european 🥧

The skillet baked eggs with grilled vegetables ($11) is a bit of a misnomer - there were a mere 5 slices of zucchini/ eggplant with mushrooms and beans. The whole dish was too watery, with the tomato concasse dolloped over!

The beef kofta shakshuka ($16) is one of the best I’ve had! The tomato stew is thick and tangy, pairing well with the chewy sourdough. The beef sausage is also really substantial and flavourful!

The beef cheeks with truffle mash ($18+) was a really well constructed dish! The slow cooked beef was extremely tender. Its taste was rather subtle, but the sauce added lots of flavour! The mash potato was creamy and fragrant, with tomatoes for acidity and kale for balance.

The pork sausage ($20++) was really delicious - bursting with flavour and juice with every bite!! The pickled beetroot was more palatable than the cabbage, and the potato slices were nice but a little soggy. This was served with an assortment of sauces!

The caramelised onion sauce seems to be missing from my plate, but the farmer’s sausage ($19++) comes with mustard! The chicken sausage is light with a good bite. Was not a fan of pickled cabbage, but the mashed potato was really impressive!

The Manzo ($48++) features beef ribs slow cooked for 48 hours - the meat falls right off without much probing, and is extremely tender! It’s glazed with a Marsala wine sauce, sweet with a mix of spices. The beef retains its natural juices and went surprisingly well with the unconventional sauce. Am looking forward to a return visit!

First of all, I must say that the service here is impeccable! The staff are warm, welcoming and extremely attentive to your needs - it really elevates your dining experience. The Cacciucco ($44++) is a homely seafood stew of Tuscan origins. The soup was thick and savoury with plenty of brine. Was surprised to find such variety and large servings of seafood - there was fish, squid, prawns, scallops, mussels and even crayfish! It far surpassed my expectations and I’d definitely return for this. The flavours are quite strong, so I’d recommend sharing! 🌟

The sriracha honey chicken thigh ($17) came highly recommended, and we can see why! It comes with a 20 min wait time, but the extensive cooking sure pays off with extremely tender meat that falls off the bone easily. Very tasty even without any sauce! Would like for the mashed potatoes to have a tad more butter, but the glaze more than makes up for it in terms of flavour - sweet and punchy with just a hint of spice.

Snagged a plate of original rosti with cheese sausage ($9.90+, UP $15.90+) during their promotional period! Love how the rosti is made fresh on the spot and charred til crisp. The sausage is as expected, with a decent amount of cheese. The sour cream, spring onions and lemon are good garnishes to balance the heavy meal!

Have lost count of the number of times I’ve been to Rookery, but this was my first time trying something apart from pasta! The miso salmon ($27++) really impressed me - interestingly, the fish was cooked medium rare. It fell apart nicely with the insides a deep pink, retaining hints of the flavour we associate with smoked salmon while carrying the sweet tinge of cooked fish. The zucchini noodles balanced the fish with its simplicity, while the aioli and pomegranate added bursts of flavour!

Charcoal roasted with spices and lemon, the quarter chicken ($13) was so good!! The meat was super tender and fell off the bone easily. Really enjoyed the inclusion of sour cream and the chilli, which were bright bursts of flavour when accompanied with the chicken.