Babyface Kitchen — Restaurant in Wollongong City Council

On a Thursday evening our group was keen to head out and make use of our freshly acquired Dine and Discover vouchers. With the prospect of Gladys picking up a big chunk of our bill we were keen to try something new and at a venue that accepts the government discount.

Babyface Kitchen is located on Kiera St in the city centre. This street is fast becoming Wollongong’s answer to other big city food strips with more and more upmarket and fine dining options establishing themselves along what will one day be known as the Gong’s foodie golden mile.

On the night we visited we expected to be able to explore the seven course tasting menu for $100 per person. Initially put off that the tasting menu was not available our disappointment quickly turned to happy intrigue as we were told the evening was a “super casual” wine exploration evening with an a la cart style bar menu available for food selection.

Our table was a cozy bench and chair combination in a modest but very cozy dining room. Tableware is high quality with cloth napkins to complete the fine dining experience.

We were immediately approached by one of the many local wine importers and sommeliers showcasing their local and imported bespoke selection of all things vino. With a small but generous splash of wine we began what turned out to be a thoroughly enjoyable journey through some amazing and unique wines.

Wine can sometimes become a bit wanky depending on who is presenting the bottle but all the grape gurus were casual, friendly and non pretentious. We ended up buying a few of our favourites by the glass and a bottle of an amazing limited release from Japan!! Even without the food this was an amazing experience. Truth be told you could easily have not bought a drop of wine the whole evening and still had a good level of happy intoxication as the tastings were free flowing and generous. And most important there was never a hard sell, in fact, it just felt like we were having a drink with friends who wanted to share the amazing wines they had discovered.

Let’s get to the food! We decided on some share plates to start and our choices arrived a short time later.

The Wonboyn oysters were perfect. Freshly shucked and accompanied by the perfect amount of blood plumb vinaigrette that complimented the natural flavours of the mollusc without taking over.

Spanner crab on a chickpea cracker was a refined and delicate serving of crab flesh contrasted perfectly on a crispy cracker.

The coral trout was described as heaven on a plate by one of our group and it was a very fair description. Super fresh and perfectly seasoned coral trout this dish delivered in every way.

Our last share plate was hands down the stand out of the evening. The Koji fried scarlet prawn was just amazing. This crunchy prawn delicacy gives way to silky roasted oyster Mayo that has been injected into the centre of the head of the prawn. The crunch and cream combination is so perfectly matched; this is a dish you simply have to try!

We ordered two mains and a side to share. The mains consisted of the Mud Crab and Pastrami Short Rib.

So far Babyface had nailed the seafood dishes and they continued the kick gastronomic goals with the protein based dish. The short rib was cooked to perfection with each and every piece of the pastrami almost melting in the mouth. Accompanied by a simple yellow pea mustard and some house pickled veggies this was comfort food at its best.

Back to the seafood and the mud crab with buckwheat noodles was a flawless example of how fresh ingredients, cooked with skill and complimented by a brilliant sauce just make for great food. The specks of belly bacon added just the right amount of salt to this amazing dish.

For our group of three we had probably consumed enough wine and food at this point to satisfy our appetite but we couldn’t leave without sampling the desert menu. We ordered three of the sweets on offer and all of these were delicious.

I have run out of characters but in conclusion Babyface...

When friends visit the Illawarra and ask me where to eat, Babyface is usually on my list. In past days it was famous for its sushimi and its tasting menu offered a mix of unique dishes which highlighted uncommon produce or the skill and technique of those working in the kitchen. However, Babyface now seems to have lost its way. While still a solid choice, there are still some highlights but for the most part the food itself lacks the brilliance that first put this place on the map. As just one example, on my last visit, one of the seven dishes I had on the tasting menu was heirloom tomatoes, with a caprese style dressing. While this may be considered by a vegan as a slice of heaven, and to my taste it was good - I was still left asking - where is the rest of this dish? Sliced tomatoes might be acceptable to a vegan, and may even pass as side dish, but to be put it in the middle of the five of the savoury suite is disappointing. As were the two deserts on the menu, essentially the same thing, and using identical techniques and even looking identical.

The atmosphere and physical environment is still relevant and on point At Babyface and crowd is still cool. But just like in the other regular visits I have made, the music can barely be heard,

The wine menu is deplorable and that hasn’t changed. In fact, on the last visit, I ordered a wine which had clearly gone off, only to be told “it has just arrived and might need some time to settle”. If that was true, then why was I served it?

The service was generally good and attentive, but it wasn’t charismatic or engaging, and while it’s not what everyone wants from their service, I expect some banter and friendly smiles at the very least.

At the higher end of price for a dining experience, I would suggest that this isn’t a bad spot to have a meal, or maybe celebrate something, but you will not leave feeling like you had a great experience. Rather, you are likely to say “maybe we visit once a year, and only if they are in a...

Babyface kitchen has to be one of the best restaurants I have ever been too.

Firstly the atmosphere, its quiet, well spaced out and not overly loud.

The tables and seating are perfect, comfortable yet stylish and placed perfectly so your not on top of each other.

Staff, they were AMAZING, our waitress was flawless, she was quirky, funny, up for a chat but gave us plenty of time to chat alone. The other waiter was the same, they were both very knowledgeable about the menu and explained items in simple terms if we struggled to understand.

Drinks, WOW, the cocktails were superb. My partner couldn't drink and the mocktails on the menu were not to her liking so we ask if they could make something off menu, something alittle sweet and berry like and our waitress said NO WORRIES. They came back with a mocktail that was PERFECT. I had the cherry blossom cocktail (in the pictures) it was delish and not overly strong.

First course, We had the Buckwheat noodles with caramelised kale and egg yoke and potato scallops with homemade tomato sauce. The noodles were probably one of the best buckwheat noodle meals ive ever had. The caramelised kale really finished it off, really creamy and delish. The potato scallops were alittle plain. Maybe needed alittle more sauce or something else. They were really nice, just alittle plain.

Second course, We had the smoked Pork belly off the bone in a delightful sauce and King prawns in a cultured butter cause. Both dishes were amazing.

For dessert. Chocolate tart with poached peach and I had vanilla ice cream with bits of brittle and broken bread. Wonderfully superb.

The best part was my partner was 8 months pregnant at the time and they were super helpful with anything we wanted.

We will most definitely be back again.

But what would I know, I'm just a bearded guy who...