Not keeping up with American festive days, my friends and I accidentally turned up to an American diner on Thanksgiving. This promised great things – what better food to eat on this day? Unfortunately there was a bit of a mix-up to begin with; I was told that they would be offering both a la carte as well as the Thanksgiving set menu, and after geeing up all day for a cheeseburger, I was disappointed to find out upon arrival that they were only serving the set menu that evening and ‘the kitchen wasn’t equipped for a la carte dining’. Disappointment grew as said cheeseburger was seen exiting the kitchen and served to a nearby table. Upon questioning, the staff told us that table was a ‘friend of the boss’…hmm not sure how I feel about favouritism? And your staff really need to be prepped about what’s on offer when bookings are made.
- What we ate:
The set menu ($45) included three courses, each with three options to choose from, as well as a whole array of sides.
Starters:
– Bacon & Spiced Corn Soup
– Shrimp Cocktail, Avocado, Iceberg and Cocktail Sauce
– Pear, Blue Cheese & Walnut Salad – which is what I had. The salad was good (coming from someone who dislikes salad) and the walnuts were lightly toasted, adding an extra bit of flavour.
Main Course:
– Lightly Smoked and Roasted Turkey – perhaps a little too much stuffing and a little too little turkey?
– House Smoked Hot Salmon
– Smoked & Confit King Oyster Mushroom
Sides: Roast Potatoes, Sweet Potato Mash, Orange Scented Green Beans, Broccoli Bake, Cranberry Sauce and Gravy – extremely generous portions given, two of each for our table of 7 people, and all extremely tasty
Sweets:
– Cherry Pie with Vanilla Ice Cream (which they had run out of unfortunately!)
– Pumpkin Pie with Spiced Whipped Cream – very delicious, lightly spiced and not too sweet
– Chocolate and Peppermint Torte with Chocolate Sauce
Overall, it was a satisfactory meal and some of it even tasted like a home-cooked Thanksgiving feast! The unimpressive service put a downer on things, perhaps that was made up for by the large portions of food we were given (keeping the boys happy)? Either way, it would be good to try the normal a la carte dishes sometime.
Bayswater Diner
33 Bayswater Road, Kings Cross
Sydney
[Bayswater Diner has now closed]
