Review: Humbug represents the best fine dining in Newcastle at the moment

Address	87-89 St . Hunters Newcastle, NSW 2300 View map
Opening hours	Lunch and dinner Wednesday-Saturday
Feature	Licensed, Accept orders
Price	Medium ($20-$40 electricity)
Payment	eftpos, Visa, Mastercard
Phone	02 4044 4803

Disclaimer: I was born in Newcastle and I love the city like Novocastrians love rugby league and complain about light rail. Whenever a savvy young operator opens a new restaurant in my hometown, I’m vulnerable to the wild claim that Newcastle is a foodie’s paradise and Sydneysiders should put down their macchiatos and get the highways ready.

But I’ve been on fire: an inspired restaurant turns heads in Coal Town every few years, but rarely starts a trend that’s bigger than new places that go beyond tandoori chicken on pizza. And while some amazing bars have launched in Newcastle over the last decade, two hours is a long journey for a negroni.

So with some trepidation I say that the former steel shipping capital is finally – perhaps, perhaps, secretly – on its way to becoming the great dining hub that it is meant to be.

Danish anchovies and parmesan custard. Photo: Edwina Pickles

Several new eateries worth your lunch money have sprung up in the last 12 months as more and more restaurant owners are appreciated outside Sydney.

Meanwhile, more and more chefs are discovering that produce from Newcastle and the surrounding area is the kind of food that makes French people heat and sweat just thinking about it: tangy oysters, perfect fish (try the bonito), butter grass-fed beef, prairie-raised chicken. grasses, and heirloom vegetables.

You can get all of this at Humbug, a restaurant opened by a young couple Mike Portley and Stephanie Wells in January and responsible for reviving a section of the Hunter Street Mall that was previously a tumbleweed desert.

Salt and pepper pork ribs with chili and basil. Photo: Edwina Pickles

It’s a bright, breezy space filled with artwork that could be prints of Gorman dresses. The long table and banquet were designed to open a second bottle and, on the Saturday night I visited, several groups in their 30s appeared to be in third.

Portley leads the kitchen while Wells manages the floor, making sure glasses are never empty and suggesting wines from a list that leans towards organic and natural. It’s a fun booze lineup, but it would be nice to see some old-school Hunter Valley heroes, like Tyrell’s – especially for locals who prefer freshly squeezed sock juice to anything described as “minimal intervention” (hi , Father!).

We came home with a wild and savory 2019 Brian Oregon Gris ($98) that worked great with slip-off-the-bone pork ribs ($20) covered in Thai basil culture clash, oyster sauce, and Calabrian chili paste from scorching heat. .

Main course: Mafaldine with brisket and braised beef cheeks at Pedro Ximenez. Photo: Edwina Pickles

Other dishes are equally bold and limitless, such as Spanish anchovies draped over Danish pastries filled with parmesan pudding ($7 each); three bites of cream, crunch and punch.

Diced raw beef is topped with cream of porcini and spooned onto four pucks of fried sushi rice disguised as fries ($24). It’s far from elegant layering, but substance trumps style.

Likewise, the silver trevally tataki ($26) was covered with so much yuzu mayonnaise that it seemed to need to be treated with burn sauce. However, pickled celery brings it all together to create something comforting and delicious, halfway between ceviche and coleslaw.

“Humbug represents the best fine dining in Newcastle at the moment.” Photo: Edwina Pickles

For unknown reasons, the Manning Valley-sourced scotch fillet ($55) appeared 10 minutes before the pasta, but at least it was a very good steak, with a very rich marbled for grass-fed beef. Bonus points for the accompanying bearnaise, made with egg yolk soaked in soy and sake for weight and depth.

Maybe the mafaldine ($33) comes last because the chewy pasta is the best on the menu. The cheeks and beef brisket are simmered overnight in chicken broth and Pedro Ximenez sherry to create a creamy, lip-smacking taste of gravity. The liberal manchego grid cuts the weight while the hefty, earthy shiraz is necessary to drink.

And if you want to make that weekend? New QT hotel close by for accommodation and great after dinner cocktails. The Scotties Fish-and-chip Institute recently changed its menu for the next day’s bouillabaisse. Newcastle’s first yakitori bar (Âpé) opened two weeks ago and I was eager to try it. Meanwhile, the loathed Flotilla is always a delight, eight-month-old Harrison’s Food and Wine offers a $75 set menu and The Ship Inn is a must for breaking cottage cakes.

Still, Humbug represents the best fine dining in Newcastle at the moment. Engaged service and taste-first cuisine that treats products with respect? Now it’s worth driving for two hours.

Atmosphere: Dinner party at a friend’s house

Main dish: Mafaldine with brisket and braised beef cheeks at Pedro Ximenez

Drink: Fun list of international and Australian natural wines and pre-batch cocktails

Cost: Around $130 for two, not including drinks

This review was originally published on Nice weekend magazine

HUMBUG

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