Oscars, Pyrmont

Baby barramundi

After my first visit to Oscars, I thought I'd discovered my new favourite eatery.



Shiny wooden furnishings, an abundance of natural light and fluoro green light fittings on the wall gave an upmarket yet casual welcome. The open bar was an island in the middle, surrounded by rustic brickwork; the kitchen was partially open, staff and heat lamps spied from our table in the formal dining area.


Lamb noisettes $18.00
Roasted noisettes of lamb with shallot and rosemary whisked potato,
snow pea sprouts and red wine jus

B had the lamb noisettes and declared them "sensational"; I had the baby barramundi which was a whole fish grilled, beheaded (to my disappointment). The fish was moist although a little under-cooked toward the bone, but I'd much prefer underdone than overdone fish.


Baby barramundi $18.00
Pan-fried and served with baby spinach, field mushrooms
and garlic and herb butter

Subsequent visits (amid my waxing lyrical to friends about this great new find I'd discovered) weren't so spectacular. R had the salmon nicoise salad which featured a small stump of salmon, a little overbrowned on its skin:


Cajun salmon nicoise salad $14.00
Oscars Cajun seasoned salmon fillet over mixed leaves, kalamata olives,
diced tomato, green beans and egg
with an oregano and lime dressing

and I was rather forlorn when presented with my buffalo mozzarella and fresh basil pizza which could have been a little more generous in its basil (particularly whole basil leaves rather than one leaf sliced finely into shreds). The crust was nice and crisp though, although a little dense.


Roma pizza $12.00
with buffalo mozzarella and fresh basil


Chilled raspberry souffle $8.00

Chilled raspberry souffle was pleasant but more cakey and ice-creamy than R had expected.

Chicken burger $13.00
chargrilled breast fillet with Jack Daniels barbecue sauce,
cheese, lettuce and mayonnaise
served with steak cut chips

Visit number three, and I'm still determined to find favour. This time B has the chicken burger. The bun is a little dry (and horrifyingly untoasted), and the salad is a little uninspired, but the chicken breast is fairly moist and the chips are nicely golden.

I go for the chargrilled sirloin which is medium rare just as I ordered:


Chargrilled Sirloin 300gm $18.00
with oven-roasted field mushroom and tomato
with steak cut chips

but disappointingly chewy nonetheless. And yet I love the two sturdy field mushrooms which are upended to act as pallbearers for the once-was-cow. The mushrooms are firm and meaty in texture, oven roasted till sticky and rich with flavour.



Thoughtfully piling the chips on a little saucer keeps them crispy and safe from the gravy, but I do wish the dish was a little bigger: there's plenty of gravy that needs mopping up (waste not, want not and all--well that's the excuse that I'm using anyway).



So it's not my new favourite eatery, but I still have a soft spot for it for some reason. It's a nice space, the prices are reasonable and they do a very good field mushroom.




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Oscars
84 Union Street, Pyrmont, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9660 5933

Monday - Saturday: Midday til late
Sunday: Midday til 10pm

Other eats in Pyrmont on GrabYourFork:
Astral
Flying Fish & Chips
Little Snail
Sydney Fish Markets
Viva Goa
Yots