Contrary to its slightly gloomy name, The Moody Chef is a vibrant cafe decked out with bright green chairs, lighting and colourful modern accents in the decor everywhere. It’s one of the many new cafes surfacing in the business district of St Leonards, just down the road from the more popular Crows Nest strip of cafes on Willoughby Road. I’m liking the easy, breezy vibe of The Moody Chef and while it’s a bit of a challenge to get the attention of the waiter at first, we are soon putting in our orders from their extensive menu which is a mishmash of modern Australian, classic brunch dishes and Italian for lunch.
I started with a massive glass of Mocha which had plenty of chocolate sauce drizzled into it. For mains, I had opted for the Garlic Prawn Spaghetti Puttanesca and I was not disappointed at all. It was an absolutely massive serving, with a generous amount of succulent peeled garlic prawns (with tail shells intact though) strewn in among the olives, anchovies, capers, tomato and chilli used to flavour the pasta. The spaghetti was quite tasty, full of bold flavours and left me with a very satisfied tummy.
Mocha, $4.90
Garlic Prawn Spaghetti Puttanesca, $21.90
I had some serious food envy over my friend’s Confit Duck and Mushroom Risotto. The dish was just heavenly; all those comforting flavours from the duck and mushroom had infused into the risotto and garnished with fresh herbs and flakes of delicious pecorino cheese.
Confit Duck and Mushroom Risotto, $20.90
For a naughty dessert, we couldn’t go past sharing a stack of delectable Nutella and Mascarpone Pancakes served with pure Canadian maple syrup. It made us feel every bit guilty as you would expect, scoffing down these fluffy pancakes with so much addictive Nutella smeared on top (there was some in between each pancake layer too!). To top it off, there was also a dollop of mascarpone cheese on top instead of cream which elevated it to a whole new gourmet level. Definitely recommend sharing this as it’s very rich…even before you drizzle some maple syrup on top.
Nutella and Mascarpone Pancakes $15.90
The Moody Chef is actually a ray of sunshine in an area of St Leonards which is usually quiet on a weekend and I’ll be hitting it up for more brunch times in the future.
The Moody Chef
1/30 Atchison St, St Leonards NSW 2065
Ph:(02) 9438 4681
oh em gee those pancakes!!!!
Ha I wonder if the name of the restaurant means people are much more forgiving of everything just in case the chef is about? haha. Love the look of the mascarpone on top of the pancakes!
Ok – this place looks like a must!! Yumm
I’ve eaten here a few times for client lunches a year back and found the food quite good. It gets pretty busy too and the service always top notch. Time to head back again I think.