I was looking forward to having dinner at Wood & Coal Spit & Bar at the Canberra Centre with V last weekend. Wood & Coal, located opposite Jamie’s Italian and replacing Babar’s, is the latest BBQ/wood fire/grill based eatery to open up joining the likes of Smoque, Hopscotch, Ox Eatery, and Blackfire. As the name suggests, wood and coal is used to cook delicious meats in the kitchen including pig on a spit.
There are beautiful white arches and terrace style seating that looks out into the Centre.
The entrance is outside where you’re greeted by a staff member. We didn’t have a booking but they do accept walk-ins and we scored a booth to the side of the restaurant. The unusual space has been used well with a large bar area standing prominently towards the entrance, the large open kitchen along the back, and various seating arrangements everywhere else – a mix of booths, terrace style seating and stools at the bar. The combination of wooden textures and soft lighting provides a cosy warm atmosphere for dinner.
The meat fridge is clearly illuminated at the back.
The food menu is on Wood and Coal’s website and includes a mix of small and large plates, and items from the spit. Small plates range from $12 – $20 and includes sashimi, chicken wings, pork rillettes and zucchini fritters. Large plates range from $15 – $36 and includes charred mackerel, twice cooked lamb, beef short rib and a variety of salads. There are also lots of meat dishes from the spit. The lunch time specials look like good value – $17 for Souvas from the Spit, or $25 for the Lunch Tasting Plate.
To start with, we ordered the milk bun thit ($12) which came in a serve of two. I was surprised and pleased to see an Asian influence. These mini buns (Asian sliders?) were delicious and filled with carrot, cucumber, coriander, chilli, mayo and the charcoal spit meat of the day (our waitress informed us that it’s pretty much whatever meat they have the most of at the time) which in this case was pork neck. A generous amount of pork neck and delicious condiments make this a winning combination. Yum! I was impressed that a kitchen staff member delivered this to us and explained what was in the dish.
V and I decided to share the spit roasted pig with creamed honey and maple ($48) thinking this would be enough between us. We were wrong. Whoops. I thought it was quite a small portion for nearly $50 with bones and marrow included. However, the suckling pig was melt in your mouth succulent and so tasty! All meats from the spit are served with pickles and condiments. Sadly, there was only half a slice of pickle and a carrot slice.
I perused the leather bound drinks menu not expecting to see anything of interest (to me being a non-drinker) but was happy to see a mocktail menu! Three mocktails are on offer around the $10 mark. I ordered the Hibiscus Vestal with hibiscus syrup, citrus, lemonade, cranberry and rose petals. Really enjoyed it and the presentation is lovely.
I couldn’t go past dessert (all $18), and knew instantly what I wanted. Big John’s Loukoumades with caramelised banana, popcorn honeycomb, hazelnut ice cream and pistachio. This looked magnificent and plated so delicately. It tasted even better and I loved the different textural elements. The balls of deep fried dough were hot and drizzled with a honey syrup. The ice cream is smooth and a refreshing contrast to the other items. If the other desserts are as good as this I’ll be very happy.
Good to see there is plenty of ventilation in the kitchen. Nothing worse than all your clothes and hair smelling of BBQ. Noise levels weren’t too loud but we were sitting away from the kitchen with the bar separating us from the other diners. The booths themselves provide a nice little private hub too.
I thought the service was fantastic – I liked that our waitress introduced herself telling us she would be our waitress for the night, the kitchen staff delivering our dishes and telling us the details of each dish when setting this down in front of us, and that feedback was asked at the end of night.
I’m eager to go back and try some other dishes and more desserts!
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