I booked in for dinner at Eightysix during its opening weekend. So excited to try out the newest restaurant in Braddon!
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| Eightysix |
There are no menus. Instead, the dishes of the night are written in chalk on the blackboards across the length of the restaurant. Once a dish is exhausted, it is ‘eightysixed’ and crossed off the blackboard. It was a little awkward looking at what there was to eat with other diners sitting underneath, but our waitress recommended we take a photo of each of the blackboards and sit down to decide. My thoughts exactly.
I chose the smoked trout and confit duck tortellini. I was a bit disappointed that the serving was so small (5 pieces of tortellini for about $28). However, the tortellini was superb. The trout tasted fresh and the tortellini cooked al dente. It was a beautifully tasting dish. Just wish there was more of it!
My partner ordered the pork crackling and the charcoal chicken which came out on a wooden board. The crackling tasted more like popcorn with a hint of meatiness than the traditional crackling. The chicken was a simple dish but done extremely well – juicy tender chicken topped with a delicious sauce.
As I was still hungry, (and I love dessert :P), I had to try out their dessert menu. I chose the Apple and thyme tarte tatin and thought it was beautifully presented. It tasted just as good as it looked! YUM!
My partner ordered the Ginger Brulee with quince chutney. A simple brulee and we couldn’t really taste the ginger (probably a good thing).
The service at Eightysix was top notch. Our lovely fun waitress knew everything on the menu, could answer all our queries and provided her own recommendations. She had a sense of humour and spirit, and was able to banter with my partner, which made the whole dining experience that much more enjoyable. When we asked for the bill, she provided us with a little booklet/notepad where all customers had to draw something, anything, and leave it for the restaurant. I don’t remember what she said they’d do with it, but the restaurant stands out as something different and fun. A tip was given to the waitress for her excellent service.
The food was spot-on and I’d definitely recommend this place to anyone. The atmosphere inside – a bit loud with the open kitchen and music and you might have to shout a bit, but the food WOW.
Check out their Facebook page
Foodgasm 9/10
