Three Williams, Redfern

Whenever I’m asked what I consider the best cafe in Sydney to be it’s always a difficult choice and I usually list a few, Three Williams is always featured on the list. Most of the narnies that are served up at Three Williams are amazing, when Miss K and I were invited to a tasting session for their new spring menu the first items that caught our eye were the new narnies (more on that later!).

Crunchy brioche French toast w/ caramel banana, hazelnuts & Belgian chocolate

Aside from the narnies it’s common knowledge that the iconic French toast at Three Williams is a sweet tooth’s dream and another staple on the menu. After finally being able to try the renowned dish I now understand why people rave about it – it was basically layers of decadent chocolate and toppings smothered over a surprisingly soft bread that’s also covered in a crunchy outer layer.

Rewind back to the start of the evening, we were welcomed to a very different Three Williams from what we were used to. After dark the venue has a completely different vibe from the bustling and always busy cafe, the music and the dimmed lights gave it a nice intimate atmosphere akin to a top end restaurant.

The super smoothie served as a starter was great and I loved the hints of apple and banana. The house made soda which was primarily strawberry was a big hit with everyone on the table and emptied out quickly.

As much as I know how popular school prawns can be it’s not something I personally enjoy, Miss K and some others on the table enjoyed it more than I did. They’re kind of like prawn flavoured chips as they’re fried to a crisp, the only thing that bothers me personally is having to eat the whole prawn and knowing what it is!

The first of the two narnies that were to be served turned out to the duck, most of us on the table commented that it seemed like pulled pork. Overall a very tasty narnie with very tender meat served with apple balsamic and aioli, I really liked the addition of sweet roast pears.

If I was to pick the best dish of the night this narnie wins hands down without even sparing thought for the competition. Mushrooms, tick. Spinach, tick. Lots of cheese, tick. Truffles (in any form), tick.

I’m not sure I have enough words to describe how delicious and perfect this narnie was to me. Each bite I took was filled with so much flavour from the mushrooms, cheese and spinach. The slight hints of truffle are definitely what made the dish the best on the menu.

I’ve been eating a lot of salads lately as part of a feeble attempt to counter all the eating out that we’ve been doing. I sometimes feel that salads are a very underrated dish that’s always sidelined in favour of the mains when really they can often be substantial and good enough to be served as a main. This grilled octopus salad was one of the most creative and delicious salads we’ve had, really great choice of ingredients.

I’ve always been a fan of tofu and I find it kind of disappointing that more places don’t do good tofu salads near my workplace. The tofu served in this delicious salad were just as good if not better than a piece of chicken breast, the texture of tofu is great and the feel good factor is always a bonus!

Three Williams chips are amazingly crispy and go so well with the aioli, I hope they normally still serve it in the small Three Williams coffee shot cups which I thought was a nice touch.

The pork loin was a great dish with soft pork and delicious apple puree, black pudding isn’t our thing however so that was left to the others on the table 🙂 The pork itself is slow cooked at a low temperature which gives it an interesting look and texture similar to ham.

Our second main of the night was the wagyu minute steak, a little bit tough for a cut of wagyu but inherently more tender than any other cut. The red wine butter was a really interesting addition that I really liked. If I recall correctly all the mains are priced under $20 which is just right for those looking for a more substantial meal that doesn’t break the wallet.

Miss K was a fan of this despite being really full by this stage. I didn’t realise she liked peas that much until she had the pea puree smothered all over her fish. The dory was very tender and fish is always enjoyable with  lots of lemon drizzled over it 🙂

I would actually love to see Three Williams open in the evening for a dinner menu similar to what Devon Cafe recently started offering – at least on Thursdays to Saturdays. The converted warehouse space has a distinct atmosphere that sets it apart from most restaurants, I really love the open space which would be perfect for large groups or even a function/event in the evenings.

Overall we were both impressed by the new spring menu, the majority of the dishes (maybe not the school prawns) we found to be really good and have once again set the bar even higher. Although we weren’t served coffee because it was an evening meal I can vouch for the amazing coffee which is served here, they use my favourite Single Origin Roasters beans after all!

Mr C and Miss K attended as guests of Three Williams and Wasamedia. All views and opinions expressed in this post are our own.