In our last review we stated we would review kebab restaurants but then tragedy struck and we went to a fantastic restaurant at Blaxland in the Blue Mountains with some family members.
Lindsay took pictures in order to remember the meal and Alexi took pictures to show off the food to friends. We did not plan to write a blog about this restaurant but the food was so good we decided to share the pictures with the world.
Como has two menus and we chose the one which had three snacks, two entrees, two mains and two desserts, plus petit fours. ($130.00 pp)
If you plan to go to Como, make certain you have ample time to enjoy the food.
When we arrived we were warmly greeted and quickly seated. Como is situated at Blaxland shops and has a comfortable ambience. The menu was explained and it took whole seconds for all of us to agree to the same menu. With one of us abstaining from fish/seafood we were assured that this could be easily accommodated.
Snacks
- Chicken rillettes. A cute little fork arrived before the dish and we all wondered what the first snack would be. Lindsay thought it might be crab, Alexi did not even notice the fork and Jamie was too busy talking to speculate aloud. When it arrived it looked too pretty to eat with a small dab of beetroot jam on top of the crisp outside layer. This complemented the creamy chicken concoction in the middle and the generous sprinkling of paprika and beetroot jam on which it rested.
Alexi was hungry and ate it in one mouthful (it was small) but Lindsay took longer and savoured the flavour. The sweetness of the beetroot jam did not overpower the delicate flavour of the rillette and the table was silent as we ate our first snack. This snack was a good omen of what was to come.
- Sweet corn profiterole. Each person received on profiterole but they were served communally. Lindsay was disappointed with this snack after the experience with the first snack because it seemed too sweet and an odd combination of flavours. Jamie thought it was okay but preferred the first snack. Alexi felt the profiterole should have been coated in something as it was a little dry but overall enjoyed the snack.
- Jerusalem Artichoke veloute with Truffle oil. Jamie yummed this down ignoring everyone else as the veloute wrought its magic. However, Lindsay liked it but thought that the flavours may have clashed a little more than they should. The taste of the veloute was lovely and the truffle oil was nice but did not work with the Jerusalem artichoke. Alexi had a similar reaction but everyone else at the table seemed to love this snack.
Appetisers
- Cucumber, crab meat salad topped with a prawn wonton. Cucumber topped with black sesame encrusted salmon with a Soy sauce pearl.
Jamie, being difficult, had a variation to avoid the seafood on this entree. It was okay but not very impressive except for the Soy Sauce pearls.
Lindsay was in heaven (actually not true as it was Blaxland). The crab with the cucumber was delicious but paled in comparison to the prawn wonton. As Lindsay does not enjoy prawns very much it is a surprise when other prawn wontons were under threat of being stolen and everyone ignored requests to share. It was the best prawn wonton Lindsay’s ever had.
The salmon appealed to Lindsay’s palate as it was a mixture of flavours. First the cucumber introduced itself and then the salmon flavour, which was very fresh and delicious complemented the cucumber and then the sesame fragrance influenced the flavour of the salmon. Finally the soy sauce pearl exploded and the strong flavour overwhelmed the other flavours for a moment and then melded perfectly with everything. This, in Lindsay’s opinion, was a masterful dish.
Alexi thought it was pretty good.
- Lamb neck bacon, scallops, cauliflower, pesto, aioli.
Lindsay loved it. Alexi loved it. Jamie thought it was good (potato fondant replacing the scallops).
The scallops were perfectly cooked and they worked well with the radish on which they were placed. The raw cauliflower was a lot nicer than anyone expected and the lamb bacon was crisp, tasty, interesting and complimented the other ingredients. The pesto was fresh and the aioli was delicious but the scallops dominated the dish, in a good way.
Mains
- Quail sausage, quail, tortellini, blood orange, rhubarb sauce and shaved almonds
This was sublime. The tortellini was inspired. The pasta itself was perfect and the filling was such that each time a person at the table ate the tortellini, once they had spent time savouring the mouthful, were loud in their praise of this delightful way of serving quail.
The sausage was also good as was the rhubarb sauce, despite some people’s reservations. The pieces of blood orange added a tart wake up to the palate. This was, at this point, Jamie’s favourite dish. Alexi thought the quail was gorgeous and Lindsay was stunned.
- Wagyu beef, potato noisette, mushrooms and black truffle.
One word. Yum. The creamy sauce worked with everything, the mushrooms were a delight, the beef: perfection and for once the truffle was not lost amongst the rest of the ingredients. Everyone was shocked at how well the truffles worked with the rest of the dish and how intense the flavour was.
Dessert
- Pear sorbet, chocolate soil, honeycomb, chocolate custard.
Pear and chocolate. An irresistible combination (even though Jamie dislikes cooked pear). The sorbet was light, delightful and smooth and the honeycomb was sweet, brittle and feather light. Alexi tried to protect Lindsay from the custard (as custard is not a favourite of Lindsay’s) but Lindsay bravely ate every bite of the custard. And the honeycomb, and everything else even though dessert is another thing of which Lindsay is not fond.
- Toffee pineapple, pineapple ice cream, candied rosemary snow, custard, liquorice.
Jamie believes this was the absolute highlight of the meal. (We do discuss Jamie’s addiction to deserts. We plan an intervention one day).
The toffee coating on the pineapple was crunchy, chewy, sweet and perfect. Some were worried about the liquorice overpowering the rest of the dessert, but it didn’t. One of the diners hates both pineapple and liquorice and Jamie was very prepared to sacrifice stomach room to eat the unwanted dessert, but the sacrifice was not required (darn it). The rosemary snow, the custard, every part of this dish worked.
Petit fours
Blood orange jube, chocolate.
Perfect end to a meal. When asked if the restaurant sold boxes of the chocolates, everyone was disappointed to find out they did not. The jube contained the essence of blood orange. Delightful.
Overall
We spent three and a half hours at Como and the food was worth it. The service was friendly, efficient, and professional. The food was great.
The price is high but to celebrate an event this is a good choice. While we would like to return, often, but the travelling time and cost mean it may be some time before it will happen.
We all cleaned the plates and had to remember our manners so we did not lick them.
Overall Score: 5/5
Clean the Plate 