The Bellevue Dining Room

By Franz Scheurer

The Bellevue Dining Room is a smart, bright restaurant at the back of the Bellevue Hotel in Paddington. A grand old pub and a favourite watering hole for the local workers, the Bellevue is walking the fine line between sticking to tradition and being trendy, and in my opinion, gets the balance right.

A semi-open kitchen overlooks the predominantly white room, which, by the size of the air conditioners and the movable white ceiling blockers, can obviously get quite hot in summer. A marvellous collection of herb-themed paintings is the only decoration; nothing distracts from the business at hand: eating!

The menu is an old-fashioned delight with traditional dishes like ‘Bellevue Grilled Sausages with Mashed Potatoes, Peas and Onion Gravy’ and more modern fare such as the Fergus Henderson classic ‘Veal Bone Marrow with Parsley, Caper and Olive Salad’. We tried the ‘Pork Terrine with Cornichons’, which is a very up-market brawn with a gorgeous jelly holding it all together and ‘Crispy Fried West Australian Whitebait with Aioli and Lemon’, a substantial serving of large whitebait. They certainly are not neonatos, but are fresh and most certainly filling.

For mains we tried ‘Corned Wagyu Silverside with White Sauce, Cabbage, Carrots and Mashed Potatoes’. Only a brave chef would dare to put this dish on the menu, with many Australians remembering the ‘glugg’ of the same name that their mothers served while they were growing up, but I assure you this is a worthy dish. The meat is beautifully tender, the sauce clean and not cloying at all, and the cabbage’s acidity cuts through the heavier flavours. My companion ordered the pie and we were both amazed at the size of it. All the portions are very generous indeed, but the pie takes the cake, so to speak. It’s enough for two or more, but it is demolished nevertheless.

Someone put a lot of thought into the wine list. Arranged by varietals it is an intelligent selection at excellent value for money. In fact everything about this place spells excellent value for money. The service is efficient but aloof. This might be a pub restaurant aimed at the local clientele but I can tell you it’s worth travelling to for a good feed.

Score; 6.5/10

For more information or bookings:

The Bellevue Dining Room

159 Hargrave Street

Paddington NSW 2021

Tel.: 02 9363 2293