One day when travelling for work I took Daniel to Una's and he fell in love. If you like plain hearty "boy" food it's hard to go past Austro-Bavarian feeds. Sometime in the recent past there has been a split of the Una's group and the Broadway location is now Essen (to eat!). To be honest other than the name not much has changed, though I will admit that the owner/manager now looks a lot happier and a little chubbier so I'd say that it's been a good change for all of them.
The menu is traditional Bavarian and heavy on meat, fried foods and starch perfect for the northern climes. It is all pure comfort food though and just excellent when you're feeling down, or cold, or you just have a need for some fried food and a homestyle meal.
Absinthe $6.50
While we're delighted that they have absinthe at all it seems a little strange when it comes out as a shot and we have to flag down the drinks waiter to bring water.
"Gypsy" schnitzel with rosti $21.00
This dish is so good that 3 of our 4 dining table order it; this makes for slightly boring blogging but very high accolades. I order it in veal because wiener schnitzel has been a lifelong favourite, the other diners order chicken. The schnitzel is huge and as always there is a small layer folded on itself that is not sauced. For me this is excellent as I put asside the unsauced sections and eat them last with salt and lemon in the traditional style. After weeks of dieting and several days of heavy eating the Rosti are a bit too buttery for me and I leave much of this behind, but they are rather good especially on a cold winter's day.
Wurst teller $22.00
We are a little disappointed that the old Una's Worst Topf has been replaced by this Wurst Teller; really the difference is nill as it's purely down to presentation but it now comes in a flat bowl rather than a traditional crock pot. The pot used to add a little mystery and excitement when it came out and gave a small unveiling. But still the food is excellent, acidic and sweet sauerkraut is topped with a bread dumpling and strong gravy with 3 types of sausage (Csabai, Bratwurst and Weisswurst). It is a very heavy meal though and the boy cannot finish the entire plate.
After the hearty food there's no room for dessert however I have eaten dessert here in the past and their strudels are worth trying to find the space.
Essen Restaurant and Beer Cafe
http://www.essenrestaurant.com.au
133-135 broadway
2007 ultimo
Ph. 92113805
Fax. 92122955
Email. functions@essenrestaurant.com.au
Mon - Sun: open for Lunch and Dinner
Fully licenced
During the winter months book ahead for dinner
good to hear that this place has remained german (and good) - Una's was a bit of an institution!
ReplyDeletewow, those prices seem so ridiculous to me here in germany. a gypsy schnitzel with french fries or roesti usually costs about 6euro here...but it's a specialty over at yours i guess.
ReplyDeletenadine
You can get a schnitzel with sauce and fries at any pub in Sydney for about $8 or under; this is just a specialty restaurant with much better quality and much bigger servings.
ReplyDelete