Four
in Hand
By Franz Scheurer
Colin Fassnidge, another ex-Banc boy and a very talented chef, runs the burners at this surprisingly stylish bistro. Hidden in the backwaters of Paddington, this pub dining room is a gem, lots of dark wood, homely, with comfortable chairs, a terrific wine and spirits list, and good service lead by one of Sydney’s most knowledgeable sommeliers Steven Whitbread (he knows a good dram when he sees one, too!). This is a tightly run ship with the customers’ comfort and satisfaction being of foremost importance.
The menu is a great read. To be truthful, I want to eat it all. However pure greed loses and we make choices.
An amuse gueule of ‘Tomato Terrine with Roast Garlic Purée and Crisp Courgette Flower’ looked and tasted sensational. Entrées were just as good. We ordered the ‘Roast Rare Breed Pork Belly, Confit Neck with Black Pudding and Apple Sauce’ and the ‘Carpaccio of Swordfish with Crisp Cuttlefish, Fennel, Grapefruit and Saffron’. A couple of mid-courses really whet our appetite. The ‘Sugar Cured Smoked Salmon with Bois Boudran and Beetroot’ was a sensational combination of textures and contrasts. I loved the Bois Boudran sauce, a cross somewhere between a mayonnaise, a remoulade and a sauce tartare. The ‘Roast Red Mullet and Confit Chicken Wing with Seared Scallop and Radish Salad’ showed off perfectly cooked fish with good textured accompaniments.
For mains we tried a daily special, a whopping 300g ‘Grain fed rib-eye with Pomme Fondant and Sauce Bordelaise’ perfectly cooked, perfectly seasoned and with a sauce that definitely contained bone marrow (as bordelaise should in my book). We also tried the ‘Glenloth Chicken (Poule-au-Pot) with Summer Vegetable Cassoulet’, light, ethereal and another winner! The only disappointment: undercooked, flavourless and squeaky green beans with toasted pine nuts and ordinary Pommes Frites.
For a quick and light lunch we certainly ate a lot more than planned and all we could muster (passing up a fantastic looking cheese platter) was an ‘Apricot Tarte Tatin with Crème Fraiche Sorbet’. The apricots were rather tart but the caramelised sugar made up for that and the pastry gave it body. The ice cream stood out, although I am not sure I would call it a sorbet.
In the wine department we decided to go with wines by the glass and we had a Domaine Pichot Vouvray Sec (Chenin Bland), a Verget ‘Macon-Bussiers’, a stunning Domaine du Gros ‘Nore (Mourvedre/Grenche) Rosé and a Domaine Gallety Shiraz Grenache, finishing with a glass of Kracher Beerenauslese Riesling. Now that’s what I call choice by the glass! Terrific!
This is a delightful venue with terrific food, excellent service and outstanding value for money. It’s a real joy to be a guest at Four in Hand.
Score: 7.5/10
For more information or bookings:
Four in Hand Restaurant
105 Sutherland Street
Paddington NSW 2021
Tel.: 02 9362 1999