Review : JOHNANDPETER Canteen (CLOSED)

245 Wilson Street Eveleigh 2015

canteen@johnandpeter.com

(02) 8571 9004
http://www.johnandpeter.com/

Mon - Tue: 12:00 - 15:00

Wed - Fri: 12:00 - 15:00; 18:00 - 22:00
Sat: 12:00 - 17:00; 18:00 - 22:00
Sun: 12:00 - 17:00

On this coolish, wet, blustery Spring day, we decide to head to Eveleigh & visit JOHNANDPETER Canteen for lunch.
Having missed the Canteen in its 'pop-up' form, we are certainly glad it has become a permanent fixture at Carriageworks.

On arrival our ears are bombarded with a cacophony of screams and wails. Having been blessed with NO children, we are blissfully unaware that Carriageworks is hosting the Sydney Children's Festival.
Undeterred however, we take a seat in the almost empty Canteen.

We love the look of the canteen...white (with a few splashes of black), stark & minimalist.

As is our wont, we kick things off with a glass of Prosecco each, while deciding what to order from the menu.
Everything sounds delicious, so choosing is really difficult.
We both love burrata....so the burrata with roast onion seems like a no brainer. Unfortunately, today, the kitchen is not happy with their burrata....such is life.

With the arrival of the Broadbean, ricotta and mint dish, all thoughts of the 'lost' burrata are banished. From the first mouthful we are captivated. This dish is fantastic. Perfectly cooked broadbeans; lush, creamy ricotta with just a hint of mint & lemon. This dish is so fresh & light and incredibly moreish. 

The Globe artichoke with lemon mayo....simple, really; a perfectly cooked artichoke with a light and zingy lemon mayo. As the artichoke is huge, our only complaint would be....more mayo please.

The meaty, fresh & divine Swordfish is next up. There is slight saltiness from the olives which is counterbalanced by a wonderful hit of citrus and the crunch of red cabbage? Nothing stodgy here; just really good, fresh flavours.

The Beef with rocket & grana padano (I think) is also a standout. Lovely slices of medium rare beef, tumbled through peppery rocket topped with the slices of cheese. Brilliant in its simplicity.

We also knocked off some magnificent Polenta chips & some lovely Rosemary Focaccia.

Feeling positively brimming with health after our first two courses, we find it very easy to tackle dessert.

Strawberries, lime and mint are just that....beautifully, ripe & sweet sliced strawberries mixed through with mint, lime juice and palm sugar. So very, very good.

And finally, the Marsala cake with Stracciatella coffee ice cream. This ambiguous cake is sweet and then again, not; light, yet dense. It has the texture of a cake made from either almond meal or polenta. It is quite sublime. The ice cream is creamy, with a rich coffee flavour and chunks of chocolate.

The service is very efficient and while intially 'haughty', by the end of the meal, things had warmed up a little.

We leave feeling we have done our bodies a great service by dining on this light, fresh and unbelievably delicious food.

Squeak