St Blaise — Restaurant in Sydney

“Everybody knows,” Leonard Cohen croons mournfully from the speakers. I suspect, given the peculiar location of this tiny bistro, everybody may not know about it. We’re dining at St Blaise in Gizella Mall in Matraville. From Bunnerong road, there’s no signage, so getting here looks like you’re entering a medical centre. Thankfully my phone’s map guided me to a free and conveniently located carpark in the rear, or I suspect I would have trouble finding this quirky little spot.

Opening in April this year, St Blaise is the work of chef Vedran Perojevic, who hails from Dubrovnik on the Dalmatian coast. Perojevic is fresh from a month off enjoying the Croatian summer, and putting out an interesting chalkboard menu of dishes. There’s whole meal-in-a-plate dishes like porchetta ($38) seasoned with herbs and wild mushroom powder to leave a long, earthy savoury note. It’s dished up with Dutch carrots, nicely-cooked spuds, bok choy and baked baby onions drizzled with a green oil my dining companion calls parsley, but I’m convinced has a lifted hint of mint. The same oil appears on cured salmon ($28) draped over pickled red cabbage and fennel, scattered with crushed pistachios.

Vrganj (or porcini as we know it) also pops up in the small plates, like bone marrow ($35) presented on slightly inconvenient rock salt. The split marrow bone is blowtorched then adorned with freshly-mixed lamb tartare, dabs of whipped ricotta and dusted in porcini. Without spilling any into the rock salt, you scoop it onto thin slices of freshly made focaccia. The same bread is the delivery mode for fluffy smoked cod pate ($25). If you’re wondering about the Italian influences on this Croatian-infused menu, after being ruled by the republic of Venice during Renaissance times, Croatian culture, particularly in cities like Dubrovnik, reflects this history. And if you need another reason to visit, you can also BYO...

Let’s be frank - when you think of fine dining, Matraville is not the first suburb that springs to mind. That’s what makes St Blaise so extraordinary. Tucked away in an obscure alleyway on Bunnerong Road, you have more of a sense that you might be unexpectedly stabbed than about to experience a unique gastronomic experience. (I’m kidding about the stabbing, but if I weren’t, it certainly adds to the whole adventure).

In a nutshell, eat here. Book immediately. The food is absolutely sensational. Each dish handmade with love by Vedran (Chef & owner) at the highest caliber. It feels like a hatted restaurant except that Vedran “hates that stuff”. Even more reason to eat at St Blaise. It’s for normal people who simply LOVE special food.

We came in a group of four & enjoyed entree & main meals. Wonderful flavours & decent sized portions. We deferred to Chef to match wine with our food selections which was just perfect.

I highly recommend this restaurant. It’s well worth traveling out of your comfort zone to experience this surprise suburban gem.

You must book ahead. It’s a quaint little place & tables fill up fast! You’ll leave satisfied & will almost certainly be...

I was attracted by such a high rate on Google and visited recently. The service is good, for sure. But the food is overpriced, especially considering the low rent in the area and the food quality. We have a seafood dish, the mussel was cold and unfrozen well, the prawn meat has lost its texture. the business owner insisted its the best quality prawn, while the 30/ kg tiger prawns from coles or woolies even taste better. Update after owner's review: Ok fine, I was hoping to be polite and get some explanations about the unfresh prawn, frozen mussel, but seems the owner is very irrogant. plz stop racist. Is that just asian face means msg? You must had a miserable and poor life in Asia and had no true friends. As the true authentic asian food never use msg but you never found it. I have no opinion about msg, though I never use it, and my taste is not disturbed by it ok? It's just you didnt make it tasty, sadly. I just meant even the coles tiger prawn is better, that doesnt mean I only source seafood from coles, stop being arrogant ok? 3. You want people to slow down and enjoy the food? Then how could your chairs are so...