Dining out: Carré Noir

We were looking for a light lunch, just somwhere close- like Chatswood but got bored at the thought of the usual places like New Shanghai or Ozeki. As much as I love those places, sometimes, you just feel like new things, right? So we decided to try out the new brasserie- Carré Noir at the new Concourse for lunch. When it first opened, I had a quick peek at their menu and was surprised that a cafe would serve both European and Japanese cuisine- not a fusion but it was like literally having two separate menus for the two cuisines. But now, it appears they've changed that and focus solely on the European counterpart and I think that's a good thing as it matches better with their ambience. What I loved most about it was probably the ever so relaxed outdoor atmosphere. The food was overall good too, with nice presentation and reasonable, if not satisfying portions. And the chips.... oh boy, they were to die for. Crunchiest chips ever- hands down. I could eat them all day- no soggy bits!

So here are some of the things we ordered: 

Beef Salad: Lightly grilled veal with cucumber, tomatoes, mixed leaves, beetroot, roasted cashew nuts with chef's special dressing. ($19)
The beef was nice and flavouresome- had a South-East Asian tone in terms of spice. Unfortunately, despite being written off as 'lightly grilled', the meat was overcooked and a little tough. But it was a very refreshing salad with perfect amount of dressing.

The CN Burger: Homemade special grilled rissole, bacon, tasty cheese, lettuce, pickled onion, tomato, beetroot and BBQ sauce served with chips ($17)
It had all the right ingredients needed for a good burger, but again the patty was a little on the dry side, would've liked it if it was more moist. But as I said, the chips were just delish!

Scaloppini Al Funghi: Pan seared slice veal cooked in white wine infused mushroom sauce, served with chips and salad ($23.5)
This was a bit of a letdown because I was expecting a very rich sauce when in fact, it was quite bland really, couldn't really pick up on the wine or the mushroom at all and the veal was very dense and was not at all tender. 

Rib Eye Cutlet: Char grilled 350g rib eye cutlet served with mashed potato, steamed vegetables and choice of sauce mushroom, peppercorn or plain gravy. ($27)
We chose the plain gravy one and requested it to be cooked to medium. It came out with very tender meat, mashed potatoes were average but all in all, it was good meat and pretty good value.

We also ordered some mushroom and chicken risotto which was yum but personally, I always find it too sickening to plate down a whole portion of risotto, so I just had a few spoonfuls. Overall, I'm quite pleased with the service, it was attentive, water was brought to the table even before we ordered without asking but could do with a little more smile perhaps. But I'll definitely be back for a quick lunch with friends or family when we just want some 'chill-time'.

Carre Noir
Chatswood Concourse
Ground Level, Shop 1, 405-411 Victoria Ave 
Chatswood NSW 2067
(02) 9411 1001
http://www.carrenoir.com.au/