We went to the Agrarian Kitchen after visiting Mona (Museum of Old and New art). From one quirky establishment to another, Agrarian Kitchen has set up in an ex mental asylum and this time we were committed. The fit out was impressive, keeping many of the original ornate features and sprucing them up.
The dining room had plenty of natural light and a good playlist contributing to a great dining atmosphere.
Once seated, it didn’t even register what this building previously housed. The service here was impressive from the start, with many of the waitstaff greeting us on the way in and showing genuine enjoyment for the restaurant.
They weren’t without error, but dealt with the situation well. An incorrect dessert, which cannot entirely be attributed to the waitstaff, as there was two puddings on the menu. This worked out in our favour as we were rewarded with an extra dessert F.O.C.
With an emphasis on fresh, seasonal and local ingredients, with staff foraging the restaurant garden for ingredients. Each dish was presented nicely with an emphasis on sharing. The flavours and textures of each dish were very notable.
There were plenty of potatoes on offer around town, the Agrarian utilising this ingredient for their potato scallops/cakes, which had a nice crisp batter, and each scallop had a slice of locally sourced potato which they served with a tasty house made tomato sauce.
The pear, prosciutto and stracchiatella was beautifully presented, and a nice cool dish for summer. This dish had a great combination of flavours the sweetness of the fruit, saltiness of the prosciutto and creamy texture of the stracchiatella.
The farmer’s cheese dumpling was a singular pastel yellow in colour, with a souffle like texture with zucchini, olive and parmesan adding a good hit of flavour.
The pick of the bunch was the half wood smoked duck to share. The duck itself was tasty enough on its own, the skin so crisp, so good there was none to spare. It was served with a range of condiments to enhance the flavours, including mustard pickled cherries, which happened to be in season and the sweet damson plum sauce, both combined very well with the duck. The was also served sides including the deliciously crunchy roast russet burbank potatoes and an aussie favourite beetroots with shallots in red wine vinegar.
After this, we decided to share desserts and the salted honey ice cream and fennel pollen was a simple sophisticated dessert which went perfectly with the Belgrove Rye; a locally distilled craft spirit.
A great brunch or lunch venue not to be missed, the restaurant is bright, the service great and the food enticing.
