Putting the Luke into Luke's Kitchen

Luke Mangan is everywhere. He's on ships (P&O), planes (Virgin), in hotels (Hilton Sydney), at the airport (Chicken Confidential), and in Singapore and Tokyo (Salt Grills).

What I didn't expect was for him to be here tonight, putting the Luke into Luke's Kitchen, the 70-seat restaurant that was formerly his Mojo wine bar.

"I'm on bread duty tonight," he says cheerfully, bringing Iggy's pull-apart sourdough bread rolls and his own Luke Mangan olive oil and dukkah to the table.

Well that's a turn-up for the books. Aren't celebrity chefs meant to be out there being celebrities, rather than in there being chefs? He may not exactly be sweating over a hot stove, having appointed long-serving Manganite Matt Leighton as head chef, but staff say the boss is currently here almost every night.

That's the thing about Mangan. He's an old-fashioned operator. He turns up, runs his business, talks to his customers and finances his own industry awards and training programs.

He builds his brand, expanding it to include his own wines, olive oils, spice mixes, knives and aprons. He even chooses the (Dean Martin, Jackson Five, Paul Simon) playlist.

Now, he's flipped the streetwise Mojo into a wood-panelled and mirrored dining room with a larger area and open kitchen to the rear for events. It's still rough-and-ready, roller-door warehouse material, but now with added comfort, soft lighting, flowers, and a caring GM in Daniel Whitelaw.

And he's rolled out the trolleys, for table-side cocktails and desserts. Great idea, but gueridon service calls for more confidence and showmanship than we get from a hesitant barman mixing the Australian ($18), the signature cocktail that, strangely, has no Australian components.

The menu is designed to please, from healthy weekend brunches to meaty share dishes, tasting menus, high-end seafood and even duck truffle cheese toastie.

Hold the phone, did I just say duck truffle cheese toastie? It's treated like royalty, the shredded confit duck meat not jaffled, but sandwiched in white bread with truffled mushroom paste, mozzarella, cheddar and truffled pecorino ($25), pressed until crisp and golden and – more decadence – topped with a soft-poached duck egg.

Tempura quail ($22) is well-cooked if bland, served with radish salad and kimchi. A large WA marron ($48), split and thrown on a hot charcoal grill, is finished in the oven with a red wine and shallot butter. It's served with frazzled figs and char-grilled Roman beans that don't quite go, but that sweet, smoky meat is a treat.

The Mangan signature is a nicely worked Inglewood chicken ($31), in which a mousse-like farce made from the leg and thigh meat, tarragon and chicken livers is formed around breast meat, wrapped with chicken skin and pan-roasted. It's an elegant dish, with its smooth cauliflower puree and light dressing of diced tomato and tarragon.

Rocky road is a hoot, composed from scratch at your table by the chef for a think-twice $39 to share.

They say it's for two, but four might be more sustainable, given the rich white chocolate mousse, chocolate brownie, marshmallows, cranberries, toasted hazelnuts, honeycomb, fresh berries, mint sauce and final drizzle of dark chocolate. It's like going to the Royal Easter Show and eating all the showbags.

Michelin stars, it's not, but a return to good-value, good-times, tick-all-the-boxes dining out, it is. Anyone else thinking Mother's Day?

The low-down

Luke's Kitchen

Vegetarian Respectable, from curried banana chips to potato gnocchi with mushroom and kale, with occasional specials.

Drinks Bespoke cocktails mixed table-side, local craft beers, and a solid wine list with good-value Luke Mangan Yering Estate chardy, rose and pinot.

Go-to dish Duck truffle cheese toastie, $25.

Pro tip Do not attempt the Rocky Road dessert for just two, or you might go out on a sugar high. Three or four to share, sweet.

Terry Durack is chief restaurant critic for The Sydney Morning Herald and senior reviewer for the Good Food Guide. This rating is based on the Good Food Guide scoring system.