Jane

6 March 2022, 6.30pm

There’s a pedestrian crossing on a tree-lined street that leads somewhere pretty special. No, we’re not talking about Abbey Road, but Jane – a lovely new restaurant in leafy Surry Hills where an Australian native-focused menu revivifies sentimental nods to the mellow 1970s.

We arrived at our 6.30pm reservation to just the kind of warming welcome one wants on a rainy Sunday: cosy décor, soft light, smiley staff, chilled 70s tunes. From brown velvet corduroy booths and dark varnished timber tables to cherry red linen and flowery yellow menus, we were surrounded by nostalgic comfort.

Within minutes, a happy waiter had explained the menu and taken our drinks order (an enjoyable glass of chenin blanc each, with a fun fruity start and smooth buttery end). It is frustratingly rare to find a menu that truly showcases native ingredients – but this is it, and we were eager to try everything.

We started with a Cocktail mussel with tarragon sauce and Panisse with wild boar nduja and parmesan custard each. Both represented everything we love about the ‘snack’ trend – the tease of only one bite, but the satisfaction of ultimate depth of flavour.

The pickled mussel was phenomenal – unlike its oyster cousin, it tasted only subtly of the sea, and was buttery in texture so that you could chew and really savour the moment. It paired wonderfully with the tarragon sauce, comparable to an extra herby dollop of béarnaise.

The panisse was new to us and we wonder where these have been all our lives. Hailing from the South of France, they are small puffs with batter consisting of chickpea flour and, but of course, a lot of butter. They were light but almost custardy in texture and complemented perfectly by the inimitable umami of parmesan and warm meaty spice of nduja.

Next, we had the Shishitos with peach and curd. We like these blistered Japanese peppers for their sweet and smoky profile, but we love them for their mysterious ability to blow your face off every once in a while (the story goes that only one in each pod ever develops any heat).*

Flavours here were expertly combined, the ever-so-slight citrus taste of the chillies amplified by the tart peach jam and mandarin vinaigrette, and balanced by the fresh house-made cow curd. While this dish could perhaps have benefitted from something else, it was nevertheless an impressive starter.

For main, we chose the Duck with spring onion and Davidson plum. The duck was up there with the best we’ve had – crispy skin lined sumptuously with fat, and blushing pink flesh that just melted in the mouth. Davidson plum reinvented the traditional pairing of duck and fruit, its tartness naturally offsetting the gamey meat, but its earthiness introducing a level of maturity as well. The sticky, viscous reduction was pumped with flavour, and the squidgy spring onion brought a welcome vegetal sweetness.

For the side, we selected the Potato with whey and cured yolk. I try to be serious when I write about food, but the best way I can describe this dish is… WTAF. It was the best potato ever. Prepared fondant style, the initial crackle and crunch was utterly symphonic, and it was soft like silk on the inside. It is the new benchmark, made only more decadent by the delicate shavings of cured yolk on top. 

And the sauce… the sauce! All I can say is OMG. The whey appears to have been whipped with an extreme quantity of butter to produce the frothy, tangy, creamy concoction of my dreams. Savoury caramel is perhaps the best way to think (fantasize) about it. All but licking the plate, I definitely embarrassed the other of us, which is saying something.

We loved the sound of dessert, so were naughty and ordered two. This was a wise decision, as both were textural masterpieces and deliciously unique flavour-wise.

First was Jane’s Pink Cake. This was a classic union of fluffy sponge, crisp meringue and thick vanilla cream, laced with macerated strawberries. The cake was generously sprinkled with a strawberry crumble of the most interesting texture (reminding us of those old-fashioned chocolate rocks) and finished with swirls of intense strawberry gel. It was overall quite bright and botanical, rather than sweet.

Second were the Cherries with chocolate mousse and malted puff. This was unbelievably good and again, not overly sweet. The piped mousse was super rich – but happily (for my taste anyway) still tasted of milk chocolate rather than the usual dark. It was also beautifully salty, which worked wonders with the tart cherries. And the malted puff was the ideal vehicle, flaky sugary pastry meeting hot buttered toast.

Lasting impressions, you ask?

Jane is a quiet achiever among a cascade of great newcomers in Sydney, and we’ll have you know it fares just fine alongside recent others named after prominent women in the lives of their respective chefs (yes, we are talking about Ursula’s and Margaret). What is extra cool about Jane is the accessible price point – getting away for less than $100 per person is kind of hard in Sydney, and near impossible when the offering is this outstanding.

There is clear knowledge of food in the kitchen and visible passion for it on the floor, putting foodies like us right in our element. Jane evokes a wistful affection for long-lost times, even in those of us not even thought about back in the 70s. But above all, it takes this sense of familiarity and breathes new life into it, exhibiting through native ingredients the very best of this country we are lucky enough to call home.

* I lost this round of pepper roulette, but don’t be disheartened – our waiter told us it was the first time that had happened.