Baked on Mort Street in Braddon is Les Bistronomes’ sister eatery in the same neighbourhood. Best known for its trade marked bragel – a hybrid of brioche and bagel, served for breakfast and lunch, Baked recently opened its doors for dinner. When I heard about their 8 course dinner for $40, I gathered some friends to try it out.
After we were seated, we were provided with a score card each to write down our feedback.
The boys ordered beers (tinnies) to start off with, while Mr FPJ ordered one of the juices (apple and elderflower) and asked for a shot of whiskey in it. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much whiskey in it. Interestingly, there’s a non-alcoholic beer available – the Asahi Dry Zero. Beer on tap is coming soon.
Course 1 – duck liver parfait mini eclairs topped with sesame seeds (one per person). These little morsels were a great idea. The duck liver was smooth and not too rich, and I loved how the sesame seeds enhanced the eclairs with its nutty brilliance.
Course 2 – chicken rillettes mixed with dijon mustard and served with pickles (one per person). There was a very generous portion of pulled chicken on top of a thin slice of toasted baguette. I thought there was a lot more chicken to baguette ratio, and my feedback was for more bread!
Course 3 – salmon tartare with sesame, soy and ponzu dressing (shared between four). I loved the big chunks of salmon and the light Asian style dressing was wonderful with a very mild chilli hit. I could have gone a bit stronger with the chilli. In contrast, my friends didn’t like the big chunks of salmon and thought they should be smaller so it was easier to eat. The chunkier the better I say! I liked the thickness of the crackers which absorbed some of the flavour of the dressing but didn’t go soggy, retaining its structure and crispiness.
Course 4 – ricotta stuffed jalapeno poppers with sauteed chorizo (shared between four). We were all in agreement about this dish. Wonderfully crunchy breadcrumb exterior stuffed with ricotta which was still hot from the fryer. The thick slices of chorizo were delicious and my only feedback was for some more chorizo.
Course 5 – sweet corn served three ways (shared between four). This consisted of corn croquettes, buttered corn on the cob and spiced popcorn topped with a bit of tzatziki. Again, the crumbed exterior of the croquettes were nicely crunchy with a fluffy potato and corn filling. The corn on the cob was your basic corn on the cob. The popcorn didn’t have that much spiciness to it but it was nice to pick at.
Course 6 – crumbed pork schnitzel on a charcoal bragel (half portion per person). Although there was nothing wrong with the bragel, I was rather surprised that it was included in the dinner menu. On a cold night, I guess I wanted something warm and hearty.
The bragel was filled with an Asian style dressing with crunchy grated carrots, coriander, mint, and what seemed like a lemon-based tangy mayonnaise.
Course 7 – Potato wedges with sweet chilli and sour cream (shared between four) came out at the same time as the bragels. I didn’t think that potato wedges should have been considered a ‘course’ and put this down as my feedback. The skin wasn’t crunchy at all which is what I love about wedges.
Course 8 – mini pavlova with cream, berries and passionfruit (two pavlovas to be shared between four). I’m not a fan of pavlova but I did enjoy this one. I liked the slightly chewy meringue in conjunction with the fresh fruit and cream.
A few of us ordered hot chocolates afterwards ($6 and not included in the 8 courses). Mr FPJ ordered his with a shot of whiskey in it.
The 8 courses are the chef’s pick and apply to everyone at the table. I was a little disappointed that we didn’t get to try at least one of the three pasta dishes on the regular menu as part of the 8 courses. It would have been nice to have a warm main dish rather than a cold bragel. This was provided in my feedback. When tallying up the dishes, we worked out that it equaled to roughly $40 per person, so the offer wasn’t as appealing. Next time I’ll just order what I want from the regular menu.
Nevertheless, it was fun having a scorecard and being able to write down feedback. Service was really friendly and polite. Plates were cleared, fresh plates provided, water topped up, and dishes served unobtrusively. The cafe was at half capacity that night so it was fairly quiet inside.
Baked
38 Mort Street, Braddon ACT
Opening hours:
Tuesday – Wednesday: 7am-3pm
Thursday – Friday: 7am – 3pm, 5pm – 10pm
Saturday: 8am – 3pm, 5pm – 10pm
Sunday: 8am – 3pm
Foodgasm 7/10
Value for money 6/10
Service 8/10
FPJ score 21/30
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