Thursday, September 18, 2008

Stuyvesant's House - Crows Nest, Sydney

This cozy little place in Crows Nest is run by 2 brothers with large, amusing moustaches. Rudi, the more flamboyant one, is quite a character and he runs the house while Max controls the kitchen. The tables can be a bit too close to each other and Rudi is always entertaining with some rude and rauchy jokes but that just adds to the intimate factor.

The pretzels are soft and doughy with big crystals of salt but if they were served fresh and warm out of the oven they would have been perfect.

I think the most amazing thing about this place is their extensive wine knowledge and their cellar downstairs, which is any wine-fan's heaven. We were lucky enough to get a visit down into this sacred area after pestering them many many times but that was a while back. They also sell a supersized 3L stein of Bitburger bier on tap which keeps the bier-fans happy as well.

The first thing I ask for is this Specials Board as it usually has the some interesting dishes. After perusing the board we order all of our dishes from it. We also order some Dutch Bitterballs, fried chicken and veal balls, which serve as a tasty appetizer when dipped in the mustard.

Warm Duck Salad
This salad would have been better if they served each part of the salad separately as the different flavour of the duck, noodles, salad and the potato sort of clash with each other. This dish ends up confusing the palate so I ended up eating each part individually.

Cranberry Sorbet
A very effective palate cleanser with a refreshing taste. Very nice touch to the meal.

Mature Angus Sirloin with Herbed Butter sauce
This steak was cooked to a nice medium rare with a charred flavour on the outside. The herb butter also adds good flavour and depth to the steak. Though it was a bit too pricey in my opinion.

Herb Crusted Lamb Rack
Beatifully pink in the middle with a thick coating of herbs. This can be a bit too salty for some but the sauce creams it out a bit.

Roasted Pork Knuckle
Who can resist crackling? I, for one, am a big sucker for it and especially when its topped off with some fried onion. The apple compote, red cabbage, roasted potates and spaztle are tasty sides when you feel like a break from all the meaty goodness.

One of the problems with this Roast Pork Knuckle was that not all of the skin was crackled :( so the back part is more soft and not as tasty.

Huge glassware above the bar with a humorously named Turkish spirit to the right. The Weissbier glass on the left holds up to 6L but I am unsure about the wine glass.

This is one of those places that draws you back for more even though sometimes the dishes can be a bit too complex with too many flavours at once.

Stuyvesant's House

45 Alexander St

Crows Nest NSW 2065

Ph: 02 9439 7155

FFichiban

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Those servings look huge and really good in that fillingly rich way that German food is. The outside of the restaurant looks really cute too. Thanks for sharing this, I've never heard of this place but it sounds interesting. LOL at the Vodka!

Anonymous said...

NQN - Yup yup you got that exactly right ^^! Hmm for this place I think you have to try it out and see if you like it but yeah it is interesting little place :)

Anonymous said...

Hi mates!
Well, my experience is a little diferent because I'll speak as part of the staff. What can I say, this guy Rudi is totaly insane, so irrespectfull and rude that it's completely impossible to deal with. I could note that his business is going down, and the good days for him are about to finish, so that's the reason for his bad behavior. I could'nt let this thing pass this way, even when he treat me like I was nobody.
Maybe the food is good, and has a great wine menu, but's you'll note that things are no so good at this place.
The way I see...he is a bad person, please don't go to.

Anonymous said...

I've been there a few times.. and I'll go again.

The sausage plate (don't get the big one, unless you wanna die-by-saugae!) is fantastic. That pork knuckle never fails to please, either.
Don't forget to get a few of the rum drinks advertised on the wall. Sort of out-of-place (given the euro food) but if you order a few, Rudi will stop and have one with you!
highly recommended.

Anonymous said...

That's "die-by-sausage" btw. Think I've still got some lodged in the brain...