Tomislav - a taste of Heston's madness in Sydney

From In Search of Perfection to Heston’s Feast, it’s hard not to be amazed by Heston Blumenthal’s mad scientist approach to food.  His wild imagination and unconventional ways of cooking allow him to create wonderful feasts based on distinct historical eras and fairytales. His restaurant, The Fat Duck, has been awarded three Michelin stars and is one of the best in the world. Upon hearing rumours that we have in Sydney someone who had worked alongside Heston at The Fat Duck, we knew we had to pay him a visit, so Tomislav here we come!


Tomislav Restaurant is a small bistro with half the tables inside with an open kitchen, and the other half outside on the balcony with a nice view of the iconic Coke sign. Usually I enjoy watching chefs do their magic in the open kitchen, however this time I’m not too sure. Rather than being amused by his culinary skills, we were distracted by the “heat” in the kitchen as the head chef was constantly telling off his staff. 


That aside, there is a lively vibe at this restaurant, partly because of the delightful waiter we encountered, but mostly because of the extremely innovative and appetising food creation placed in front of us that sparked excitement and cheers!

View from Tomislav Restaurant... the iconic Coke sign!

Head chef and Owner Tomislav Martinovic 
NB. You do not want to mess with him!!

Pre-meal pre-dessert???

Hand-churned whipped butter
with complimentary bread 

When this was served, I thought it was some sort of pre-meal pre-dessert (how wonderful would that be?!), it turned out to be hand-churned whipped butter and it was fantastic!

Rice crackers with sea salt & vinegar

The crackers are made from sheets of rice paper, brushed with egg white and briefly deep-fried. Tomislav came up with a playful approach to add flavour with a vinegar atomiser. I think even Heston would be proud of this idea :P

Poached Comboyne Hen's Egg, peas, warm potato cream

The egg is delicately poached in a water bath for 70 minutes at 62"C, while the ''toast'' is a crisp of baked batter. The smooth egg and potato cream is just such an indulgence... mmmmmm its like breakfast in a bowl :)

Basmati Rice Risotto with poached Yamba prawns chives – lemon zest

The risotto is made of aged, toasted basmati rice. The dish is beautifully executed with the right amount of chive and lemon zest which accentuated the delicate prawn taste and balanced out the creaminess.

Grilled Salmon Roll served with toast – wasabi crumbs

L Loves... Heston Blumenthal style triple-cooked crinkle cut chips!

The "perfect" chips!! The potatoes are first steamed, then twice fried, with lengthy cooling down-periods between each stage to ensure they are extraordinarily crisp outside and fluffy inside. Heston you're a legend!

Poached Yellow Fin Tuna with Egg Linguine, Parmesan and Celery Cress

Egg Linguine with Jannei Goat's Curd, Broccoli and Anchovy

The egg linguine was a rich and lovely dish, but perhaps it was "too much of a good thing" :P

o'Connor Scotch Fillet with Grilled Mango, Chives and Bone Marrow 

The beef came pre-sliced and was cooked medium rare. It was simply paired with roasted bone marrow, a smear of grilled mango sauce and a chive sauce.

Pasture Burrawong Duck Breast, olive oil sponge, baby beetroots 

The duck breast also came pre-sliced and was paired with baby beetroot and an olive oil sponge which was as light as a chiffon sponge, finished with a smear of beetroot. My concern for pre-sliced meat dishes are that they can become too dry. This was definitely not the case here, the duck breast was perfectly moist and tender!

Caramel Pudding with Yoghurt Sorbet and Caramelised Walnuts 

Beneath the crunchy caramelised walnuts is a creamy caramel pudding. The sweetness of the pudding is contrasted by the sourness of the yoghurt sorbet... more please?

L Loves… Vanilla Cheesecake, cream cheese, rhubarb sorbet 

A luscious, light, wobbly dessert with cream cheese jelly cubes scattered throughout. It’s accompanied with candied rhubarb which has an unusually firm texture and a refreshing rhubarb sorbet and large cheesecake crumbs.

L Loves… Apple crumber served with macadamia nuts and clotted cream ice cream

The sous vide apples have been poached for 1 hour at 70"C, served on a yummy macadamia sponge. Scattered on top was a surprising hit of popping candy included in the crumble. This dessert took us back to our childhood memory lane - you'd have to try it to see how a dessert can dance on your tongue!!! :P

Dark chocolate & coconut bar, served with coconut milk ice and chocolate sorbet

Dinner at Tomislav was definitely memorable and a lot of fun. Tomislav uses a variety of special techniques to enhance flavours and add textural contrasts and surprises to his food. So tell me, out of all the innovative and playful dishes, which one would you like to try?  

L's Verdict:

• Taste: 8/10
•  Ambience: 2.5/5 (angry chef need to de-stress... maybe someone can introduce angry bird to him?)
•  Value: 3/5
•  Service: 4/5 
• Creativity and other WOW factors: 4.5/5  

Overall rating: 22/30

Tomislav

2/13 Kirketon Road 

Darlinghurst NSW 2010

Ph: (02) 9356 4535

Open Tue-Sun 6pm-11pm

Visited May 2010

Friendly advice: Go there with your mates for the fun, quirky and delicious food! Do not go there for romantic first dates, unless you and your date have a common interest in listening to what people in the kitchen or at the table next to you have to say.