Lolli Redini - Orange, NSW

On a cold night, with single digit temperatures, venison does warm the palate. Siting next to me, Chris chose, as mains, the loin of Mandagery Creek venison, garnished by a horseradish cream, generously swamped by slow cooked and spiced red cabbage and richly accompanied by Waru organic beets and a dollop of celeriac gratin. (picture above).  Welcome to the inner sanctum of the Lolli Redini.

A refreshing choice of side serve is having a choice of green coloured vegetables (broccoli and beans in picture above) doused with Le Barre olive oil and a twist of lemon.  My first taste of Lolli was in the ocean trout carpaccio (image below), as topped up by garlic toasts, horseradish remoulade, celeriac, green apple slices and mint leaves.  Remoulade is a French inspired sauce based on mayonnaise or aioli and may contain paprika, capers and anchovies, always popular to accompany seafood dishes.  Celeriac, also referred to as a knob celery, is turnip-rooted. A carpaccio is an Italian appetiser served with a mayonnaise based dressing, first formulated at Harry's Bar in Venecia in the 1950s.

Right in front of me, as served to Cindy, was the twice cooked Wagyu brisket, graced by rosemary flavoured crumbs, broccolini, Jerusalem artichoke puree and glazed Heirloom carrots and swedes (or Rutubaga, the Swedish turnip), gently surrounded by a brisket sauce, great with barbecued meats.

 

The Orange art fraternity do seem to utilise Lolli as a gathering place, and this is evident from the hung art pieces on the walls as you bite into your anticipated morsel of carefully prepared meals.
Contemporary French and Italian inspirations in the dishes, the restaurant recreates an Euro elegance with fine Australian produce from the central west of New South Wales. My impressions, of my night visit to Lolli Redini at Sale Street (nearest cross road is Byng)  in downtown Orange, are:
Atmosphere: Euro yet Aussie - reminders of Tuscany.
Location: In the centre of excellent local produce.
Taste: My pictures do not do it sufficient justice!
People Engagement: The staff member with a French accent was smiling and made useful suggestions of dishes whenever he spoke to guests.  Tall, slim and elegant, I reckon the lady diners would have considered him a big plus to an already good ambiance.
Service:  Attentive.  A possible blip when some of us had mains while the rest had entrees - what is the protocol in this for clearing the plates?
Best Time to Visit:  Dinner (only time opened)
Fav Dish Experienced: Slow roasted Belubula Pork belly, served with a sweet potato puree, wom bok cabbage and caramelised Granny Smith apples.  Belubula is a local river.
Would I Return?:  Whisk me away and deliver me to Simonn and Leah's gem of a restaurant!
Give me the pressed terrine of veal, rabbit and pork, served with a quince paste and a serving of Waru rocket salad and toasted truffle and buttered walnut sourdough.

Charmaine declared the risotto of asparagus, sweet peas, zucchini and parsley, as topped by king prawns from the Spencer Gulf in picture above, as outstanding.

Below, I had my main dish of Belubula pork belly, slow roasted instead of double cooked, providing me a hint of southern Chinese influences and yet with the reminder of Australian flavours in pumpkin and green taste of Granny Smiths.

The comprehensive wine, champagne and aperitifs list includes Pimms, and items from Reims in France and the Tamar Valley in Tassie.  Local Orange produce are illustrated by Ross Hill, Canobolas-Smith and Philip Shaw.