Stanton & Co, Rosebery
Harmonising the old & new aesthetic
Located at 71 Mentmore Avenue, Rosebery
The Parlour Group is the name behind the impressive list of restaurants from Surly’s, Riley’s Street Garage and the Village Inn. It introduced a fourth child into its family last year, a modern Australian restaurant by the name of Stanton & Co located in warehouse-turned-dining precinct, The Cannery in Rosebery.
Just last week, Stanton & Co celebrated its first birthday and invited over 200 guests to its fabulous location for a private birthday celebration. The purpose of the event was not only to celebrate its year of success, but was also to introduce guests to their reimagined and exciting new menu. Previously, the restaurant harboured Aussie-Japanese flavours with gyozas and soba noodles finding its way on the menu. Now, the restaurant has steered away from the somewhat limiting Aussie-Japanese dichotomy and instead has embraced the cuisines from all over the world.
Patrons started off the night with a selection of signature canapés. The spanner crab taco with avocado and tobiko was a highlight of the night as it paid homage to the fresh seafood from Australia’s shores and simultaneously acted as an ode to beloved Mexican flavours.
As for the entrees, guests were lucky enough to try three dishes. We started off with the salmon ceviche, crème fraiche and potato crisps. The crisps were made of purple potato and were the perfect canvas to showcase the flavours of the salmon ceviche and crème fraiche. Along with the ceviche, guests also got to try Spanish jamon mozzarella croquettes. The croquettes were lightly fried so didn’t feel too dense and heavy as is common with arancini balls and the like. The use of high quality ingredients, like the jamon and mozzarella helped to elevate the flavours. It seriously made me question how these such ingredients could ever be related to your stock standard “ham and cheese”. The burrata, green tomato, salsa verde was a satisfying entrée and offered a fresh alternative to the fried croquettes.
The piece de resistance was a 1.2 kilogram crispy pork knuckle. The knuckle was doused in a sticky soy seeded mustard and roasted with a naughty crispy crackle. The knuckle was presented in all its glory, completely intact. Patrons were handed a carving knife and encouraged to hack into the meat. Without a moment’s hesitation, guests began digging into the pork and the meat easily came apart from the bone. The sauce was damn tasty, so much so that I poured it on all the sides including the charred seasonal vegetables and the truffle infused mash potato.
After that feast, it was nice to dust off the meal with a light and refreshing dessert. Patrons were offered the butterscotch mousse. The dish was incredibly eye-catching, with the butterscotch mousse presented in a glass cup at an oblique angle before then decorated with a beautiful display of edible flowers and shards of caramel.
Overall
Inside the intimate heritage warehouse space of Rosebery’s The Cannery, you’ll find the modern and elegantly designed Stanton & Co. The interior is adorned with artefacts that are rich with history — harking back to the early days of Sydney where the city was only on the cusp of transforming into the urban oasis that it is today. For food, patrons must try the pork knuckle for its addictive soy seeded mustard. The pork crackling with its naturally salty flavours complements the mustard sauce incredibly well and you’ll have cravings several days after the meal. Along with the pork knuckle, I would also recommend the spanner crab tacos. They are miniature in size so you won’t even notice that you’ve eaten upwards of ten tacos in one sitting! Congratulations to Stanton & Co, the dishes that make up this new menu are clearly as addictive as they are inventive.
Overall rating: MindBlown
Service: 5/5
Gourmet Gumbo and her friend were invited by the Parlour Group. Photos supplied by the Parlour Group.
