Zucchini flowers… stuffed with semi-soft Scamorza. Photo: Wendy Johnson

Pambula Sydney Rock Oysters… although quite small, looked pretty on the plate. Photo: Wendy Johnson

Baby cos lettuce salad… with pickled shallot and buttermilk dressing. Photo: Wendy Johnson

Duck liver parfait… served with three slices of sourdough. Photo: Wendy Johnson

Riverina Angus Sirloin… rare, and came sliced for ease of serving. Photo: Wendy Johnson

Sailors Mussels… this French dish cooks mussels in white wine, shallots, garlic and herbs. Photo: Wendy Johnson

“We popped in for lunch. Given that the Monster Kitchen’s main restaurant is only open for dinner, we settled into a table in the casual dining area tucked into a corner on the ground floor of Ovolo Nishi,” writes dining reviewer WENDY JOHNSON. 

“The Monster is an omnivore”. This website declaration signals a switch in Monster Kitchen and Bar’s menu from solely plant-based to meat and plant dishes.

We popped in for lunch. Given that the main restaurant is only open for dinner, we settled into a table in the casual dining area tucked into a corner on the ground floor of Ovolo Nishi. 

We lucked in with a place near the window, brightening our experience with natural light. 

Let’s start with the mains from the bar menu on offer, which were our favourites by far. Sharing was our aim to taste test a wider range of dishes. 

Our Sailors Mussels were classic. This French dish cooks mussels in white wine, shallots, garlic and herbs. The mussels were plump and arrived with lots of sauce and a large slice of sourdough. It was a true taste sensation, and my only comment was that the sauce was lukewarm, not hot. The dish was good value for $26.

As ordered, our Riverina Angus Sirloin ($32) was rare, and came nicely sliced for ease of serving. It was smothered with a red wine butter and accompanied by a mound of fries. Had we known the serve of fries would be so generous we wouldn’t have ordered an additional side, feeling we may need more because we were sharing. This award-winning black Angus beef was tasty and tender. 

Working backwards to the smaller plates we shared, our Pambula Sydney Rock Oysters, although quite small, looked pretty on the plate and were the right temperature ($36 for half a dozen). The menu’s promise of fermented rhubarb and basil oil drew us in. These ingredients added wonderful colour to the dish, but we found the overall result too acidic for our liking.

We’re big fans of zucchini flowers ($9 each). These were stuffed with semi-soft Scamorza and arrived with a spoonful of chimichurri on top. The consensus was they were too oily. 

A large slab of pale duck liver parfait was next, served with three slices of sourdough ($26). Thankfully, the parfait arrived with spiced plum jam, needed to elevate the taste. 

Disappointing was the baby cos lettuce salad ($18). It was not broken up, making the steak-sized slices challenging to cope with (and we weren’t given extra cutlery to slice it for sharing). The slices of pickled shallot overwhelmed the buttermilk dressing. 

Some plant-based dishes are still on the menu at Monster Kitchen and Bar, including a braised cabbage dish with red wine lentils, pickled onion and fresh herbs ($35, making it more expensive than the steak).

While our table was comfortable, I would say that at lunchtime Monster Kitchen and Bar lacked atmosphere, at least on our visit.