The menu at Two Blind Mice is intriguing, with new creations and European twists and turns on classics, such as the feast-for-the-eyes beef tartare, hand cut and created with eschalots, chives and chilli, writes dining critic WENDY JOHNSON.

IT’S fabulous to see young entrepreneurs rise through the ranks from junior hospitality roles to owners of exciting ventures. 

Sam Carlini, who has been in the industry for a l-o-o-ong time now, having started as a young teenager, is living the dream with his new Two Blind Mice pub at Curtin shops. Locals and Canberrans are loving it.

Two Blind Mice is casual, but stylish; serious-about-food but not snobby and suburban but cool.

The menu is intriguing, with new creations and European twists and turns on classics, such as the feast-for-the-eyes beef tartare, hand cut and created with eschalots, chives and chilli. A perfect, bright egg yolk sat on top and the tartare was circled with potato crisps ($22). 

Before the tartare we shared a simple but sensational potato and four cheese pizza ($24) – thinly sliced potato, mozzarella, gorgonzola, ricotta and parmesan with rosemary sprinkled about. The pizza menu is divided into rossa and bianca bases with the dough perfected after much trial and error. Sam and his fiancée built the impressive (and massive) pizza oven themselves over seven days. 

Fish-and-chip fans will be delighted with the presentation and flavours of the Two Blind Mice version ($35). The whole butterflied snapper is crumbed but not overly so, the tartare sauce creamy with just the right tang and the side salad fresh and featuring colourful radish, fennel, orange and dill sprigs. 

Equally impressive was the generous serve of butterflied prawns ($26) with the piquant, spicy chermoula, dill and pickled chilli. My friend summed up his dish with a loud and enthusiastic “Huzza!”. Like many Two Blind Mice menu options, this was gluten free and dairy free. 

Two of us shared the super-moist, spiced half chicken ($30) with sweet-peppery kohlrabi and celeriac rémoulade and a decadent, smooth gravy. We celebrated the salty shoestring fries. 

Grilled broccolini in burnt lemon miso butter. Photo: Wendy Johnson

The butterflied prawns with spicy chermoula, dill and pickled chilli. Photo: Wendy Johnson

Whole, butterflied, crumbed snapper with a side salad featuring colourful radish, fennel, orange and dill sprigs. Photo: Wendy Johnson

 Potato and four cheese pizza… thinly sliced potato, mozzarella, gorgonzola, ricotta and parmesan sprinkled with rosemary. Photo: Wendy Johnson

Two Blind Mice – Spiced Half Chicken. Photo: Wendy Johnson

Our least fave dish was the grilled broccolini, although it was challenging to pinpoint why. Perhaps the miso butter was a tad strong ($16).

We’re often too stuffed for desserts but there was no way we were passing up the salted lemon tart ($17), with burnt meringue and vanilla mascarpone. A glorious ending.

The wine list is inspiring with a good range by the glass ($10 to $14). Our Mada Rose 21 (Canberra District) was $60 a bottle.

Two Blind Mice has indoor and outdoor dining. The music selection suits the place, and the volume is just right. Massive windows ensure great air circulation inside.

Hat’s off to Sam for hiring some young locals with no industry experience and training them up. Two Blind Mice is ironing out “new operation kinks” and soliciting and listening to customer feedback. Good on them.