PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIAOutside, Sirens presents a fairly drab, in-need-of-a-good-paint-job face to the world. Step from the street through one double door, then another, and you enter a large room suffused with spicy aromas, soft-coloured drapes and arched, curtain-enclosed booths. The menu “welcomes you to an oasis where the flavours, politics and beliefs of the world meet to excite, challenge and refresh.” The beliefs are pacifist, the oasis is the Persian harem-like decor and the vegetarian food more than delivers on the promise to excite, challenge and refresh. And there’s not a spotty pumpkin-seed eater or card-carrying feral in sight.
The menu sparkles with things like salsa rosso, sumac and rosemary aiolis, truffle vinaigrette, nine spice syrup, curry butter and mushroom brioche. Oils, vinegars, essences and dressings swirl and dot the plates. Their carrot and ginger dip is one of the freshest, most palate-pleasing cleansers you can imagine. The preserved lemon and pistachio couscous with harrissa is subtly, almost hauntingly spiced and citrusy. Roast cauliflower with blue cheese and walnuts redefines lasagne. Green olive souffle, scrumptious pumpkin and sesame dumplings, a wonderfully refreshing carrot, chilli, peanut and lime salad and desserts like Persian pots with Turkish delight cigars all serve to lift vegetarian food to new heights of creative sophistication and enjoyment.
Graeme Phillips
