Flinders Inn
NOTE: Sadly Flinders Inn is no longer open
Running like Clockwork guests arrived one by one to the orange door on Flinders St, Paddington. Stepping off the busy street and into Flinders Inn they had arrived at the latest destination for Secret Foodies 12.
Ambience
In France, bistro may imply a more casual dining experience than you’ll have at Flinders Inn. But don’t let the crisp white table clothes be deceiving. The casual bar as you enter the restaurant and daily specials written in red lipstick on the mirrors is proof this is a relaxed locale. Sipping Peach Bellini’s on arrival guests took their seats and were soon fitting their masks.
Kingfish cru, horse radish, black salt, sorrel, lime
Canape
As guests got to know each other the aromas from the kitchen were beginning to tease. If the canapé of Kingfish Cru, Horseradish, Black Salt, Sorrel, Lime was anything to go by I was confident we were in for a flavoursome evening. Fresh ingredients with the right amount of salt and seasoning for my palette, I could have easily had this as a larger entree.
Lentils, carrot, Labne, smoked beets
Entrée
For my entree I had the Smoked King Salmon, Tomatoes Essence, Basil. The salmon is smoked on site and was cooked to perfection. My flat mate has a fear of over cooked fish (rightly so). This fish certainly wasn’t going back to the kitchen. For those who didn’t eat seafood it was Lentils, Carrot, Labne, Smoked Beets. Beautifully presented, this dish looked amazing. I’m eager to know how it tasted and look forward to reading other peoples comments.
Smoked King salmon, tomatoes essence, basil
Main
For mains we had an alternate drop of two signature dishes (I was sure to make friends with my neighbour so I could try both). Placed in front of me was the Duck Leg Confit, Soft Maize, Broad Beans, Ginger Sauce. The duck was slightly crispy on the outside and fell apart into rich tender pieces on the inside. Delicious. I found the soft maize a little bland and had there not been enough juices from the duck it would have stuck to the roof of my mouth.
Duck leg confit, soft maize, broad beans, ginger sauce
My neighbour had the Flinder’s Pork Belly Cassoulet. I’m usually not a big pork eater but that crackling taste like Christmas. I felt as though I was back home at Christmas lunch with my family eating my mothers pork crackling. It’s amazing when food evokes such warm memories. I encourage all to try the pork belly.
Flinder’s pork belly cassoulet
For our non red meat eaters there was the Prawn risotto that looked light and fluffy. I look forward to hearing the reviews from our Secret Foodies on that dish. Accompanying our mains we had Pomme fries and Mixed leaf salad. Damn those fries! They were so good. Too good.
Prawn risotto
Pomme fries
Dessert
Not that I can complain about eating too many fries when I took sheer delight in sampling both delectable deserts presented. On the menu this desert is labeled simply Nutella. Memories of a giant jar of nutella, cartoons after school and me and my little brother fighting over who’s turn it was to dip their spoon springs to mind. Fortunately I was amongst grown ups and nutella fights were minimal. The ‘grown-up’ version is far more delightful, with a fluffy chocolate mouse on bottom and crunchy rich chocolate on top.
Nutella
Whilst the nutella hit the spot for chocolate fiends it was the Honey & Lavender Parfait, Poached Pears with Lavender Salt that intrigued me. I used to be that kid at birthday parties who’d eat salt and vinegar chips and chocolate together so this sweet/salty desert was a hit for me!
Honey & lavender parfait, poached pears, lavender salt
During desert Morgan was gracious enough to take time out of the kitchen and share his passion for food and a bit about his unique background.
Morgan McGlone
It’s not often you hear passionate details of rich, delectable flavours and mouth watering food in the same sentence as the word model. Perhaps that is because you haven’t met Morgan McGlone, Head Chef/Owner of Flinders Inn. Most chef’s have a few interesting stories to tell but Morgan could keep you enthralled for hours with what he’s done.
Coming from a family of chefs he’s worked at some of Sydney’s best restaurants including Summit and CBD . He also worked at Salt with Luke Mangan before jet setting to New York where he worked as a personal chef. Being flown to Pairs, London, Cuba and the Bahamas to cook amazing food for people is not a bad gig, not sure I’d trade that for scouting models (then again I’m not a red-blooded male). Before returning to Australia Morgan was a model talent broker and got a taste of the fashion world.
Thankfully Morgan McGlone returned to Sydney and for those of you who dare peak through the orange door, you’re sure in for treat. Inside you’ll find fantastic service, a warm ambience and simple yet elegant French cuisine.
But enough about what I think…let’s hear what our foodies have to say.
xxMs Darlinghurst
Flinders Inn
Shop 1, 160 Flinders St, Paddington 2021
(02) 9331 0208
http://www.flindersinn.com/
Category: All Restaurants, East
Flinders Inn is a great find and would be great location to have private functions or entertain customers due to it’s intimate setting.
Being the token non seafood eater I was delighted to see nearby Diners suffering from Food Envy when the Lentils, Carrot, Labne, Smoked Beets Entree was served. The word Lentils will forever be synonymous with Neil from The Young Ones in my mind but I would have to say that this dish was my favourite of the evening. (particularly as it wasn’t something I would normally order)
The pork belly was fabulous (also a dish I wouldn’t normally order)but I would recommend a side dish of green vegetables with it to complement.
The Nutella dessert was so good that it required some alone time. Seriously.
******
Other points:
The wait staff were fantastic and added to the evening.
Morgan is a fabulous and very interesting Chef.
Listening to him at the end made me want to rewind the night as I would have looked at the dishes differently.
Peach Bellinis should be the start of every evening.
I will definitely go back.
I love Flinders Inn; it’s such a great little spot.
I haven’t had any of the dishes you mentioned but they all look fab.
Those desserts look incredible. I’m like you, Ms Darlinghurst, I love salt and sweet together too.
Great food, great location, great staff, a great night!
The evening started with a peach bellini and just got better from there.
Starter- a little less citrus and this would have been perfect.
Entree – I wanted more! This was my favourite dish of the evening. If I was alone I would have licked the plate
Main – I’m not usually a big duck fan but this was delicious. Cooked perfectly, the meat melted in my mouth. I would recommend a side of green vegetables to balance the rich flavours though. While fries are always too tasty to resist, it was a little too much all together for me.
Dessert – thankfully my partner in crime on the evening let me steal half her nutella magic. Pure bliss. This needs to be available in a super size tub on every corner! The lavender salt on the other dessert though was interesting…not sure how else to sum it up.
Overall, a place I would definitely visit again and recommend to friends, family and clients.
Morgan is the gem of the place though as are the staff. Rarely you find a team so genuinely passionate about what they do that it just glows off them.
Big A+ from me
French with a twist!?
From Morgan’s experience, you could tell he struggled to categorise exactly what style this food was…which is what made it so interesting…
It was a classy experience – so – real flavours throughout – and five courses – if you want to impress a date, and do it in style – Flinders Inn is a good option – and get Morgan out for a chat – he is an interesting character indeed!
The salmon and the pork bellies were outstanding. I wanted more, and I wanted steamed mixed veggies with them – but I’m sure the team there would be most obliging…!
Enjoy!
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