Oscillate Wildly

275 Australia Street, Newtown
Tuesday - Saturday, 6pm - 10pm

I absolutely love Oscar Wilde. 'Tis a pity he has departed this world for quite some time now... And the main trouble here is that I immediately love anyone who references him or his works or his delightfully piquant wit. Bless their dear souls!

Having heard quite a deal about this restaurant previous to our arrival - and being made to bide one's time by weeping in my dreams about deliciousness for some goodly time on a waiting list - I had more than high expectations. Finally the day was to come. Finally we were to taste the splendours of the up-and-coming (or perhaps, more accurately, already made) Chef Daniel Puskas so anticipated. As a side note this 23 year-old has already worked in some absolute top locations - including doing an apprenticeship at Tetsuya's, which he then decided to do an overseas stint at Zuma's in London, that being tripped back home to The Boathouse on Blackwattle Bay in Glebe, and then he worked at Marque in Surry Hills - most of which are on my "to visit" list (prepare yeselves for these epics...when some funds are acquired once I rob a bank/commit some other legal sin).
Having won awards and multiple other accolades from critics, including Young Chef of the Year for 2007, he has decided to set up a small restaurant in Newtown of his own, which, by and large, has a monthly menu turn-around. And by small, I really mean tiny. Lilliputian, in fact. An old barber's shoppe, if I remember correctly, this quaint space is warm, cosy and has a maximum of about 12 tables. Maximum. Given that we weren't prepared to wait more than the minimum of two months, we were squeezed in at an early sitting. Being the first ones there we promptly ordered that which pleased our mind's tastes and then prepared ourselves for the deliciousness to arrive whilst we nibbled on some tasty sourdough bread and butter.
And then some art arrived to the table. And it smelt fabulous. Darling. Having chosen rare succulent little pieces of lamb fillet encrusted with muesli for my entrée, I took great caution in ruining the composition and textures of the rhubarb and beetroot paste and the tangy dried apricot spots. This is what is termed 'molecular gastronomy' and, although the term is slightly loaded in terms of the science involved, makes for a meal that is infused with such care and precision that one explores each bite and unpacks the plate as one does a philosophy paper or a great work of literature. It also makes for some great guilt (a Jewish mother would be proud) in destroying what was previously a masterpiece in modern design where one feels almost obliged not to touch it. But, as you can imagine, it was. Very much so.
And then the chicken. How can chicken be that good, you ask? It can be amazing, I answer. Seemingly wrapped in a dense roll and then cut into compact cylinders, the tender meat was served with goat's milk yoghurt, finely chopped hazelnuts, poached rhubarb, and drizzled with a mild balsamic of sorts. Heavenly juicy the combination of the flavours, again, provided the mouth with a canvas of dynamism and wonder. Dessert was to be had in the form of a divine slice of nutty panna cotta goodness sat in a small puddle of a liquor cream. The texture of the top layer was an odd gelatine of dark chocolate with a hint of something else undefinable. Bizarre on it's own, it nevertheless worked wonders with the paradise of thick white chocolate paste which topped it in a swirled pyramid. Who can resist anything sprinkled with almonds!?
Petite portions and artistically presented - suffice to say, the food is very much Japanese influenced - the commitment to consistently amazing quality and variation is evident. The only downside, which will make me reconsider returning some time soon, was the service. In such a place as Sydney - where the food choices are many, wide and varying - it is a very bad turn not to provide the utmost for every facet of a diner's experience. Being, what I would like to think, very understanding clients we were not expecting to stay longer than what an early sitting would normally be. But being literally rushed out by the ill-mannered waitress when our desserts were barely whisked away is not a pleasant feeling. This may have been a one-off occurrence, and I sincerely hope for the kitchen's sake it was, however the fullness of the evening at Oscillate Wildly was severely cut short of incredible. Not wanting to end on a bad note, it was probably only fantastic.

If you plan to come here be prepared to wait a while. Months, even.

Finally walking in to Oscillate Wildly was exciting. Considering that we had waited almost 2 months since booking, my mouth was watering as I walked in through the door.

On paper, this sounded like my ideal restaurant. Located in Newtown, an area with which I'm familiar, it promised inventive cuisine, quirky but intimate settings and a reasonable price tag. The fact that they were using a Smiths reference as the name of the restaurant (which in turn references all around good guy, Oscar Wilde!) was only a ridiculously awesome bonus.

Now there are some disclaimers to make at this point. Yes, we accepted a booking for an early time. I understand that this implies that we are not expected to sit and laugh the night away, but rather to leave in order to accommodate the next booking. However, it doesn't mean that we want to be made to feel hurried and somewhat unloved. The service here seemed somewhat pleasant, but the overriding sense of haste was not.

I'm still trying to decide if the food tasted better than it looked. As you can tell by the photos the food was gorgeous, and it was clearly evident that a lot of attention had gone in to the visuals of the dish. My entrée, the scallop towers, were just as delicious as they look, and I was delighted to find that this was so. Nice and delicate, with a nice full flavour, it whet my appetite for some deer flesh!
The Mandagery Creek Venison was cooked to perfection, and served with a mash or "soil" that was intensely delicious. I realise that if I succeeded in describing how delicious this food was to you, many of the friends who read this dear blog may drown in their own saliva, and thus drastically reduce our readership of our blog, and I have decided not to try. Just know that it was delicious, up there with any meal I've ever had.
For desert I indulged myself in some cheese, which was accompanied with a wine glaze that went with the cheese delightfully. Having had some Saint Agur the night before, a deliciously smooth blue, I couldn't resist the allure of some more cheese, and they did not disappoint. A hard goats cheese and a softer cheese both were reasonably mild without being dull, and finished the meal off nicely.
Too bad about the service. Otherwise, this would be an automatic location to visit many, many times in my lifetime. At the moment, I'm not even sure if I want to revisit the restaurant, with so much delicious abounding in Sydney, and the dining experience that we experienced.