The Friday brunch at Market Kitchen offers to do all the work for you. Each dish from the set menu is brought to your table as you ease back into the casual family kitchen-style dining room.
At first glance, the dishes on the menu seem quite simple, but we hope the flavours are more bold. From the starters, the crispy calamari is fairly standard fare, but the salmon tartare is really impressive. A layer of creamy avocado sits below the fish and is surrounded by a pool of zingy soy and ginger dressing. That punchy sauce cuts through the richness of the other two ingredients and ties the whole thing together rather nicely. Then we lean towards the curious crispy sushi – slices of tuna on top of fried cubes of tofu. The chipotle mayo that binds both together adds another interesting element. It’s a very tasty bite of food.
Before we know it, the truffle pizza with Fontina cheese arrives. It’s thin, crispy, generous with the cheese and fungus and is absolutely delicious. Roasted cauliflower and parmesan soup may not have many screaming from the rooftops but if they tasted this, it might be a different story. Comforting and nourishing – we love it.
For the mains we’re brought a New York strip that is well-cooked but doesn’t wow us. The Parmesan-crusted chicken is more intriguing. The basil-lemon butter underneath it complements the moist poultry. The sides of mac and cheese, green veg and mash are filling and could hinder your ability to enjoy dessert.
However, we do manage some afters and the cheesecake with raspberry sorbet is the standout from a platter that also includes a caramelised banana cake and a salted caramel sundae. It’s a middling end to a meal that mostly hits home.
The bottom line
A refined brunch with some excellent dishes, but not all excite.
