Sam and I went to a really nice restaurant for dinner last night called Forbes and Burton in Darlinghurst.

I don’t usually like to write about the places we eat as I review them for the mag I work at, but this place was really fantastic and worth a mention.

Nestled in the corner of Burton and Forbes Street, the restaurant is a tiny little eatery that fits only about fifty people at one time. Inside, it feels quite warm and intimate, with exposed sandstone walls and french doors. The wait staff are charming and not at all snooty, even when we couldn’t pronounce “poussin”. The only disconcerting element was a strange vermillion light emanating from the side of the kitchen. I think they were going for an exotic boudoir glow, but it just looked like an upstairs window in a red-light district. It was a bit odd.

But onto the best bit – the food! For entree, I had a risotto with shaved truffles and parmesan. I’m always reluctant to order risotto at a restaurant as they rarely get the consistency the way I like it (I like my risotto mushy, but not runny). This rissotto was perfect – bitey yet smooth, soft yet textured. The truffles gave it a lovely earthy taste, which was nicely juxtaposed with the sharpness of the parmesan. Meanwhile, Sam had this amazing scallop dish. I can’t rememeber what was in it, but the scallops were really plump and sweet.

For a main, we drank a South Australian Cabernet Sauvignon and I ordered confit salmon with braised fennel and red wine jus, while Sam had the white cooked “poussin” with truffle dumplings. Points if you know what ”poussin” is, we didn’t! The salmon was cooked in a bag with duck fat and came out a litle like warm sashimi. I was a bit apprehensive at first but it tasted really good, especially with the red wine jus and fennel. They also sprinkled the plate with whole cloves of roasted garlic. The sweetness of the garlic suprisingly went well with the barely cooked salmon. It was such an inventive dish; I was very impressed.

For dessert, Sam ordered this pistachio creation (it looked like cheese-cake but I’m not sure. as you can see, I was far too focused on my food!), while I had rhubarb crumble with homemade vanilla bean icecream. The servings were massive and both desserts were quite good. I couldn’t finish mine and had to leave half of it on the plate; a first for me!

Both mains cost around the $30 mark, with entrees at around $18. I think is good value, considering how inventive and different the dishes were. It’s a lovely place to go if you want to celebrate a really special occasion or just have a nice dinner out that is a step up from the usual thai on King St, but not so pricey that it breaks the budget. I highly recommend!