What: Pinnacle
Where: 741 Hunter Street, Newcastle
Prices: Entrée, $14 to $16; main, $26 to $34; dessert, $8 to $10
Chef: Adam Bartley
Wines: Good selection of Hunter and other Australian wines; wine by the glass well priced
Hours: From 6.30am to 9pm daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner
Vegetarian: One entree
Bookings: 4922 0799
Bottom line: Entrée, main, dessert, for two, about $120 without drinks
Most Novocastrians will remember Latec House, the building designed in 1956 by well-known architects Peddle Thorp & Walker, once the tallest building in Newcastle but for many years unoccupied. In 2009 it was transformed into a luxury serviced apartment building, the Grand Mercure Apartments. And on the ground floor of this new building is one of Newcastle's clutch of new restaurants.
The split-level space is welcoming with well-spaced tables, banquettes along the wall and a bar on the upper level. Carpet deadens the noise from bare topped tables but table cloths or runners might be a welcome addition.
Chef Adam Bartley has kept the menu sensibly short but there is enough variety to pay a return visit since he offers the entrees in two sizes - great for creating your own degustation or for sharing.
Entree portions are generous but I guarantee you'll be reluctant to share the whole quail, which has been halved and marinated in spicy peri peri sauce before roasting to crisp, juicy perfection. It comes with a finger of golden charred polenta, bright green asparagus, lime caviar and rocket-infused oil; doubling the portions makes a perfect main.
Equally, the four jamon (Spanish ham) wrapped scallops will be jealously guarded. Pea puree and vincotto accentuate their sweet flesh and salmon caviar pearls lend a salty note.
With lamb prices hitting astronomical heights it is a pleasant surprise to find a lamb backstrap main for $33, particularly considering the generosity of the serve. Well-rested, pink and juicy meat gets the full Middle Eastern treatment from cumin-infused, crunchy coated, sweet potato fritter, a crisply grilled slice of eggplant and a puddle of baba ganoush. Roasted baby beetroot and beetroot jus are just the ticket for a sweet contrast.
Lip-smackingly sticky braised pork neck, the slowly cooked meat deboned, formed into cylinders and wrapped in prosciutto before grilling, sits on creamy truffle-flavoured mash. You won't need to add a thing. The lamb comes with its own side of al dente baby carrots and caramelised leeks, with an apple and honey jus a classic partner for the pork.
Figs are in season, and I want to see how the chef handles panna cotta. So, out the window with the diet; no sharing dessert tonight.
Two ripe figs have been halved, sprinkled with sugar then grilled. A scoop of superb quality vanilla bean ice-cream crowned with slivers of dark chocolate and a good sprinkling of almond "dust" - pulverised almond praline - adds a note of decadence and removes any lingering feeling of self-righteousness for ordering fruit.
The panna cotta is textbook wobbly, its sweet vanilla flavour contrasting with the tang of the passionfruit coulis. The almond biscotti could have been a little thinner but still snap satisfactorily when bitten. A crown of the ubiquitous Persian fairy floss doesn't detract from a very well-executed dish.
A restaurant's success is mostly down to the chef. The management would be wise to keep this one.
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