The Scribble Corner: Papa Goose

Papa goose is a new edition in the 2013 entertainment book (which is currently out for sale) so we decided to try the place out. Having heard positive reviews from friends, I definitely had some expectations in my mind.

The restaurant is located on Flinders lane, in the CBD close to bars and other popular culinary hotspot like Chin Chin. Our booking was made at 7pm but upon our arrival, we were told that our booking had apparently by been cancelled. This caused a slight confusion as we had definitely not called to cancel our reservations.

from Papa Goose

Never the less, the confusion was sorted was we were seated on the lower ground, which is the more casual dining area. There are also a few private dining rooms towards the back of the restaurant as well as a bar and group dining spaces upstairs. I would advised to dine earlier as we found by 8pm, the ground floor was full and this made it increasingly difficult hear our conversations.

Lower ground seating

The menu is simple with 4 to 5 selections from each of the courses including starters (entree), mains, sides and desserts. There are also the option of share plates, which is similar to entrees but designed more for sharing. We opted for a share plate, entree and 2 main dishes.

Complimentary bread with olive oil

Entree of the twice cooked quail with game terrine, watercress, pistachios and baby gherkins. I thought the quail was a little under cooked as there were still colours of pink in the meat. The flavors did not 'wow' me, but the pistachio purée was sweet and delightful. The baby gherkins was an odd element of the dish, the taste was over powering and didn't compliments the dish well.

Entree- twice cooked quail

For the share plate, we ordered the the rabbit croquette which was surprisingly nice. Haven't tasted rabbit very often, I must say the flavor reminded me of tuna, although without the fishiness. The tang of the mustard tartare sauce really brought out the flavours of the croquette.

Rabbit croquette

Time for the mains, S ordered the roasted lamb with pumpkin, peas, dates and mint. This dish was actually upon my recommendation as I had read some reviews before dinner and the lamb was one dish that was consistently mentioned- where the tender meat was to fall off the bone. The lamb that S got was certainly not lamb off the bones. He found it rather tough and the blandness of the pea mint sauce did not impress him. I felt terrible for recommendation the dish- there must have been a recent change in menu.

S main- Roast lamb

My main of the pan roasted barramundi braised with pine mushroom, caramelised onions with portobello puree was better compared to S dish. The fillet was well cooked with perfectly crisp skin, just the way I like it. Being a big lover of mushrooms, I was impressed with both the smooth puree and the juicy pine mushrooms.

My main- Roasted barramundi

S and I were both quite disappointed in the serving sizes of the dishes. We thought it could have definitely been more generous given the prices paid. Entrees are between $17-20, mains $35-$38, and desserts $15-$22.

On a positive note, I forgot to mention above that we were served complimentary seafood veloute before our entrees. It was served in the cutest little cup and the soup was creamy and delicious- I could have a whole bowl!