No pineapple chunks on the menu at this restaurant

Ananas
18 Argyle St
The Rocks, Sydney

I once went to a flashy restaurant in Dublin where they prided themselves on the four vegetables which came with my fish – piles of roast potatoes, mashed potatoes, boiled potatoes and chips.

I was reminded of this when served John Dory at Ananas in the heart of Sydney’s Rocks. The delicate fish came with only three forms of the tuber and were a bit more sophisticated than the Dublin servings – a couple of small mounds of silky mashed potato, a handful of tiny roast potato and a sprinkling of lightly crisp chips along with the soft flaky fillet.

I was also one of the lucky ones that Chef Alan Martin approached to try a few shavings of the last of the season’s black truffle sourced from the Blue Mountains. The unique fragrance gave the fish a rich earthy taste with a soft peppery tang.

Ananas, which is French for pineapple, sees itself as providing a contemporary version of French food but it appeasr to keep pushing the boundaries of what is traditional, coming up with new and sometimes experimental works. The chefs here are more like artists trying to produce food that will excite as well as satisfy.

Before the fish, I had the entrée of blue crab covered with a long mound of avocado, making it look like a large bright green seaslug. The two great flavour were enhanced by fine slices of horseradish.

This was followed by a Nicoise style tuna dish. The slightly seared pepper covered, meaty fish came with small slices of olive and tomato with quails' eggs adding to the layered taste sensations.

After the John Dory came small medallions of deboned rack of lamb. These had a crust of brioche, parsley and thyme along with tiny baby carrots and carrot chips, all this on a bed of ratatouille.

For dessert Alan Martin tried out one of the new creations they hope to add to the menu some time in the future. This consisted of a small cone of lemongrass sorbet along with a chocolate ganache topped with a macaroon and some slices of vegetables. It came with a chilled cider but I settled for the Chateaux Prost sauterne.

The creation had just a few too many flavours, however, and I should have gone for their signature dessert dish – roasted pineapple with caramel, pina colada puree and coconut mousse. But that wasn’t all – then came the après dessert – a plate of macaroons, peanut brownie, éclair, coconut ice and rum ball – but no pineapple lumps.

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