Mosman’s Me-Gal restaurant is a room with a zoo (and a view)

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It’s dark on the path through the Wildlife Retreat at Taronga. I hear a rustle in the bushes, and fear a little Compsognathus dinosaur from Jurassic Park is going to leap out in front of me. But no. The animals are all a-sleeping, apart from the nocturnal ones. It’s the humans that are a-stirring; ordering spritzes and nibbling on sourdough bread and Humpty Doo barramundi with soy and ginger.

They gather in the second-floor dining room, officially opened to the public on March 30 by catering group Trippas White. The Wildlife Retreat accommodation launched in 2019, with 61 rooms and suites surrounded by natural bushland and the odd echidna, koala, carpet python and tammar wallaby.

It’s too dark to see the wildlife from up here, and besides, the view from the slow curve of picture windows is too dazzling. It’s like flying into Sydney and landing on the harbour, taking in the Harbour Bridge, Opera House, city skyline and more shoreline either side, from Kirribilli to Rose Bay. Quite extraordinary. Me-Gal, by the by, is the Cammeraygal word for “tears”, a poetic reference to the saltwater.

A restaurant run by a catering group can often feel more like a “venue”, with food reminiscent of a decent wedding reception; but this manages to break the mould. The dining space is extremely comfortable, with padded booths, broad timber tables, and bubbly waitstaff. It’s booked solid on a Tuesday evening, with large family tables, foursomes of local Mosman residents, and quite a few lovey-dovey couples who have wandered up from their wildlife cabins.

Group executive chef Stefan Schroeder’s menu sprinkles contemporary trends with native ingredients. Stuffed zucchini flowers come with wattleseed ricotta and macadamia crumble; and compressed watermelon with Persian feta, mountain pepper, lemon balm and radish.

A few trends from the noughties have survived, such as that compressed watermelon (infused with flavours while sealed in Cryovac), and the preference for lining up bibs and bobs of ingredients as a garden path on the plate.

Petuna ocean trout carpaccio comes in a garden path, for instance, with baby cucumber, edamame, and little buttons of creme fraiche ($31). It’s pretty and pleasant enough, with a glass of complex, finely structured 2022 Grosset Springvale Riesling ($22/$98). Louella Mathews’ Australian-led wine list is a sweetie, with on-point tasting notes on the Grosset listed as “dry, grapefruit zest, white peach, wet stones, long length”.

A restaurant run by a catering group can often feel more like a ‘venue’, with food reminiscent of a decent wedding reception; but Me-Gal breaks the mould.

The kitchen gives a couple of split Skull Island prawns the Aussie barbie treatment ($44), sending them out under a tangle of pickled onion, coriander and a splodge of labne. Getting the sweet prawn meat off the shell is tricky, but a young staff member turns up bearing unsolicited finger bowls; a courteous touch.

Larger plates are either for the table to share, like slow-roasted Flinders Island lamb shoulder ($110), or formed as main courses, like Hawkesbury calamari ($40), tossed with baked kipfler potatoes, chargrilled lime and too much feisty, buttery dressing spiced up with ’nduja.

A vibrant beetroot risotto strewn with fresh watercress could have been one-dimensional but for the sweet earthiness of the vegetable singing through the rice and parmigiano, and the spoonful of lemon myrtle ricotta on top. Pair it with a bright and spicy 2021 Yangarra GSM (grenache, mourvedre, shiraz) from McLaren Vale ($18/$85), aptly described as “pomegranate, cured meats, black pepper”.

Dessert is a well-mannered round cacao tart of milk chocolate ganache, topped with a balancing act of poached pear balls and candied walnuts, with another formal line-up of Chantilly cream, lemon myrtle sponge cake and oabika gel (made from the concentrated juice of the pulp of the cacao pod). Again, pleasant enough.

It’s around this time that the real charm of Me-Gal insinuates itself. Nobody is rushing anyone, or turning over the tables, as they would in the hardscrabble of the CBD. People are lingering longer, almost mesmerised by the view. It’s almost peaceful. I know we’re in the middle of a zoo, but maybe don’t come here looking for wildlife.