Tucked away in a quieter residential part of Redfern sits Pitt Street Diner, a small and charming French restaurant. The layout of the diner is narrow and long, much like the terraces that surround it, which gives it an intimate feel as the seating suits smaller groups. The best thing about it being situated on the city outskirts is definitely the plentiful parking available all along the street and free, although it’s also only a short stroll from the station.
Beresford Pinot Grigio Adelaide Hills 2012
La Petite Chardonnay Languedoc, France 2010
For a small restaurant, they’ve got quite an extensive wine menu (ordered by the bottle though), with the majority sourced from overseas including France, Italy and Spain to name a few. The blackboard behind the front counter shows which wines are available by the glass, and while waiting for our food to arrive we settled on the Pinot Grigio from the Adelaide Hills and a French Chardonnay. The Pinot Grigio was light and fruity, while the Chardonnay was more crisp and acidic. While we sipped on our wines, we also nibbled on some warm, soft bread with butter.
Pumpkin & sage ravioli, burnt butter sauce & spinach
Not long after, our entree of ravioli arrived. It contained a beautiful filling of pumpkin and sage, and the sweet tones of the pumpkin really shine here, matching the grated cheese and spinach garnish beautifully. The pasta was also cooked well with an al dente consistency and was silky smooth and buttery. I did find however that the pasta was a bit oily, with a small pool of butter sitting under my serving.
Seared Scallops with leak, orange & fennel with vanilla sauce
Next we tried the seared scallops which were cooked perfectly – light and translucent inside. These were accompanied by some sauteed leeks as well which were soft and tasty. I’m not too sure about the vanilla sauce though, as I think the rich vanilla flavour wasn’t too complementary to the scallops or the citrus orange.
Tournedos Chicken, boned & rolled with mushroom, truffle & goats cheese with pumpkin mash, porcini cream sauce
Our last dish for the night was the tournedos chicken, which is bacon wrapped around chicken. I’ve never had this combination before, but boy was it delicious and full of flavour! The chicken was cooked really well and was super tender, and that pumpkin mash on the plate complemented the protein really nicely. The porcini cream sauce wasn’t that strong, but the chicken had enough flavour in it to carry the dish.
Overall Pitt Street Diner is a lovely gem, adding to the growing number of quality restaurants in Redfern. French cuisine is under represented in Sydney but it’s definitely worth giving a chance, especially for that Tournedos Chicken! Paired up with a glass of French wine, Pitt Street Diner makes for an excellent choice for your next dinner date destination.
Excuse Me Waiter dined as guests of Pitt Street Diner
Pitt Street Diner
96 Pitt Street, Redfern NSW 2016
Ph: (02) 8668 5936
