Mod. Dining puts on a better lunch than any other Australian gallery

Last year, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet claimed Sydney's newest cultural landmark was set to become not just the greatest art gallery in Australia, but the best in the world. It was a lofty claim regarding the Art Gallery of NSW's Sydney Modern extension, but he was soon cut down by art critic John McDonald.

"An art museum is judged primarily by its collection, not its architecture," he wrote in The Sydney Morning Herald, "and the Sydney collection is only the fourth largest in Australia … It might also be argued that it is fourth in terms of scope and quality."

I'll stay in my lane regarding all that, but I will say that the soaring space puts on a better lunch than any other gallery in the country.

I can hear Brisbane readers spitting out their morning pineapple. "What about the GOMA restaurant? It has emulsions!" The Queensland museum's fine diner is ambitious, sure, but who wants to spend two hours eating dishes like "tempura veal sweetbread with warm scallop mousse, tamarind and chewy wakame" between exhibitions? Not me.

Other gallery restaurants tack too far the other way with combinations of (a) boxed sandwiches on par with a chicken-and-lettuce from the servo, (b) scones, (c) wraps, (d) stale croissants and (e) a "Mediterranean-style" menu built around out-of-season tomatoes and bog-standard pasta. Enough with the burrata: we surrender!

At Sydney Modern, however, Clayton Wells has created a short menu of familiar dishes with plenty of left-field flavour combinations to keep things interesting.

There's still pasta, but it's rigatoni ($28) kicked up with the razzmatazz of powdered black lime, a Middle Eastern dried citrus. The sauce is further charged by fermented chilli and crimson-red peppers, while a tumble of goat's cheese brings everything together. Do it.

Wells joins the gallery after closing Chippendale's two-hatted Automata in December and his no-bookings eatery is run in partnership with catering group Fresh Collective. It's about five times bigger than Automata, although the exhaust fan-shaped kitchen is probably about the same size. 

Note, this is Mod. Dining by Clayton Wells. In restaurant speak, "by" often means the chef writes the menu and pops in once a week to keep things shipshape. I didn't see Wells on deck any of the times I visited. Maybe the marigold dressing for a room-temperature rock oyster ($6.50 each) wouldn't be quite so oily if he were. Otherwise, the food is generally cracking.

You might grab a wild rice, kimchi and pumpkin bowl ($25) from 10am, or something more substantial at lunch. Just about everyone orders the Old Bay-spiced prawn sandwich ($24). Prawns are minced into a bouncy patty, battered and fried, then bundled with cos, mayonnaise and jalapeno sauce into a pillow-soft roll. It tastes uncannily similar to a McChicken, but at least four times better.

I'm also a fan of the spanner crab noodles ($32) weaponised by miso and textured with charred corn and wood-ear mushrooms. Rainbow trout sharpened with XO and red vinegar ($38) is tasty enough, but juicy tranches of corn-fed chicken ($34), laid over herbed creme fraiche with crunchy gem lettuce, are more satisfying.

There's a short list of Australian wines, two botanical-driven cocktails and one spritz ($18). Boozier drinks such as the negroni aren't offered, presumably because they don't want you smashing into the Anish Kapoor downstairs. Shame, because a martini would be terrific while snacking on puffed salt-and-vinegar pork skins buzzing with madras curry spices ($10).

A glass of Orange's lively Swinging Bridge 2021 Mrs Payten chardonnay ($18) works across most dishes; expertly pulled espressos ($5) are on hand for dessert. That could be silky creme brulee with sherry-spiked prunes ($16) or a strawberry and vanilla cheesecake ($15) that's wonderfully creamy and not too sweet.

Some gripes: there's a queue to be seated at peak times, even when there are many free tables. This may be due to staff shortages, but it also takes an age for our plates to be cleared while three waiters polish glasses. I'm not sold on the space, either. It feels like a sports stadium function room, all sweeping metal and corporate whites. The latte-coloured carpet is already pilling. The view outside is mostly apartment blocks.

Regardless, I'm popping by any time there's a new exhibition. The floor team should get its groove on soon, and Wells promises to keep the menu evolving with fresh ideas. More like this, please, galleries of Australia!

Vibe: Innovative, smart-casual dining for an ambitious space

Go-to dish: Rigatoni with fermented chilli, piquillo peppers, black lime and marinated goat's cheese

Drinks: Fun low- and zero-alcohol options, great coffee and easy-drinking wines by the glass and bottle

Cost: About $110 for two, excluding drinks

This review was originally published in Good Weekend magazine