Question: Why did I have to ask for bread at a bar? Answer: To mop a sauce that was just so darn delicious that I didn't want to leave a speck of it on my plate.
And the bar? It's not just any ole bar. The Owl House in Darlinghurst is our number one choice in:
Five Best Spots For A First Date.
Bars can swing from a little get to know you chat or cosy into a cuddle up. The warm and sexy glow of red light at The Owl House is our top first date pick. It's intimate and not intimidating. The cocktails are elegant and impressive without being ostentatious. There's a spot downstairs for two to perch at the end of the bar which is an ideal first meeting place. Add a food match with a cocktail or two, or even think about the full food matched cocktail degustation and this Darlinghurst treasure becomes whatever you want it to be. The Owl House is a good place to start dating, whatever your intentions. Bartender discretion guaranteed..
Though we reckon, The Owl House is a fabbo spot to go for any occasion. And from the sauce mopping, you can see it is a marvellous place for food as well as for drinks. The cocktails are sensational.
So. You can flirt just a little with one or two cocktails, by Owen (U.K.) or Amir (U.S.A.), from a Cinnamon Fairy ($18) Havana Club 3yo Rum, Grand Marnier, apple puree, Absinth and cinnamon to our best pick 1922 classic Blood and Sand ($20) Scotch, sweet vermouth, cherry liquor, orange juice- did you know this was named after a Rudolph Valentino movie?
Or. You can go the whole way (even if it a first date) and indulge in the degustation with matching cocktails (or wines if you wish) starting on our latest soiree with a classic favourite Rossini paired with a Pambula oyster and burnt mandarin. Looks pretty. Tastes divine. If you don't know the Rossini, think upstream Negroni, lost but not forgotten, and thankfully now restored to its rightful place in the world. One of the most sensational food and wine matches is consommé and sherry, a classic pairing. Here, the lads take it one step further when Mushroom (abalone, nameko, enoki) consommé and scallop dumpling sits elegantly with The Cure- Amontillado Sherry, semi-dry vermouth, gin. In the wine degustation F.Y.I this course is, in fact, matched with the Spanish Amontillado Sherry.
And so, it goes. The Kadaifi prawn is a constant, a signature, and continually evolving. Here is the latest spectacular incarnation. With the prawn, chickpea crisp, matbucha dip, goats curd it is a towering masterpiece of textures and flavours. And, by the way, it is matched with our utmost all time favourite The Owl House cocktail- Saffron. Yes, you can taste the saffron above and beyond the gin.
There is no peak in The Owl House degustation because although it carries the classic lines of food menu through six courses there is no best dish. They are all best. Venison, Savoy cabbage, chestnut, pancetta did require a request for bread. That sauce, as previously declared, just had to be mopped. A winter dish, a winter cocktail, Hot buttered rum found its home. That Valentino namesake came next with the Duck Assiette: duck prosciutto, confit duck Maryland, crispy duck wings.
With all the OTT desserts hitting the airwaves, this is how it should be done. Mini Ricotta Doughnuts, popcorn ice cream, salted caramel was not quite the end to the night. Then, there was coffee. Or, The Owl House version of it. Which is called Coffee Cocktail.
Coffee Cocktail does not include coffee. It's Cognac, Port, sugar, egg white, nutmeg. And then it's sweet dreams. Until the next visit at The Owl House.
