Petermen- St Leonards, NSW
A love letter to one of my favourite restaurants in Sydney, and a recount of the second birthday spent in the company of excellent food, service and cocktails.
For my birthday in 2023, I had my sights set on a particular restaurant to celebrate at- Petermen in St Leonards. Having been a long-time fan of the Niland’s, I have attended a number of their venues before- St Peter, Charcoal Fish, with Petermen making it onto my list of recommendations for special occasions due to how easy it is to secure a booking at the venue and the guarantee of excellent service.
The Niland’s take the traditional nose-to-tail philosophy, extending them to fish, ensuring that every portion, organ and often overlooked organ is treated with the same respect that is afforded to their four-legged landed counterparts.
The first time I visited the restaurant, we had ordered mostly from the starter menu as we had made the mistake of going to an AYCE dimsum buffet at Crown Sydney earlier that day and had ended up obnoxiously full, even by the time that the dinner hour had rolled around. Despite this, we had spent the night trying their starters, drinking a few Greenhorns and partaking in a few choices on their dessert menu, including a dairy free dessert made especially for my birthday.
This year, for 2024, when I returned, I had a birthday card waiting for me along with the notes of a dietary requirement I had indicated in my reservation from the year before living up to and surpassing the standards of the service that I had experienced just the year before.
All these dishes in the following article were shared amongst a party of 3.
They include a note on their oyster menu that the oysters are opened to order without the use of running water which preserves the taste of the oyster and the estuary, served at 12°C which allows for patrons to taste the unique qualities of each oyster. This method of serving highlighted the individual tasting natures and notes associated with the oysters, allowing us to truly appreciate the taste profiles of the oysters, both on their own and with the accompanying mignonette sauce.
In addition to the excellent food- the accompanying drinks have always been a delight, my favourite non alcoholic drink on the menu is called the Greenhorn- a refreshing mix of dry ginger ale, lemon and rosemary. Some of the alcoholic cocktails ordered included the following-
Bull Kelp Martini
Espresso Martini- made with Ketel One, Broken Bean Coffee Liqueur and Coffee
Urban Sombrero- made with Ketel One, Mr Black Coffee Liqueur and Crème the Cacao
Of the cocktails that I had, the Urban Sombrero on the dessert menu had to be my favourite. With the aroma of chocolate, the mix was smooth and easy to drink and definitely had me wanting another!
A staple, a longtime favourite for special occasions- I look forward to every return.
