From one new opening to another, we tried out Bosco at Newstead a few weeks ago as part of a long overdue catch up with some friends. I hadn't read too much about this place other than seeing a few instagram posts which appeared quite promising. Arriving on a Thursday evening, the place wasn't yet half way full and did not fill up for the duration we were there.
Menus were provided promptly and the service was friendly throughout the evening. Not wanting to sort through portion sizes to share, we opted for the chef's menu to share instead.
Starting with two glasses of rose, this was a fairly generous pour, refreshing and crisp.
Appetisers arrived fairly quickly. This was the duck rillettes ‘cannoli’ Armagnac, spice. It was my first experience with rillettes and this was a kind of confit duck packed in pastry. It turned out a bit like a rich and decadent spring roll, packed with flavour. This was my favourite of the appetisers.
This was the spanner crab, soffrito, como. I enjoyed the deliciously seasoned spanner crab soffrito on top but wished that there would have been a little bit more to go on top of the bread.
Last of the entrees was gilda, oven flat bread. This acme topped with capsicum and olives. The flavours were sharp but I didn't particularly appreciate being stuffed with two bread based dishes in the appetizers alone.
Entrees arrived shortly after and we had again three dishes to share. This was the calamari tagliatelle, Morcilla, baby peas. As a portion for five to share, we really only had a small bite each. The calamari was tender. I found the morcilla to be quite delicate in taste with a light umami to it. The peas were an interesting addition for the texture.
Next was the mussels, cider cream and sourdough. This was fairly decadent and the mussels were plump and juicy. I enjoyed the bread a great deal as it struck a good balance between being fluffy and crusty, however it was definitely awkward to share two pieces of bread between five people.
Finally the last entree was the quail, boudin blanc, brunt apple jam. This was my most favourite of the entrees when it came to taste, I love quail and this was cooked to a juicy and tender finish. What I definitely did not appreciate though was the fact that the five of us had to share in one single quail. With the price point for the shared menu, I would have at least expected one quail between two people so that we could have enjoyed a little bit more than one bite each.
Our mains came with two sides, this was the white asparagus, almond, golden breadcrumbs. My issues with the portion sizes continued through to the main course as this only comprised of seven pieces of asparagus between five people. I did like its charred flavours and crunchy breadcrumbs though.
The main course was of course the half chicken with vadouvan jus. This was cooked well with a delicious caramelisation on the outside and a delicious herbal marinade. I liked it, but again the serving sizes were a real issue for a party of five. Some of our party only managed one piece whilst the most anyone had was two.
What was more generous was the bay bug clay pot rice, txistorra with rouille. Although I got not much more than a few slivers of bug, the rice was creamy and wholesome and we were able to fill up on this. The flavours were enjoyable, but I didn't think that filling up on rice would have been expected at a meal with this price point.
My side of preference was the bakers roasted potato, scalded cream, shallot. This was a particularly impressive rendition of potato akin to dauphinoise but with a crispy top that reminded me a lot of pork crackling. It was a very skilful display of the chef's skill and the highlight of my meal.
Desserts came not long after and we started off with the tarta santiago. This was quite sweet for my tastes, very intense and with a strong raspberry hit. The texture was also quite coarse (by design I think), but not particularly to my liking.
Rounding off the meal was a serve of triple cream gelato and strawberries. I enjoyed this a lot more, the gelato was definitely rich and decadent, not too sweet (after the cake). The addition of freeze dried strawberries were particularly enjoyable, but I would have liked it more if the gelato was served more promptly rather than having started to melt.
Overall, the food was enjoyable at Bosco. My main issue with it as highlighted above was the quality/quantity for the price point. Whilst executed well, I am firmly of the opinion that the food we were served was not worth the $90pp, especially given how small the portion sizes were for the proteins. I could easily have found a superior meal elsewhere for the same or less.
Taste: 7/10
Value: 3/10
Service: 7/10
Environment: 7/10
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