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Restaurant Review | New Hampton Bar & Restaurant in Potts Point
by Deb Carr
New Hampton Bar and Restaurant
New bar & restaurant on Bayswater Road. Bringing the Rocks to the Cross. 15 Bayswater Road, Potts Point, Sydney.
SYDNEY CHIC REVIEW
As soon as I stepped inside the New Hampton Hotel in Potts Point I knew I was going to fall in love with this place. You see, I'm a big ambience girl…..probably preferring ambience over food sometimes! In this case it was a mixture of ambience, food and exceptional service that has convinced me that New Hampton will become one of the places 'to be seen' in Sydney.
There are a few characters in this story so let me introduce them in order of appearance:
Myself, Deb Carr who is the Editor of Sydney Chic
Grace Carr, my daughter, who accompanied her mother on a Thursday night to check out the New Hampton Hotel and risking her reputation to be seen out with mum in Potts Point when she would rather go clubbing with her friends!
Joel Murdoch, Restaurant Manager, who knows everything about wine and certainly kept Grace and I entertained during the evening with his humour.
Lily Thomas, who gave exceptional customer service.
Kieran Coleman, the Owner, who is responsible for getting the New Hampton up and running and sat with us for a while to give us some background on the venue.
Chef Ben, who created the magnificent dishes.
So let's begin. Joel showed us to our table and I was delighted to be seated in such a beautiful restaurant. We sat next to a sandstone wall. Kieran explained to us later in the evening that the sandstone was actually brought up from a farm in Jambaroo. Standing tall on the shelves next to us were bottles of wine displayed under wire mesh which looked very impressive…I almost felt like I could have been in some far away European establishment enjoying dinner. As soon as I sat down I had to Instagram a photo of the Neon wall which you can see in my photos. You probably have gathered ambience gets a big plus from me!
Lily took our drink order. Grace had a Vodka, Lime and Soda and I started with a glass of Chandon which we enjoyed as we looked through the menu. I would like to point out something here, my late father-in-law was a Restauranteur and he used to say if there are too many items on the menu, it's probably not a good sign! This menu had just enough to choose with a nice variety - a good sign! This is what we decided;
Grace started with:
Seared Scallops on Chorizo - she loved the combination of the flavours and mentioned that the scallops were cooked perfectly. I had a taste too, thinking at first an unusual combination and presently surprised at the nice blend of flavours.
I had:
Citrus Cured Ocean Trout - for someone who usually prefers her fish to be cooked through, I was delighted at the wonderful fresh taste. It was very light and felt cleansing.
For Main Meal Grace had:
Spinach and Goats Cheese Aumoniere served with Cauliflower and Broccolini. She's a big fan of goats cheese and she was not disappointed with the dish.
I had:
Crispy Skin Pork Belly with Sweet Potato, Crispy Ear, Pork and Chorizo Croquette. What stood out about this dish was the flavoursome jus and the mustard seeds, the seeds really added quite a unique flavour.
We shared:
Broccolini and Kale with Lemon Almond Butter. A beautiful side dish full of goodness and taste.
For Wine:
Joel helped me with the wine choice and the decision was Willunga 100 Shiraz from McLaren Vale.
For Dessert, we shared:
Rhubarb Brûlée - just right to end the meal.
We had a great night, felt very welcome and I will be back for sure. Although we stayed in the restaurant the venue itself is fabulous with wonderful bars and a warm feel about it. It is worth visiting the New Hampton Hotel just to see the gorgeous decor!
We left with a visit to the 'Ladies Washroom' because we were told it's one of the attractions…it certainly is! I have pictured it in the video because of the great decorating with the wine barrels.
