Concrete Playground

I must be getting old. My ears, after years of live music and blaring sound systems, have now decided they are delicate. Perhaps it is the brick walls and narrow build of Bloodwood that makes it a little tough on the auricles, or perhaps it is simply its popularity that turns its volume up.

Hidden down ‘that other half’ of King Street, it is handy before an Enmore gig, and easy from the station. We are told there are no bookings for tables at the Newtown eatery – the Good Food Guide’s 2011 Best Bar with Food – but once we settle in a spot we are told we will have to leave at 8pm, someone a little more persuasive than us wants their seat at that time.

We sit in the upper level of the establishment. Bare light bulbs hang both precariously and artistically from the ceiling. It is hip but not intimidatingly so. Although Asian influences filter through the menu, we have selected those with flavours from France and The Middle East.

The chickpea pancake, reminiscent of a colourful Pro Hart, is a little heavy to eat in its entirety. Indeed, most of dishes are designed to share. A favourite at our table is the charcuterie plate piled high with a myriad of deliciously smoked meats. Judging by the number coming from the kitchen, it is popular all round. The tender grilled cuttlefish salad, with unnecessary mustard cream, nicely balances the meat overload.

Fussy ears aside, we leave satisfied.