Squires Landing, Circular Quay.

[invite] Bianca: New to Circular Quay is the latest restaurant in the James Squire wheelhouse, Squires Landing. Operating as a bar, restaurant and micro-brewery. The Perched right at the very end of the Overseas Passenger Terminal (and below QUAY), the space is simply breathtaking. With views out over the harbour, taking in the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House.

It’s a very versatile venue, meaning you can tailor your dining and drinking experience dependant on your mood. We dined in the much sought out Tower Room, with some of the best views in Sydney.

We started with two of their small batch in-house brews, a lighter pale ale for myself, full of tropical fruit flavour and a sweet finishing note. And a red ale for Jules.

I have major regrets for not having ordered the James Squire Beer Battered Fish & Chips as I saw many leaving the kitchen and I had a bit of the FOMO. Just more of an excuse to return.

We started our leisurely Sunday lunch with the Crispy Skin Free Range Pork Belly -w/ Onion rings, mushrooms & jus $22. Incredibly luscious and fatty with a wonderful crackling, well seasoned and full of flavour. Complimented nicely by the buttery plump button mushrooms.

Wood-Fired Haloumi -w/spiced eggplant, roasted peppers, beetroot, red-elk, burnt onion & sumac dressing $20 had a wonderful sweetness, it was a good, hearty winter starter. Great interplay of flavours with the sweet capsicum and saltiness of the halloumi.  If I had any feedback it would be the number of seeds in the eggplant.

Duck can sometimes be a little hit and miss, on paper the Coffee cured & Smoked Duck Breast -w/ confit leg beignet, celeriac remoulade, pickles, salt baked beetroot & jus $23 sounded interesting. The duck was cooked well, still fairly gamey. I particularly enjoyed the duck leg beignets (tempura bites).

I wouldn’t have necessarily picked the Handmade Potato Gnocchi -w/ wild mushrooms, peas, pumpkin & grana padano $27. But I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. The gnocchi was light with a bit of bounciness, they also appeared to be slightly pan-fried to give a crispy outer exterior. A good summery pasta dish with the fresh all the fresh veg.

The Dry Aged Sirloin $65 + 2 sides was a suggestion by the manager. The steak was cooked to a medium rare and seasoned well. We both found the chimichurri a little abrasive. A little too strong and ‘grassy’ for our tastes. The Wood Fired Sweet Corn Cobbs -w/ a parmesan crust, puffed quinoa & chipotle butter $14 is definitely not your average corn on the cobb. The caramelised kernels really adding a whole other depth of flavour.

And for the best bit of any meal, dessert. Jules continuing his boring keto diet went for the Cheeseboard $22 – blue, camembert & cheddar. 

But I was completely blindsided by the Dark Chocolate Fondant -w/raspberries, crumble, Jack of Spades Porter ice-cream $16. Utterly decadent… super rich but I really wouldn’t have it any other way for a dessert. The sour raspberry compote a good addition to cut through the heavy chocolate. The chocolate soil adding some crunch. The porter ice-cream was an interesting one, I got hints of malt & chocolate.

Bianca