Small Town Food + Wine

13 November 2021, 12pm

Regional travel has opened up again, and here at worst seat in the house we wasted no time getting back on the road in search of some small town, locally driven eats. And where better to do that than at a place called, um, Small Town? 

Housed in historic Milton, this neighbourhood bistro is the latest venture of husband-and-wife duo Alex Delly and Jo Thomas. Don’t be fooled – we may be in South Coast NSW, but Chef Delly has trained at some top restaurants (Ezard, Circa) and under some even topper chefs (Andrew McConnell, Rick Stein).

You know that snug sensation you feel when it’s pouring with rain and, covering your head with your jacket because you forgot an umbrella, you hastily huddle inside? Well, that was our experience arriving at Small Town for our 12pm reservation. With it bucketing down outside, it felt even more inviting – the interiors sleek but cosy, nothing but easy listening by way of background music, and a relaxed, familiar vibe – as if we’d been before.

The waiters were chilled out but attentive, winning us over quickly with free pistachios to snack on while we perused the menu. We really liked the tap beer on offer, but the rose available by the glass wasn’t to our taste – it was overly alcoholic on the nose and intensely acidic (I won’t lie, this dampened my rose-all-day long lunch aspirations, having managed to avoid driving duty).

Just to indulge, we ordered a Toasted lobster roll with mayo and soft herbs as an amuse bouche of sorts. It was only a bite each, but that bite was packed with flavour. It screamed shellfish. The lobster was fresh and zesty, the mayo creamy and tangy, the soft herbs delicate and fragrant. The toasted roll was the perfect vehicle for this luxurious filling – similar in taste and texture to buttery garlic bread.

For entrées, we shared the Kingfish crudo with horseradish, parmesan cream and smoked soy and the Spring vegetables with galotyri cheese, fig leaf oil and hazelnut.

The kingfish was textbook crudo – fresh, light, silky. What we particularly loved was the bold selection of flavours to accompany it. The potent horseradish, sharp parmesan and salty soy (smoked soy at that) could easily have overpowered each other (let alone the mild fish) but instead, they were perfectly complemented to create a beautifully balanced dish. There was even a hint of aniseed from some finely shredded purplish leaves that after much googling we still cannot name (Purple Osaka mustard greens?! Giant Red Japanese mustard greens?!!)

The veggies were a celebration of spring – with radish pink, carrot orange and sugar-snap green streamers, along with hazelnut confetti. It was unapologetically a plate of vegetables – the true flavour of each ingredient permitted to sing by keeping some raw and treating simply those that had to be cooked. This was only enhanced by the soft cheese generously spread across the bottom of the plate (originating from Greece, galotyri is delectably curdy, made from both goat’s and sheep’s milk), dash of herby oil, and smattering of toasty hazelnuts. 

The beauty of refreshing starters such as these is that they so well gear your appetite for the often more rich main course. And indeed, Small Town’s secondi offering sounded downright decadent (golden spiced spatchcock and snapper in sea urchin butter sauce to name a few). We decided on the Wagyu bavette with charred brassica, bone marrow butter and lemon and Ricotta gnudi with broad beans, artichokes and ricotta salata.

The first thing we noticed was how wonderfully tender the cook on the bavette was. However, as we continued to eat, we observed a lack of cohesion in the overall dish. Despite some strong flavours on the plate (toasted garlic, bone marrow, smoky greens), no particular taste shone through – it lacked salt, there was no sense of that deep and savoury umami associated with beef, it wasn’t sweet or sour, if anything – it was too bitter – the char on the brassica quite overwhelming and bordering on burnt. 

Rather than bursting with aromatics as a good jus should, the sauce was on the watery side, and the bone marrow butter was heartbreakingly bland. This wasn’t a bad dish per se, but the elements that made it sound so enticing were deceptive to our tastebuds and – at $59 a pop – a tad unconscionable on our wallets.

Gnudi are dumplings made with ricotta and semolina, and so are traditionally much lighter and fluffier than the starchy potato gnocchi they are often compared to. Small Town’s gnudi, however, were even more dense than gnocchi and tasted very floury. 

We liked the artichoke flavour permeating the dish, as well as the fresh pops of broad bean, but regrettably, our enjoyment was overshadowed by an otherwise unusual sauce. Nice emulsification brought about by the grated ricotta was disrupted by chunks of gelatinous onion and undercooked garlic, and it was tipped over the edge – rather than balanced – by excessive acidity and seasoning.

For our side dish, we chose the Duck fat spuds with garlic and rosemary. We felt the spuds missed that golden-crunch-magic unique to roast potatoes, tasting more like their healthier cousin, jacket potatoes. They were definitely not healthy though, almost sickly in richness from the overpowering measure of duck fat. The garlic and rosemary may have helped to counteract this, but we didn’t get either of those flavours at all.

Overall, second course certainly continued the trend of brave flavour combinations, but while the entrées successfully navigated some tricky unions, mains unfortunately over-promised in this regard.

Lasting impressions, you ask?

Small Town confronts confident flavours and dallies with daring combinations. Regardless of whether or not they pull it off, that is impressive. 

We know from the positive comments at tables around us that diners generally enjoyed their meals, but – for us – the food was not at the level of refinement we expected from a chef of Delly’s experience, and in our view, not consistent enough to warrant the prices charged. 

That being said, its modern – but more importantly, thought-provoking – menu makes it a standout amongst the Milton offering. So, if you are staying there or nearby – by all means, give it a whirl.