125 Johnston St
Annandale, SydneyVinery Foods offers a wonderful combination of great food and a great wine list - and all in close proximity to the Sydney CBD in Annandale. Owner Joseph Moussa comes from a strong culinary background having worked with and alongside some of the best chefs in Sydney before branching out to his own place.
Vinery has a nice feel to it. The tables are well spaced out so you're not sitting on top of the people next to you. There's a high bench in the middle, some front window tables and plenty of others inside. There's even a private dining room that holds 28 people. The place is open, airy and has a relaxed comfortable feel to it.
It's somewhere you can stop for a nice drink and snack or stay for a full meal.
It was a broccoli and Parmesan soup in cute little red cups and it tasted great. We both loved it - even I did, and I'm not generally a huge soup fan at the best of times!
What a nice way to get the palate warmed up!.
I love smoked salmon. I always have and I always will. So when I spotted the tequila cured salmon plate on the menu it caught my eye immediately. It came with cucumber and fennel salad and lightly toasted rye. Lovely. It was light, packed with subtle flavours and a decent sized serving for salmon fans like me!Throw in a nice Tasmanian pinot noir and a soft negroamaro from Salento in south eastern Italy and its a perfect start!
Mlady was in the mood for some pasta so the roast pumpkin and almond ravioli was her starter of choice.
She loved it.
It was beautifully presented and its vibrant colours looked great on the plate.
Again it was a generous serving for an entree.
My main was a surf and turf combination that sounded great and tasted great as well. I had pan fried Harvey Bay scallops with roasted pork belly, pea puree and apple. It was an interesting mix that actually worked really well. Another two glasses of wine from the good list here again completed the course. Vinery have expanded their list considerably over the last few years and some people are now coming here just for the wine!
Mlady often chooses barramundi and this was no exception. The barramundi fillet with spinach and fennel, cherry tomato, cucumber and red onion salsa sounded good and turned out to taste great as well. The crispy skin was an added bonus!
We added a side of bacon, quail egg, spinach salad and Parmesan. It was like a Caesar salad in many ways but much with lighter ingredients and with a lighter dressing. It was all delicious.
For dessert I chose the vanilla bean crème brûlée with champagne braised rhubarb.I was a little concerned that the rhubarb would overpower the custard but luckily it was a small serving of rhubarb and the combination actually went really well.
We also added a couple of glasses of Pedro Ximenez - just love this stuff!
This was again one of those times!
She chose the dark chocolate fondant interestingly paired with earl grey jelly.
She commented that the jelly paired beautifully with the rich fondant.
Vinery Foods offers a strong and diverse menu with a distinct European feel to it combined with a strong and diverse wine list that is attracting customers in its own right. It offers the option of both great bar and great restaurant - it's your choice!
Sir and Mlady dined as guests of Vinery Foods. Special thanks to Vinery Foods owner Joseph Moussa for inviting us.
