Multicultural Flavours at Husk & Vine, Parramatta

One of the newest additions to the Parramatta food scene is making quite a splash. Husk & Vine is part of the brand new SKYE hotel. Usually hotel restaurant offerings aren't as strong as the non hotel counterparts but the food at Husk & Vine is not that of a regular hotel.

The chef behind Husk and Vine is Steve Seckold, formerly of Flying Fish and Salaryman with head chef Ashley Brennan. Steve departed from Salaryman in December 2016 and joined Site Hospitality where he works as group chef. And at Husk & Vine he wanted to create a menu that wasn't centered around one particular cuisine but rather something that celebrated Parramatta's cultural diversity.

The name Husk & Vine comes from the SKYE Hotel's excavation phase when they broke the ground and found the remains of an 1840’s convict hut, Wheelwright’s workshop and the cellar of the Wheatsheaf hotel.

A custom made Beech oven delivers flatbread - long, slightly puffy warm breads that are meant for dipping and spreading. In this case it's a vehicle for fabulously garlicky warm hummus (hello, why didn't we ever think to warm our hummus over winter?).

This is followed by a delicate swordfish crudo with halved grapefruit segments, pink peppercorns and white balsamic. The freshness of the swordfish is brought out with the piquant peppercorns and grapefruit.

I'm positive that burrata is one of those things that nobody can hate on - everyone seems to greet burrata by saying, "I LOVE burrata!". Here it comes on a frisee salad on a quartered garlic flatbread round with chermoula, raisins and pine nuts to give it crunch and sweetness.

The fried chicken is crunchy and served piping hot. Next to it is an oregano and garlic dip. I personally love garlic dip a bit more garlicky and thicker (like toum) but the chicken is good.

Oh my, I think I just wanted to delve into a bowl of these lamb ribs. They're so tender that when I pick one end up to lift it to my mouth it threatens to fall off the bone onto my lap. I catch it just in time. The ribs are glazed with a date and tamarind sauce and it is topped with crispy curry leaves.

The number one thing about beef cheek is the texture and when I press a fork into these, they fall apart like a politician under questioning. The agrodolce braised beef cheeks are paired with a creamy parmesan and goat's curd polenta and basil pesto.

The blue eye trevalla is a perfectly cooked fillet of trevalla with an aromatic brown butter. The white balsamic gives it a gentle acidity while it's also served with a divine lemon mashed potato - harking back to Steve's Flying Fish days.

The pavlova is a round of meringue topped with orange blossom cream, caramelised tangelos, tangelo juice and freeze dried mandarin. Heaven.

But the pick of the two is the chocolate mousse that is topped with a divinely crunchy chocolate crumb and passionfruit gel. I have to admit that I don't tend to get that excited normally over chocolate mousse but this is divine. The sweetness of the milk chocolate is offset perfectly with sea salt.

So tell me Dear Reader, which dish did you like the sound of the best? Have you ever tried warm hummus? And do you LOVE burrata?

Husk & Vine Kitchen & Bar

7/45 Macquarie Street Parramatta, Sydney +61 2 7803 2323
Open 7 days Breakfast 6.30am-10.30am
Lunch 12pm-2.30pm
Dinner 5.30am-10pm
www.huskandvinekitchen.com.au