Falcon in The Falconer
The Falconer is an unsuspecting little restaurant on Oxford Street that we walked straight past when trying to find it. Sir D and I were greeted by cheerful waitstaff who asked us whether we were here for dinner or drinks, and then led us to a comfortable booth on the side of the restaurant.
Menu
We are handed us single page menus with entrees, pasta and risotto, mains, sides and salads and desserts. It all sounded so delicious I wanted to order one of everything, but I exercise restraint and we choose one entree and two mains.
Arancini (2) filled with pumpkin, stracchino cheese and marjoram - $8.00
After a short wait two balls of arancini arrive on a plate full of tomato sauce. The sauce is more acidic than usual but goes well with the cheesy arancini. Sir D, who usually avoids risotto, surprisingly enjoys this dish a lot and proclaims it the best risotto he has ever had. The risotto is cooked well, perhaps a bit too soft for some, but it has the right amount of cheese and pumpkin bits in it surrounded by a crunchy crumbing on the outside.
Fresh egg pasta lasagna layered with beef ragu, peas and parmesan - $15.00
The mains arrive and the lasagna is much larger than I had anticipated, with the layers of wavy pasta sheets separated by peas, hard boiled egg and beef ragu. The lasagna sits in a pool of the same tomato sauce that came with the arancini. I find the hard boiled egg a bit strange in the lasagna but I love the peas which add textural variety to the beef and the pasta sheets. I dollop a generous amount of tomato sauce on each piece of lasagna and savour each bite, and reluctantly hand over the other half of it to Sir D.
Roasted Bultara saltbush lamb with pink eye potato and rosemary gratin - $27.00
Sir D's main is the lamb, and although I don't want to share my lasagna, one bite into the lamb and all is forgotten. I'm absolutely lost in the juicy, soft lamb pieces and before I know it I've devoured it all. The potato gratin is the perfect accompaniment to the lamb with the buttery, cheesy potato slices, and I clear this up as well in no time. We're pleased with service as well as our water is topped up regularly and we're glad to have found great food at a reasonable price.
Although I'd heard from a friend that the Falconer's vanilla creme brulee was excellent, it was going to have to wait because we were in Darlinghurst. Which meant that I only had my sights set on one thing - Gingerbread gelato from Gelato Messina!
3 scoops of gelato (from top) passionfruit, gianduia and gingerbread - $5.80
I was so excited to see gingerbread gelato in the window! You can only just see it peeking out of the cup. But it was gingery and sweet and spicy in a good way :) The other flavours you can see in the photo are one of my favourites gianduia, and Sir D's favourite passionfruit.
The Falconer
31 Oxford Street
Darlinghurst NSW 2000
Ph: +61 2 9267 8434
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Gelato Messina
Shop 1/241 Victoria St
Darlinghurst NSW 2000
Ph: +61 2 8354 1223
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OMG! It's the old Aristotles! LOL. That was the restaurant there before the Falconer, which is now more fine dining. It looks pretty good actually, the arancini and the lasagne especially. Thanks for the review!
ReplyDeletei've been meaning to try the new falconer which used to be an old looking cafe i never visited. has been recommended by a friend as well. the lamb looks really yummy. i'd probably have to try this one. next time i'm at gelato messina i'll have to remember to try the gianduia and gingerbread :-)
ReplyDeleteI find often the risotto used in arancini is softer, perhaps to help it bind? Those two babies look nicely rounded and I'd be happy to eat more as a main! Like you though, I'm intrigued by the hard-boiled egg in the lasagna...
ReplyDeletePS. Love the new colours in the title bar! =)
Hi joey - Mmm yeah the arancini was really good!
ReplyDeleteHi Simon - The lamb was so tender, not sure if it was because it was saltbush lamb or the way they cooked it but it was absolutely melt in the mouth!
Hi mademoiselle délicieuse - Ah so maybe that's why Sir D liked the risotto in arancini better. I'm sure if you asked for a main size arancini they'd be more than happy to oblige!
Oohh freaky freaky! My post on the Falconer is about to go up! :) Hehe. Great minds! That lasagna looks awesome and you definitely can't go past gelato for dessert :)
ReplyDeleteThe food at the Falconer looks quite hearty & the lamb looks like it was cooked just right :)
ReplyDeleteWhat does gianduia taste like?
Hi Betty - Ooh can't wait for your post to see what you thought of it!
ReplyDeleteHi Simon - The lamb was perfect! The gianduia tasted like nutella hehe. Sort of chocolatey but nutty at the same time :) So good!
My husband is the same about risotto vs arancini although if you fry anything then it's going to be good right? :P That lasagne looks huge!
ReplyDeleteHi Lorraine - Haha yes I'm also of the opinion that anything deep fried tastes better =P
ReplyDelete