Danks St Depot, Danks St, Waterloo

Danks St Depot, Danks St, Waterloo
Saturday 4 February, 2006

I have been wanting to try dinner at Danks St for ages. It's a regular haunt for breakfast/ brunch but I've never made it for dinner....until tonight.

It was a challenge to park because of a function at the Hillsong Church diagonally across the road. This is a downside for Danks St and it's a good thing they don't open on Sundays when the church crowd peaks.

We entered and stood in the middle of the restaurant. There's no front desk as such, more a gathering area by the stairs. No-one was around so we started walking down towards the bar to see if we could get any assistance there. Once greeted we were given the pick of the tables - they weren't busy at all.

The ambiance at night is completely different - the lights are dim and there are tea lights on each table. The wall feature behind the tables looked great - the lighting enhances it.

We ordered garlic bread to start - it's not on the menu but ask for it anyway - it's sensational. Unfortunately, we had to send it back tonight (this has never happened before). It arrived to the table only partly cooked through with only a tiny amount of the buttery sauce we have come to expect.

The dinner menu is driven by seasonal produce but you need a dictionary to decipher it. I didn't understand a lot of the menu but I did like the fact that entrees, mains & desserts were on the one menu. This meant we could determine if we were going to order entree & main or main & dessert.

I ordered the Duck and carrot pie, with young ginger and my soon-to-be work buddy ordered the Poached Line caught Blue Eye Cod with borlotti beans, calvelo nero and skordalia.

The restaurant was very warm despite the cool winds outside. The main meals were delicious and were beautifully presented with the freshest ingredients. For dessert we ordered the Lemon & mint ice water granita and Fresh summer berries with creme de framboise and clotted cream. The perfect finish.

Danks St Depot - 2 Danks St, Waterloo - (02) 9698 2201

http://www.danksstreetdepot.com.au/