A dull Sunday morning. What to do to lift the spirits? I’d heard a lot about the fabulous Sunday brunches at Pruniers in Woollahra and decided this was the day to pay a visit.

From the moment we stepped onto the trellis garden path leading to the restaurant, my winter blues lifted. Suddenly I was transported to a different world - a green well-manicured haven in which the lilting sounds of jazz beckoned to us to come inside. We were given a table near one of the gracious white timber square windows looking out over the lawn to the palm trees beyond - and within ten minutes of ordering our caipiroskas, the sun was out and we were basking in its warmth.

Sundays with Jazz (11am – 3pm) has become something of an institution
for locals, many of whom turn up on the dot of 11am and snap up the buttermilk pancakes ($16). If it’s these you’re after, I’d advise you to come early. Fluffy and perfectly shaped, they arrive in a high stack served with your choice of bacon, scrambled eggs, strawberries, banana, ricotta, maple syrup or ice cream. Maybe it’s the kids who order these (children are welcome on Sundays) because they certainly disappear like hot cakes.

As we’d arrived around 1pm we opted for maincourse dishes, a number of which are listed on the brunch menu. I was tempted by the corn and eschalot fritters ($14) and also the smoked emu prosciutto tartlet ($19). My friend opted for the sweet sesame beef with baby spinach with caramelised walnuts and citrus zest ($18).

As it turned out, the emu tartlet is one of chef Dave Hewson’s signature dishes. It’s an ingenious assembly of crisp puff pastry filled with caramelised onions and balsamic tomatoes topped with slivers of smoked emu prosciutto and buffalo mozzarella and finished with Muscat vinaigrette. Stunning.

 

Hewson is a talented young chef who cleverly mixes old favourites (Rib Eye with Yorkshire Pud, Bombe Alaska) with more contemporary dishes like the sweet sesame beef. This unexpected combination of shallow-fried marinated scotch fillet strips tossed with baby spinach leaves, caramelised walnuts and citrus vinaigrette is superb. I also really enjoyed the crunchy corn fritters which were colourfully presented in layers separated by rocket leaves dressed with aged balsamic, topped with pancetta crisps and garnished with roasted red and yellow cherry tomatoes. Hints of fresh coriander and turmeric in the fritter batter made this a memorable dish.

" I’m always looking for something different to stay a step ahead," says Hewson. "I also try to use as much Australian product as possible". A wide-ranging wine list complements the food – or you can order cocktails from the bar. They’ll certainly get you swinging along with the jazz.

Pruniers represents serious old world charm in an elegant yet informal setting. We found it hard to drag ourselves back into the real world.

Pruniers
65 Ocean St., Woollahra
Bookings: 02 9363 1974

 

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