Majestic Gourmet Grocer – Petersham

Bianca: So am I alone in that grocery shopping is seriously the highlight of my week? I love trawling the aisles, looking at new products and generally loitering around the bakery section. I’m weird like that. But combining two of my favourite things – a restaurant/café with a grocery attached, that’s pure heaven.

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The ‘Majestic Gourmet Grocer’ now resides in the space formerly occupied by a movie theatre, nightclub and its last incarnation, a roller skating rink. Keeping it’s classy 1920’s art deco architecture, you truly feel you’re stepping back in time when you descend into the lower portion of the grocer/restaurant. The ‘upmarket’ grocery offers a variety of different stations; bakery, seafood, deli, fresh fruit and veg, dairy and general pantry items. Majestic now joins a number of food emporiums that offer that dual option of a quick shop and a bite to eat, with Fourth Village Providore, Mercato E Cucina and Sprout Wholefoods now having some stiff competition.

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Even the puppy (yes all dogs are puppies) wanted to mosey on in and have a sticky beak.

Midday on a Saturday and Majestic was truly heaving, I was here to sample the food at a small bloggers gathering. We were seated in the upstairs area, which will become a wine bar in the near future. I was flying solo for team FFS – With Alex overseas and Vanessa enjoying a weekend away in the Hawkesbury, so I was joined by repeat food adventurer ‘Frace’.

Lunch started with the ‘Salumi Board’$17.50/ $25 consisting of several cuts of cold meats, olives and bread. All sourced from the varying departments within the grocer.
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Making our way through a few entrées – first up was the ‘Salt, rosemary and lemon squid’ $14. Salt and pepper squid is typically one of my go-to when ordering something to tide the stomach over and this one didn’t disappoint. The squid was tender but the rosemary was a little on the mild side – I do love my rosemary.

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The next entrée was easily mine and ‘Fraces’ favourite dish of the day, the ‘Zucchini flowers’ –w/ricotta, pine-nuts, basil, burnt butter muscatel and lemon $15. I’m not exaggerating when I say this has been the best Zucchini flower rendition I’ve EVER eaten. Perfectly crisp, with a light batter that shattered with each bite and a generous amount of filling. This is a must order.

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We then made a slight detour to sample two dishes on the breakfast menu, the first of which was ‘The Majestic’ – 2 eggs fried or poached, Serrano ham, black pudding, baked beans, spinach, kale & whole grain toast $19. A generous portion for the price but it wouldn’t be my first pick off the menu, I found the beans a little too ‘al dente’ for my tastes and black pudding is literally the worst thing in the world. But you can’t go wrong with Serrano and poached eggs.

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My second favourite dish was ‘The Vege Patch’ – w/ a quinoa, chickpea and sweet potato slab, asparagus, field mushroom, poached egg, truffle salsa verde $18.50. Once the egg was cut and the yolk gloriously spilled over the mushroom and vege slab it became a superb medley of flavours and textures. Even staunch meat eaters would be happy if this was placed in front of them. All I’d suggest is a slice or two of accompanying bread to mop everything up.

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Onto mains, first up was the ‘Pappardelle’ –w/polpetti, sugo and pecorino $17.50. I’m a harsh one when it comes to my pasta because no-one does it like my nonno and nonna. The Pappardelle was the highlight, cooked to a beautiful al-dente and the sauce had a nice depth of flavour. The polpetti whilst soft and juicy, could have used a touch more seasoning

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Next up, we took a little detour into ‘il mare’ in the form of ‘Battered fish’. I couldn’t find this item listed on the menu but it was your typical battered fish, ‘Fish N Chip’ style. This would actually make either a decent shared entrée or a main meal. Fish was succulent and cooked well, with the batter light and airy. None of that heavy, oil bogged action here.

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And the last of the savoury, the ‘Potato Gnocchi’ –w/burnt sage butter and gorgonzola $16. This is one Alex would have loved, he can never go past a burnt butter and sage sauce. All I can think about, is the butter literally calcifying itself to my rear end. An image I’m sure you’re all grateful I shared. The pairing with the Gorgonzola is a masterful one, I usually find Gorgonzola too strong but in this setting it was glorious. Again, my nonna makes the best gnocchi, so tough critic. These could have done with a little less time in the water as they were a little overcooked, an anomaly perhaps. But a very tasty dish.

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No meal these days ends without something sweet and so we finished on the ‘Majestics’ home-made Portuguese Tarts ,‘Sticky Chai’ as well as a small taster of their ‘Belgian Chocolate Ganache Shake’ which will truly satiate any sweet cravings you have.

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No doubt this is quite the draw-card for Petersham with some delicious food to boot.

Bianca

 *For Food’s Sake attended a bloggers tasting as a guest of Wasamedia and The Majestic Gourmet Grocers. All opinions however and independent and our own.

 

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Author: forfoodssake

A Sydney food blog.

12 thoughts

  1. I havent tried their food yet.. Went here for a cuppa and their tart.. The food looks so good.. I guess I’ll be back and see what I think about it.. =D

  2. Great reveiw Bianca (as always),
    Can not wait to check the place out!! as your good old dad used to be taken there as a little boy by your grandparents on a saturday night to watch black & white Italian movies, very funny.

  3. I will always remember those days of ice skating here but am also glad this spot has been given new life again. Looking forward to visiting soon.

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