Bloodwood, Newtown

Stylish and eclectic ~ grilled cuttlefish salad at Bloodwood, Newtown

Stylish and eclectic ~ grilled cuttlefish salad at Bloodwood, Newtown

Okay, I am honest to admit it – I am a homebody that likes to stay home and cook up all my favourite recipes on a nice weekend.

On the other hand, Mysaucepan is the total opposite. Being a food reviewer for a leading restaurant guide in Sydney, she is more adventurous and loves checking out new cafes, restaurants and whatever else that comes with it.

“Hey, it’s my passion and I have to keep up with food trends” so she reasons.

“Yeah, but I don’t quite fancy ‘play food’ that’s double of what I can pay for ‘real food’ “, I jokingly stir.

So we agree to disagree. After all, food is subjective.

But our dear friend Marcus and best man at our wedding is in town this weekend. Adventurous like Mysaucepan, they conjure up a coup for a dining venue against me.

“We have decided to have lunch at Bloodwood … and it’s in Newtown”, Mysaucepan forewarns with conviction that is not be opposed, knowing the inner west of Sydney is not quite my idea of a place to chill.

My immediate thoughts are not on food.

My mind begin to visualise images of tattoos, nose-rings, eye-rings, lip-rings, tongue-studs and intricate graffiti. As I sip my morning coffee, I picture myself walking among trend-setters wearing jeans so tight I can see their pulse or jeans so ill-designed with a loose bum pouch that will surely hold my entire bag of groceries.

“Oh alright, I’ll do it for Marcus”, I submit.

So the three of us head to Newtown, Sydney’s eclectic and bohemian land of tattoos, body-piercings and all things that’s not quite the conservative and boring old me.

Light feature

Light feature, Bloodwood, Newtown

We arrive at twelve noon in an effort to avoid the crowd. I am told Bloodwood is impossible to get into at weekends. There is a no-bookings policy for groups of eight or less so diners must be prepared to rock up and wait for a table if they are busy.

The interior of the restaurant is a melding of industrial and new finishes, with an emphasis of using recycled and reclaimed materials.

The furniture is a mix of cast iron chairs and retro ones that will remind you of the 1960s and 70s.

Despite quite a few hit and misses in the hundreds of restaurants in Newtown, I have somehow set my expectations fairly high today. Maybe it’s because I have read the three owner-chefs at Bloodwood, being Claire van Vuuren, Mitchell Grady and Jo Ward have all worked at famed Sydney fine-diner Claudes at one time or another during their careers. I like the thought of creative talents who are obviously flexible because they have swapped high-end dining to dishing out creative dishes driven by fresh produce.

Montieth's black beer

Montieth's black beer

We settle for drinks before the food. A Montieth’s black beer is a little smoky with flavours of chocolate and coffee. I like this beer because it is not as heavy and bitter as Guinness but definitely not short on flavours.

Bloodwood mocktail $8.00 Bloodwood ice tea $18.00

Bloodwood mocktail $8.00 Bloodwood ice tea $18.00

Sydney has put on the weather for us again and it seems like a perfect afternoon for some cocktails.

Mysaucepan sips on the Bloodwood ice tea, made up of vodka, gin, rum, mescal, Cointreau, apricot brandy and orange topped with Bloodwood’s organic tea syrup. Suprisingly, Marcus ordered a mocktail which is redolent of a sweet lime juice with mint flavours.

Lamb kibbeh $18

Lamb kibbeh $18

A dish of of lamb kibbeh arrives in the form of three wholesome looking sausages garnished with deep-fried continental parsley. The sausages look nicely seared with the grill marks on the outside but they are tender and juicy inside. Bits of spiced almonds and romesco in the sausages offer a crunchy difference.

The dishes are meant to be shared and with this first one, I felt we are in for some exciting flavours.

Grilled cuttlefish salad $19

Grilled cuttlefish salad $19

A grilled cuttlefish salad is tossed with cucumber, herbs, mustard cream and olive oil. I taste sumac too and we are all smiling as we tuck into this beautiful interpretation of a summer salad.

“I like this place already and we haven’t even had our so-called mains yet”, I say. We all agree the food is hitting its mark so far.

Pork and king prawns $29

Pork and king prawns $29

Pork and king prawns have an Asian-inspired twist with its spicy sour black bean sauce.

I like the artistry of this dish because it is subtle but elegant. The cross-section pork bits have a slight crunch from being deep-fried while black fungus mushroom, diced shallots and radish cubes provide textural contrast. The flavours remind me of a good chinese mapo-tofu but I doubt even good chinese restaurants can replicate this one.

“I am truly enjoying myself by this stage”, I thought to myself.

Jerusalem artichoke & pecan tart $23

Jerusalem artichoke & pecan tart $23

A jerusalem artichoke and pecan tart arrives with radish wedges, sugar snaps peas in thick  and saucey soy bean butter. This dish proves to be the standout for Mysaucepan and Marcus. The thick and gluggy pecan and artichoke are full of flavour and so cleverly combined. I like the combination of the crunchy sugar snaps and radish with the savoury soy bean butter.

Jac wagyu beef brisket $30

Jac wagyu beef brisket $30

A Jac wagyu beef brisket is tender from the braise and comes with small florets of cauliflower, deep-fried spatzle and diced beans. Again, the combination of ingredients is unexpected but works so well. A spoonful of succulent brisket with diced beans, cauliflower and spatzle isn’t something many chefs would have thought of.

I like the sauce from the braise that is full of flavour and it is a great with the crunchy texture of all the vegetables.

Wagyu beef brisket

Wagyu beef brisket

I have monopolised a spoon by this stage and happily slurping up the sauces from our dishes.

Bottled decor in private dining room

Bottled decor in private dining room

The dining room of Bloodwood is divided into a private dining area downstairs, the main dining room and a courtyard in the back to enjoy the outdoors.

Dining room, Bloodwood, Newtown

Dining room, Bloodwood, Newtown

Only a restaurant in Newtown can get away with a bare concrete ceiling crawling with bright yellow pipes, reclaimed wooden doors and wiry light bulbs hanging in the open and pass it off as hip and funky.

Hip thrills in lavatory, Bloodwood, Newtown

Hip thrills in lavatory, Bloodwood, Newtown

The portions for all our dishes today are good and I find that it is great value for this quality of food.

I love the style of eating where dishes are shared. This way, we get to sample all the food and I am starting to feel that we really need to come back to this place real soon.

Bloodwood trifle $12

Bloodwood trifle $12

A Bloodwood trifle consists of poor man’s orange, pound cake, port wine jelly, honeycomb anglaise and vanilla bean yoghurt and fresh passionfruit. I am not big on desserts so Mysaucepan and Marcus shared this trifle.

I am more intrigued by the way the chefs have managed to plate all the ingredients without a single smudge on the glass.

Bloodwood trifle $12

Bloodwood trifle $12

There must be at least a hundred restaurants and cafes along the dining strip of King street in Newtown. Thai food is a favourite in this suburb and over the years, we have been to many and some are pretty average and the hit and miss rate can be quite high.

But after our lunch experience today, I have no doubt if there was one restaurant I would choose to return to in Newtown, Bloodwood is definitely the one. Not only that, I am going to bring at least eight friends so that we can dig into the delicious creations of three wonderful and talented Sydney chefs.

Bloodwood

416 King street, Newtown
Sydney, New South Wales 2042

Tel: + 61 2  9557 7699

Opening hours:
Monday, Wednesday & Thursday: 5pm till late
Friday – Saturday: Midday till late
Sunday: Midday till 10pm
Tuesday: Closed

Reservations:

Only for groups of eight people or more. Groups smaller than eight operate in walk in system.

Bloodwood on Urbanspoon

Montieth’s black beer
Head office:

Suite 2106, Westfield Tower 2
101 Grafton street
Bondi Junction, New South Wales 2022
Tel: + 61 2 838 0600

Jac Wagyu
Head office:
Clevecourt, 756 Gineroi road,
Bingara, New South Wales 2404
Tel: +61 2 6729 4158

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23 Responses to Bloodwood, Newtown

  1. Winston says:

    Everything looks seriously fantastic. What a great restaurant. Your photography is just as great as always. I’d love to have that black beer too. Nice review!

  2. Sissi says:

    It sounds like a fantastic restaurant. I wish I had one like this here…
    I totally understand you restaurants issue. Although I’m not such an excellent cook as you, I do cook a lot and find most restaurants in my city very disappointing in the quality of what they serve at the prices they sell it for. I tend to choose only those where I get what I can’t/am too lazy to prepare at home. A good Italian pizza, sushi (I don’t have access to sashimi quality fish), dim sum or very sophisticated, arduous dishes…
    This restaurant would certainly be one of the places I would go to.

    • Chopinand says:

      Hi Sissi,

      I’m not sure if I agree with you about me being an excellent cook. Cooking is very subjective and relative. Some people may not like the food of the best chefs in the world yet prefer cheap street food.

      I tend to order dishes at restaurants that I know I will never be able to replicate at home. Some dishes require commercial wok burners in order to get the smoky flavours. I will never bother to cook such a dish at home because on top of skill, you need the right equipment too and it will never be as good.

      On the other hand, there are dishes that I will never order at restaurants because I know I can do it better at home every time, using better ingredients and cooking it exactly to how I want it to be.

  3. Ann says:

    GREAT review! Don’t you just love when something exceeds your expectations? (BTW – the line about jeans being so tight you can see their pulse was HYSTERICAL! Thank you for the laugh!)

  4. How did they get no smudges on there?! I always smudge it.
    Food looks good though.

  5. msihua says:

    Love the decor and I would murder for that trifle!!

    The Boy likes to cook more at home as well :)

  6. Oh I didn’t know MSP is a food reviewer for a leading restaurant guide! That’s so cool! I am envious that you get to go so many places with her… I also like to eat at home too, but it’s nice to get inspiration… and on expense? 😉 I’m getting wagyu beef brisket if I were here! Love the veggies on top.

  7. Cheah says:

    Great write-up ….. but the king prawns don’t look big. You should come to Ipoh and taste the Tg Tuallang prawns at Mun Choong restaurant.

    • Chopinand says:

      Hi Cheah,

      I agree. I think the term “king prawns” can be very subjective and in most cases used as a marketing ploy. We ordered that dish because I have a soft spot for spicy sour and the dish turned out to be my favourite.

      Would love to try Tg Tuallang prawns and I’d imagine they are fresh water ones with the big heads! Any pics or reviews of Mun Choong restaurant?

  8. we really enjoyed our meal here. We booked it for my husband’s birthday so we could actually make a reservation which ended up being a good idea when we saw the queues!

  9. Sophia says:

    Haha! I hope this means you’ll be reviewing more restaurants too! Everything looks scrumptious.
    I don’t want to ever get married, but I guess I wouldn’t mind too much if my spouse was a leading food reviewer…heehee.

  10. Raymund says:

    That cuttlefish salad looks amazing!

  11. Hehe. I’m just a homebody like you. There I have my piano, my kitchen, my bed, and everything’s fine. :)

  12. Christy says:

    I have my eyes on the cuttlefish salad; it just looks so delicious and appetizing!! YUMZ:D

  13. mycookinghut says:

    A great review!! The food looks really good!

  14. Celia says:

    Living in Sydney’s inner west as I do, can I please reassure you that it’s quite an unscary place to visit? There are so many treasures to be found here, not just in restaurants but also in produce. It really is the perfect place to chill, although it sounds like you’ve figured that out now! :)

    • Chopinand says:

      Hi Celia,

      I hope my blog post did not offend as the first few paragraphs were written tongue in cheek. Sydney’s inner west is a precinct which to a large extent, defines what Sydney lifestyle is all about with its cafes, restaurants and attractions. It has a lot of colour, character and ambience that is difficult to match and it is definitely not scary for me although I might have inadvertently conveyed that message.

  15. Manu says:

    Great review… as always. We used to go out much more before having kids… now it tends to be a bit harder (especially for dinner). So I do most of the cooking… 😉 But this restaurant sounds delicious. Who would have thought of frying spatzle? That’s so cool!!!

  16. JasmyneTea says:

    I love Newtown, steer clear of the Thai restaurants and you’ll normally have a good experience! My visit to Bloodwood was on a Saturday, I think if you get there early enough you’ll be fine.

  17. sugarpuffi says:

    love the light feature! looks like a polymer! sorry about sounding so geeky

  18. Newtown is great for eating out. The wagyu looks amazing

  19. Lucas says:

    Bloodwood is one of those great places that keeps changing, but retains all the good stuff. All the beers are interesting, the cocktails experimental (try the Duffel Down, and e Bloodwood Blazer #2) and the food consistently impressive.

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