Working this amazing job, I am consistently ashamed at the number of brilliant Canberra venues I haven’t visited on my own steam. This week was no exception as I took a trip down to Gryphon’s Caffe and Bar nestled in a homely corner at Griffith shops. The atmosphere is a relaxed and unique combination of quiet cultured cafe, spacious fine dining and socially encouraged bar. How on earth the mix of venue types co-exists as seamlessly as it does I couldn’t say – but it does it with undeniable perfection.
After a long day plagued with Monday-itis, the locally produced bottle of Kerralee Pinot Noir was truly a sight for sore eyes. Glistening a pure shade of ruby red to the warm glow of summer twilight, singing an alluring siren song with its prominent aromas of red plum and strawberry, I was hooked after the first sip.
The Tasting plate for 2 ordered for entree is my favourite type of pre-dinner nibble. Bruschetta, Olives, Whitebait, Calamari & Satay Skewers provided a complete book of flavour profiles to stimulate the taste-buds for further dishes to come. Served in neat little towers on a serious piece of highly fashionable slate, the quantities were perfect for two. The whitebait – the original small fry which tragically fell out of the culinary spotlight it so deserves back in the 90’s – is seemingly back on guest lists and I couldn’t be happier. After you get over the notion of necking a whole school of fish as you would a bowl of hot chips, you become terribly addicted to the warm, seasoned, crispy fried texture with nothing but pale creaminess within. Complimenting the whitebait were golden curls of neatly scored calamari tube, which were tender, crisp and still piping hot on arrival. The luxurious pool of aioli to the side couldn’t have been a better accompaniment to both briney components. Bruschetta was unexpectedly impressive – a sensationally crisp and aerated mouthful of sweet cherry tomatoes, salty crumbled feta, pungent red onion and complimenting herbs really drives home the value of simple, quality ingredients. The chicken satay skewers were delightfully nutty and texturally appealing with a scattering of white and black sesame and the olives were meaty, salty and bursting with heavily fruited oils – the only way olives should ever be served.
The Gryphons Beef Burger with Beetroot, Egg Cheese and Chips is so much more than it’s already appealing menu description. The sourdough bun was dusted with the trademark puff of flour on top but carried some rustic griddle marks on the inside. The beef patty itself was tender, savoury and a shining beacon for dedicated carnivores everywhere, the egg was fried to the perfect burger texture of not-too-runny-but-not-a-chunk-of-rubber and the cheese was a golden square of hot, stringy, melting bliss. Happily, situated just below the egg I uncovered a lovely unannounced rasher bacon, and spread across the bun was sweet tomato based chutney instead of stock standard squeezy sauce. The Jenga-inspired tower of super thick chips was incredible to eat and I’d do just about anything to get my hands on the chef’s recipe. So crisp was the outside and so light and fluffy was the inside, the pale creamy potato within almost fell out of its geometric golden casing. This was definitely a chip experience I’d never had and I can’t help but feel I’ll be comparing every single chip I eat from now on the ones they serve up at Gryphons.
Our Pizza special of Cherry Tomatoes, Artichokes, Bocconcini, Olives and Fresh Rocket was predominately salty, which for me, really worked. By salty, I don’t mean the dehydrating river of stuff you shake over under-seasoned meals, I mean the delicious, sophisticated type occurring naturally in certain food-types. The flavour profiles of dark pitted olives and creamy bocconcini allowed the sweet acidity of heat blistered cherry tomato halves to really shine, and the sprinkling of fresh rocket added that extra level of depth with a subtle but noticeable peppered punch. All-in-all, an impressively well thought out pizza to be thoroughly enjoyed any night of the week, any season of the year.
Desserts consisted of Lavender Panna Cotta with mixed berry compote and Moscato tiramisu with sour cherry and amaretto compote. The panna cotta was to die for. Thick, luscious and creamy with a hazy purple dusting of crystallised lavender and accompaniment of an impressive shard of lavender honey-spiked, house made honeycomb, it was my favourite dessert of the two. However, the light, fluffy Moscato spiked version of the Italian classic tiramisu was a really refreshing change to the mascarpone and cream laden original. The addition of a sour cherry and amaretto compote makes this perfect for those with a mild sweet tooth and disdain for dense textures.
For one of the most laid back and all-round enjoyable nights out, head down the Gryphon’s at the next chance you get. I rarely indulge my creative side in public, but so conducive and encouraging was the atmosphere there I picked up a pen and sketched my fork just because I could, and I really did enjoyed it. For a catch up with mates over the footy, a coffee with the girls, dinner with a date or just a quiet place to write that next great novel, this place has it all. Oh, and if you do observe a person sitting in the corner madly sketching miscellaneous items of cutlery over a plate of whitebait and bottle of Kerralee, don’t be alarmed, I’m really quite harmless.
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