Overview
With a decade of degustations under his belt, British-born chef Nelly Robinson needs no introduction to Sydney diners. At his flagship restaurant NEL, Robinson's carefully crafted and often theatrical multi-course cuisine has earned him a reputation as a culinary showman, and at first glance, the menu of his latest venture shares the same show-stopping hallmarks of this signature mode of cooking. However, a closer look reveals Winstons — a tasting menu restaurant dedicated to championing British fare — as a departure for this trailblazing chef. Rather than leaning into whimsy and wow factor, Robinson's first new venue since opening NEL in 2015 channels a more intimate, nostalgic spirit with a seven-plate meal (priced at $85 per person) that is as much a memoir tracing Robinson's personal and professional life as it is an homage to the flavours and culture of the UK.
This venue within a venue is the fine-dining concept at the Nags Head Hotel in Glebe — a classic corner pub that has been pulling pints in Sydney's Inner West since 1836. While there are plenty of boozers in Sydney that can claim to have an excellent food offering, Robinson insists Winstons is the first true gastropub in Australia. While this might raise an eyebrow or two, Robinson's definition follows in the lauded footsteps of the chef-led pub ventures that have thrived in the UK, including Heston Blumenthal's Michelin-starred The Hind's Head in Bray, Jason Atherton's pioneering nose-to-tail diner The Blind Pig and The Three Fishes, helmed by Robinson's former mentor Nigel Haworth.
"I was training with Nigel [Haworth] when I was 17 and that's when he decided to open the first gastropub in the UK. I was fortunate enough to be part of that opening team, so seeing that you can take restaurant-level food and do it like that, in that setting, that's been in my brain ever since," Robinson shares. However, it wasn't until the owners of The Nags Head, Momento Hospitality, approached Robinson about a collaboration that this decades-old dream was finally realised.
The fitout is traditional but stylish, resisting the low-hanging fruit of pub trinkets and hokey trimmings that could make the space feel like a parody. Parquet flooring, polished wood finishes, forest green leather banquettes and a collection of antique prints set the scene without stealing it.
The meal begins with three snacks honouring quintessential British flavours. A delicate tart of prawn dressed with caviar is a light, bright mouthful of the sea to awaken the palate followed by a rich twist on coronation chicken, featuring a gently spiced filling between two slices of fried bread. Finally, a scotch egg, with a perfectly fudgy quail's egg yoke at its centre, brings the first course to a close with perhaps the most faithfully produced dish of the evening.
For better or worse, stodge is an unavoidable part of many British dishes, but Robinson proves that there is a place for dense, hearty textures when executed with finesse. A bread course of pillow-soft crumpets is transformed into one of the menu's best bites courtesy of whipped chicken-fat butter topped with a chook skin crisp.
With his clever and inventive degustations at NEL, Robinson has shown time and again that he is as much a storyteller as he is a chef. This is also true at Winstons, where the menu is liberally seasoned with personal resonances and touching anecdotes. The most charming of these has inspired a verdant and delightfully sweet pea soup, topped with golden-brown crumbed leek fritters, in tribute to Robinson's grandfather, whose questionable attempts at the same recipe often turned out to be more sludgy than soupy.
Given its stature as the world's second-best dish of 2023, according to the TatseHunters of The World's 50 Best Restaurants judging panel, it was all but inevitable that Robinson's beef cheek Wellington would be the main event of Winstons' debut offering. The meat is marinated in black, pink and pepperberry peppercorns, slow-cooked for 15 hours and pulled into succulent shreds before being wrapped in a mushroom duxelles and parsley pancake and finally encased in spelt pastry. While purists might wince at shredding the meat instead of using a solid loin, it's hard to fault a dish that delivers such depth and balance of flavour — a Wellington truly deserving of its world-leading status.
Another story Robinson shares with his diners comes in the form of a melting ginger parkin — a humble slab cake from the chef's native Yorkshire. This sticky, slightly spiced treat was one of the first dishes Robinson ever attempted as a child, so it seems more than apt that at a restaurant that draws so essentially from his fondest food memories, the meal should end where this visionary chef began.
Images: David Griffen
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