Garfish Restaurant

G A R F I S H. Gar-fish. Say it with me! GARFISH! Give me a G! Give me an A! Give me a… okay, I’ve successfully annoyed myself. That’s a talent I have, and if you know me… well, nevermind.

So I had dinner at the recommendation of my Scottish bartender at The Vibe Hotel in North Sydney. So if you check out www.garfish.com.au you’ll fine the standard website of a per-schnickity restaurant, although the restaurant itself isn’t overly pretentious. You walk in, friendly staff, “can I get you some water – sparkling or tap?” etc.

The glass of shiraz was very nice – Sweetwater was the vineyard, and at $10 AUD I’d say it was a justified markup or cost. This shiraz had a light sharpness to it, maybe it had a slight raspberry flavor to it. I’d imagine it would go very well with dark chocolate should I have stayed long enough to experience their $12 desserts. Moving on from that I also ordered the Blue Eye Trevalla which is a cod apparently. Roasted, it was served with a basil, almond and ricotta cannelloni with roasted pepper and thyme sauce. The trevalla itself was very light – your standard white fish, and I could imagine this fish as being grilled as well. Seasoned with salt, it’s seasoned skin definitely added a lot to the fish, but not too much. It was served over three cannelloni along with the roasted red pepper sauce. This is where simplicity turned into disaster. The sauce itself was bland, and I am not saying that in tasting it by itself, but in having it with the ever so subtly flavored fish. The cannelloni filling was also very light considering it was made from basil, but the pasta itself was cooked very well. In short, it didn’t match, but then again this is coming from someone who now considers Vegemite a penance for sins committed. From my most extensive culinary background of no formal training, believer in chasing Jose Cuervo Especial with Pabst Blue Ribbon and thirty-one years of solid… perhaps only thirty years of solid eating and one year of non-solid eating, I found such a light sauce accompanying this fish comparable to Jimmy Page’s looks to his guitar playing. My suggestion would be to keep the fish just as it is, but to add just before finishing a rich butter, garlic, and white wine glaze to it with a sprinkle of basil just at presentation. That said, you could also grill this delightful fish and serve it as a fish taco with a chipotle mayonnaise dressing, cabbage, and chopped jalapenos. But, then again, what do I know? So, in writing this back at the hotel bar along side me a double of Johnnie Walker Black with water, I hope I have given Garfish it’s just adieu. Or perhaps I just expected better considering the main dish was frigg’n $32. At least in Australia that included full tax and tip, so maybe I got off light.