemon sorbet. On top little disks of fresh pear and these tablets that zing a little like sherbert. It’s so pleasant to eat with so many different textures.
BocaTaberu
Presume this isn’t the Oncore Classics Menu?
thenisaidbitch
Your review is seemingly glowing but you say it’s not something you’d do again?
4 Comments
Haha you’re a celiac so they proceed to send literal wheat to your table. For 395 on par with a Sydney bdsm kink escort so not bad
My partner and I are the absolute most inconvenient people to have dine at your restaurant. He’s a celiac and I have an anaphylactic allergy to all nuts.
Oncore in Sydney was our first leap onto that next step up in dining. At $390 each for the seasonal menu it’s not an experience we will be repeating again anytime soon no matter how much we wish we could go back (and we do wish we could go back! Perhaps if some financial miracle hits us! As it stands it’s a wonderful once and done situation)
As you walk into the bright naturally lit space you’re greeted enthusiastically by the wait staff and the kitchen. The view of the Sydney Harbour is a complete picture perfect panorama (and we were so lucky to be here on a beautiful day).
The staff took the news of our absolute inconvenient food issues cheerfully and let us know that they had everything prepared menu wise for us. And they weren’t wrong – at no point in the meal did we feel like we’d been given a stop gap – something to fill the place where the real thing should have been – the replacement dishes were all stunningly beautiful, well thought out and delicious. It’s an element of course meals we’ve come to expect a little bit (a recent one replaced Moreton Bay Bugs with a cabbage dish – it was still delicious, of course, but it did not feel like it was where it should be in the flow of the meal) so this flow was a remarkable surprise.
Course one: Paroo Kangaroo Tartare with beetroot, buttermilk and wattleseed (as well as wattleseed crackers). (For celiac, the wattleseed was removed and different crackers provided).
I’ve never had kangaroo before but tartare is always a bit of a highlight for me on a menu so I let that squeamishness go. My giant wheat cracker holder was kept very far from my partner so hopefully that’s fine.
Course two: Potato and Turnip Rose.
This took the place of the macadamia spanner crab for me. It’s beautifully light and earthy.
Course three: Murray Cod with Sydney Rock Oyster, Queen May potato and caviar.
Fish was flakey and velvety. The highlight of the savoury part of this meal for me.
Course four: Pea and Ham Tart
This is a very nostalgic flavour combination, having grown up with harsh winters I feel like I ate pea and ham soup like this nearly every week in winter as a child. I’m not a ham person in general but it was a very comforting meal and not heavy.
Course five: Wagyu surf and turf
My partners favourite part of the meal no holds barred. I struggle with red meat, generally finding it too rich it weighs me down but the other elements helped cut through that (and any lingering Steak feelings I had were eliminated with the coming dessert in any case). It had a strong iron flavour which I appreciate a lot and was delightfully red inside.
Course six: Pims Cup
Topped with a lemonade flavoured…. Thing? It’s not an ice-cream or a sorbet it’s too soft – it has the texture of whipped cream but much lighter and airier. Then a cucumber sorbet, then strawberries all sitting in a pool of strawberry champagne sauce. It’s so fun to eat and absolutely cuts through the richness of the savoury meals.
Course seven: Pear and Lemon Balm
Another alteration for both my partner and I. This is the final dessert from the Classic menu. And honestly, maybe this is a hot take but I don’t like chocolate all that much so I was relieved. This here is the thing I will think about for the rest of my life – my dragon to chase. It was so perfectly cultivated to be My Thing.
Inside the merengue shell there are little cubes of mild pear jelly and a lemon sorbet. On top little disks of fresh pear and these tablets that zing a little like sherbert. It’s so pleasant to eat with so many different textures.
Presume this isn’t the Oncore Classics Menu?
Your review is seemingly glowing but you say it’s not something you’d do again?