The Restaurant @ Art Gallery of NSW

DIGEST
Food Two visits, two different experiences of a modern menu that, when executed well, measures up to its namesake building.
Service Coolly dignified and comfortably reassuring.
Atmosphere Breathtaking views, contemporary decor and nothing to distract you from art or nature.
Noise Low to medium.
Recommended dishes Braised squid stuffed with polenta, king salmon cassoulet.

AN ART gallery feeds the soul. Well, that's not the only intention it also aims to educate, acculturate, persuade and inspire. And while you're consuming paintings, sculptures, photos, ceramics from classical civilisations and video installations from contemporary ones, you can build up another kind of appetite.

An art gallery, however, isn't always the first choice for feeding the body. But while the Art Gallery of NSW has been adding to its collection of Paul Cezanne works, it has also been acquiring a substantial culinary reputation.

You can see the Art Gallery Restaurant the minute you walk through the domed and columned vestibule, past the Cy Twombly triptych and the temporary installations.

The restaurant is housed in the modern extension that hangs over the freeway, with views that put the recent Tourism Australia ad campaign to shame.

Floor-to-ceiling panes frame the Woolloomooloo Finger Wharf, with its marina and heritage architecture, and the harbour, dotted with sailing boats gliding past the arching cranes at the Garden Island naval depot.

It's a vista that is prettier than a picture.

I guess that's why there are no distracting images adorning the white walls of the restaurant. Just white chairs and fixtures, striking red rugs, soothing timber touches and an open kitchen that looks like a Renaissance fresco.

Two visits to the restaurant turn up two different experiences.

The first, on the closing day of the big Claude Monet exhibition, is blistering hot outside 40degrees-plus. People are lured inside by the air-conditioning as much as by the famous Giverny water lilies.

We are early and lucky to get in to the restaurant because, when major shows are on, the AGNSW sells a package of entry and eating. Impressionist-lovers (and refugees from the heat) take full advantage of the suite of Rouen Cathedral paintings and the set menu.
We score a seat at a counter and drink in the views.

The service is professional if slow understandable when you have a blockbuster exhibition on your hands. The food is even more impressive. A tranche of grilled salmon labelled as a cassoulet is lively with chorizo and white beans in a lovely stock.

Veal medallions wrapped in prosciutto are enhanced by a sultry parsley sauce.

The second outing coincides with the Archibald Prize. Again, set and a la carte menus.
Again, crowds, though not quite as frenzied.

This time, we're at a table that is surrounded by a group celebrating a birthday, comprising arty middle-aged types with designer glasses and interesting earrings, a daughter with her mum and dad and two elderly gentlemen who look as though they have been friends for years.

Everyone feels comfortable and important. From its modernist setting to its incredibly polite service, this restaurant carries itself with fine-dining dignity.

Less impressive this time is the food. An entree of squid stuffed with fine polenta contrasts with a tangy roasted tomato vinaigrette. A good start, nicely done. But the gremolata scallops, creamed corn and potato crisp are not. Overcooked molluscs, a smear of bitter pureed parsley and a fluffy sauce that is more cream than corn seems careless.

The same salmon cassoulet as before has a soft, mushy piece of fish, hard beans and a sausage chopped into such tiny dice it is hard to pick up any flavour or even tell if it is chorizo. Pistou-crusted lamb rump with ratatouille is a tough piece of meat with less than robust vegetables. Desserts do nothing to lift our spirits.

The chef fronting the kitchen is not the same person as last time and a quick call to the catering company that runs all the AGNSW venues confirms this.

Artistic talent always shines, whether it's for the eating or the gazing and, given the ability of the AGNSW to feed both body and soul successfully in the past, I'm willing to bet the Twombly that it will do so again.