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Table
41 Review - It was the guy I was
dining with who noticed it first. “You
don’t see many restaurants with three
cognacs,” he said, perusing the
dessert menu. Yeah, fair call. |
It’s
also the case that most restaurants don’t
update their menu every month or have such a
well developed specials selection. But then,
Table 41 is a little different.
Set
right in the heart of Macrossan Street, Table
41 is hard to miss. With its open frontage and
‘semi alfresco’ setting, it has plenty of
tropical ambience. At once relaxed and
refined, its surf n turf with a definite
gourmet twist and just a hint or two of French
influence. (Ah, those cognacs.)
There’s
also a faintly, wonderfully old school charm
about it; perhaps it’s the ethos of the
food, or the insightful but not encyclopedic
wine list. Either way, head chef Kevin Varnes
is onto something.
This
might explain the drop dead wonderful hand
made gnocchi I had for starters. Topped with a
rich, creamy pesto sauce it was earthy and
peasant-ish but still clever modern cuisine.
We should all be harassing them to make it a
permanent fixture on the menu. Bloody
beautiful.
On
the other side of the table my friend was
destroying his calamari, (and eyeing off my
gnocchi), while the waiter trotted out the
Chapel Hill Verdelho and its big, crisp aroma
filled the space.
For
mains, it was duck a l’orange and, from the
specials board, a fabulous snapper fillet. The
former is an old classic, one which many
younger diners will not have encountered.
(Let’s just say, it’s worth every
mouthful.) The latter, in this case, was
encased in a garlic filo and served with sweet
potato mash and a very zippy fennel ragout.
Both dishes seemed to encapsulate the Table 41
vibe, which is very much a blend of the
vintage and the contemporary.
They
also do real tiramisu, liqueur soaked
Savoiardi and all. In a world of largely fake
tiramisu, it’s a joy to find the genuine
article. What’s more, they do this cinnamon
icecream with the profiterole that’s a real
buzz. (Yum.)
Although
you could have serious foodie moments at Table
41, the place certainly won’t give you
attitude. Maybe that’s just a Port thing;
probably, but it’s certainly the case here.
Quality without snobbery, and a choice of
three VSOPs to round things out. Pretty cool
really.
Table
41 Restaurant - Port Douglas
Australia
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