The Eatery by CK: Review: Grace The Establishment

Grace The Establishment

127 The Parade Norwood
(08) 8333 1007
http://www.thegrace.net.au/

From the people who brought you The Manse and Sparrow, comes their new venture, Grace The Establishment. I must begin by commenting that its about time Norwood has some sort of a drinking bar that isn't a pub. I'm still dumb founded by the fact that The Parade has next to no wine or cocktail bars and only a few good eating spots. Bring back the "George Wine Bar" in its entirety, I say.
Upon hearing that a nice tapas style bar had opened on the Parade I was more than excited to test run "the establishment".

Friday night and they were certainly pulling in the crowd early, a mix of ages however, quite the scene. The venue itself is fantastic, a long bar stretching almost the length of the narrow room, opening out into more of a sit down dining area, and then out into a beautiful courtyard complete with a gorgeous tree catching the setting sun's rays. I was most impressed and happy to be there.

Then came the sangria. There were a few options to choose from and we selected the "Pink Sangria" for $25 a jug (about 3 large glasses). This was really nice, fresh and exactly as sangria should be. We also tried the "Grace in Cider" which again was beautifully fresh and very easy to drink.

Unfortunately when it came to food, the price was no match for what I ate. Grace has a selection of tapas style meals which are incredibly small. You can also choose from a selection of steak or fish which comes completely alone on its plate. If you order these meals, you have to purchase one of the sides to go with them and in my opinion they are completely overpriced. On this occasion, and although I did see a beautiful looking steak at someone else's table, I chose not to pay $35 to cut a steak into bits and share with my friends. Instead we ordered the Yellow tail king fish ($8) which consisted of four very small mouthfuls of the raw fish. It came with a jar of a ginger and shallot dressing which we were told to shake up and pour over. The ginger and lime flavour in the dressing gave the kingfish a gorgeous freshness that cut through the saltiness of the soy flavour which appeared to be the base for the dressing.

I also tried the Serrano jamon, supposedly aged for 12 months. At $16 a serve I was expecting some pretty amazing Jamon but unfortunately it fell way short and was comparable to the prosciutto I buy at the supermarket for $5. A complete waste of money. The other major disappointment was the Bread and Coriole olive oil ($4.5). The olive oil was beautiful, as expected from Coriole, however I was astounded that they served what seemed like a commercial packaged dry continental loaf, again that you could find in the bread isle of the supermarket.

Another let down was the Chorizo with white beans and tomato ($8.5), it can only be described as average. The chorizo was fried and although pleasant enough to eat, there was nothing special about it. This also goes for the white beans, tomato and chilli that it was served on. Very bland and not a hint of chilli.

My meal was in some way redeemed with a serve of the Rangers Valley beef tartare, with sour dough wafer and creme friache ($5.5). Although the serve was fittingly small, it packed a punch in terms of flavour. At the end of each creamy mouthful you experienced a kind of spicy kick by way of a jalapeno flavour. It was fantastic and presented exceptionally.

As far as food goes there is quite a selection on the menu. To me its the kind of place you go to when you're not hungry or looking for a complete meal but perhaps feel like a snack. I have to comment that the wine and champagne list is also quite pricey.

All in all the verdict on Grace The Establishment is it's the place to go for some sangria, a nibble to get the taste buds fired up and certainly a place to be seen among an easy on the eyes kind of crowd.

We finished our drinks, vowed only to come back for the sangria and walked across the road to the yiros bar and ate till my stomach told me it was time to go home.

The Eatery by CK