Profiled by de Groots MediaThe Worldsend has been a meeting place for the West End’s eclectic inhabitants for 11 years. Heavily populated with uni students, movers and shakers, it becomes the hangout for jazz hounds on Tuesday nights and offers great live beats through the week. Before you get into the groove of your evening’s entertainment, pop your head inside the dining room for an unexpected treat.
Chef Brett Barkla offers a menu of fortifying bar meals and a pleasing variety of restaurant choices. Light options include a Caesar salad wrap, duo of dips and spicy Mexican nachos. There is the omnipresent green Thai chicken curry; wash it down with one of the vast array of beers. The cuisine is described as “Australian-Asian” but the only real contender I saw for this category was the salt and pepper squid. Regarded as the Worldsend’s trademark dish, it is done so well that I can actually recall how impressed I was when I sampled it here a decade ago. Of worthy note is the kitchen’s use of MSA (Meat Standards Australia) approved beef. The tender Tungali scotch fillet will be cooked precisely to your liking and served with moist, roasted garlic-and-rosemary potatoes and a Shiraz glaze. At this point, the wine list beckons. Marry the glaze with a luscious drop (or two) of Elderton Barossa Shiraz and bliss abounds. If you want educated entertainment and smart food, now you know where to go.
Roz Taylor