The Butcher's Apprentice, Wahroonga

Growing up in leafy Suburban Sydney, eating out at a local restaurant often meant a quick pad thai, chinese stir-fry noodles or a curry from the local Indian. It was rare to find high quality, creative restaurant options without venturing into the city. Times have changed.  C and I recently visited The Butcher's Apprentice in Wahroonga and were blown away by the delicious and interesting food on offer, casual but modern setting and top notch service.

(Note: The Butcher's Block is actually the 'day time' restaurant - serving breakfast and lunch. The restaurant also serves dinner at the same location but under the name The Butcher's Apprentice. Not really sure why the two names but in case you're wondering - it's the same restaurant!)

I actually first visited with two friends from church for a Friday catch up but after telling C about the candied bacon, he was adamant we had to go back with him and the camera.

Candied Bacon

I'm not as big of a fan of bacon as C, but even I thought this snack was worth re-ordering. Candied with Canadian maple syrup, the taste is very similar to Asian jerky or bak gwa as it is called in Singapore/Malaysia - but with a less chewy texture, more crunch and not as sweet.  

Open kitchen plan

All of the dishes at The Butcher's Apprentice are designed to be shared.  A group of 3-4 is probably ideal to get a diversity of dishes without everyone's portions getting too small.  As our share entree, we picked the Octopus - 2 tentacles sou vide and dressed with fennel, preserved lemon and tomatoes. The octopus was very tender, and had a deep citrus flavour. I personally found the flavour of the octopus could have been more accentuated but overall, a delicious and creative way of serving octopus. 

Octopus - Tentacle, Fennel, Preserved Lemon, Tomato

Next up, C and I ordered 2 mains and a vegetable side.  We picked the Pork Cheek and the Not Corned Beef.  The Pork Cheek was my favourite dish - tender, good depth of flavour and had nice sweet elements (such as the orange blossom floss) to cut through the savoury flavours. This would be perfect on a cold winter night!

Pork Cheek - Five Spice, Rainbow Chards, Watermelon Rind, Orange blossom Floss

Typical C, he could not go pass the Not Corned Beef - sticky smoked short rib and corn 3 ways - on a cob, fried and popped. Again, the beef is tender and breaks apart easily, the smoky barbecue sauce is moreish and caramelised. The charred corn cob cuts through the heaviness of the meat and I wish there was more of it!  Definitely a dish to be shared; we struggled to finish the food and took it home for lunch the next day!

Not Corned Beef - Stick Smoked Short Rib, Rainbow Cards, Watermelon Rind, Corn Cob, Fried Corn, Popcorn

In the spirit of having a balanced diet, we opted for the Caprese as a side.  Actually, we were just tempted by the buffalo mozzarella and curious about the basil jelly.

Caprese - Tomato, Buffalo Mozzarella, Basil Jelly, Balsamic, Creme Fraiche

It's always nice to see different varieties of tomatoes being served at a restaurant as it's not something I would otherwise buy and use myself. The buffalo mozzarella was delicious - fluffy, light and creamy, I was pleased there was one for each of us and we didn't have to share. Personally I thought the flavour of the basil jelly could have been stronger, but overall, this was a really refreshing, light side that was perfect given the heavy mains we had picked.

For the sake of the blog (and not our waistlines), we had to order a dessert.  We chose the Chocolate which was a chocolate pannacotta base, with crunchy chocolate peals, chocolate floss, white chocolate, chocolate soil and marmalade. This is the go to dish for any chocolate lover and the marmalade give a fresh, citrus edge to the dish to balance out all the chocolatey goodness.

Chocolate - Chocolate Panna Cotta, Chocolate Pearls, Chocolate Floss, Marmalade

If you're in the North and after a local restaurant that's a little more special and a big step up from all the other local options, I highly recommend The Butcher's Apprentice. It's the perfect place to wind down and catch up with friends over a glass of wine. The service is also worth mentioning - friendly, accommodating and attentive but not in your face. When C asked about one of their new wines on the menu, he was offered a taster to help him decide and the waiters were also very enthusiastic to explain the dishes to us.

Can't wait to go back and try their breakfast and lunch menus!