PROFILE BY BEST RESTAURANTS
I’d been up the escalator quite a few times to the food court to grab a burger or get some dodgy Chinese food. It’s bustling and full of people eating during their lunch break. What many people don’t know, however is that if you turned to your left at the top of the escalators there is a small, hidden away door that leads to the award winning tapas bar and restaurant, Public which holds one hat from Good Food Guide.
Walking into Public there was the ruckus sound of people with their friends talking over a cocktail or beer. The bar area was packed full of people having a drink before a big night out. In the dining area, there were surprisingly few dinner tables for diners that were to start coming in half an hour later for dinner.
The Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner Dining Group guests arrived at 7pm and we were attended to promptly. The menu had a number of unique dishes that weren’t Spanish in flavour as I had expected it to be given we were dining at a Tapas restaurant. Fossilised Carrot, Pistachio, Goats Cheese and Hawaiian Potato Curry, Coconut, Lychee were on the menu as was the intriguing Salmon, Apple, Black Ants dish, which I wondered if it actually contained ants. Closing your eyes, The Duck Egg, Truffle, Toast had a subtle flavour of truffle but was overshadowed by the unappealing grey look of the dish. The beef tartare turned into a kangaroo tartare which had a meaty flavour without the gaminess that is usually associated with that type of meat. The sides were equally impressive. The Brussel sprouts were a surprise, being sweet and fresh as opposed to bitter and the Beetroot, Cumquat, Dukkah was sweet and refreshing. The table also had scallops, king fish and octopus, and fried duck as well as the large pork belly with apple jus and Brussel sprouts share plate were all well received.
As we shared all dishes between the eight of us including sides, the meals came to less than $40 and we were all satisfied, an extremely reasonable price for an award winning and seemingly expensive restaurant. I highly recommend this restaurant and want to return for the black ants dish that is enticing.
Kristin Hatherley