Directory
STAPLETON'S
Cuisine: Swiss
Eccentric chef and owner Leo Rutishauser makes this restaurant. He’s a collector of plates, with around 150 on display in the dining room. But it’s what’s on the plate that most interests us. Naturally, the focus is meat and being located above a butcher shop does well to ensure its quality. Prime rib steak, available in small, medium and large cuts $25.50–$35.50, is the house specialty, aged and slow-roasted, so it retains those precious juices. A range of other steaks $26–$32 is on the menu plus a few white-meat dishes. A faint French theme is present in crumbed lamb’s brains $17.50 as an entree and creme caramel $11.50 for dessert. But Swiss chocolate mousse $11.50 steals the show for us. Cute, full of personality and a haven for lovers of big, juicy steaks.
THE NEW CHAMBERS CAFE RESTAURANT
Cuisine: Swiss,Greek
More modern cafe than rustic Greek taverna in style, this friendly Shire local has down pat the tried-and-true formula of simple food cooked well. It’s run by the team behind the well-loved Greek Islands Taverna in Earlwood, now closed. The Greek standards are fresh and flavoursome, from tangy, tasty dolmades $8.40 and tender, lightly fried squid $15 to a warming casserole of fall-off-the-bone lamb $21. Seafood is the forte and in addition to a lengthy list on the regular menu there are at least five specials that may include whole roasted garfish, pan-fried flathead fillets, barbecued prawns or chilli crab $29.50–$32.50, all finished simply with the obligatory squeeze of lemon. Wash it all down with cold Mythos ale.
