Kindred

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 What makes a neighbourhood gem? I would say a neighbour gem must have a homely feel, a buzzing atmosphere, some friendly staff and some hearty, unpretentious, delicious food. Kindred fulfils all of these criteria, and on the food front, absolutely exceeds expectations. The chef's menu, at $58 per person, is possibly the best value degustation I have seen in a long time, and truly showcases the breadth of Kindred's offerings. 

First, we have a smoked trout dip  with pickled onion on lavosh. It certainly lives up to its purpose: being the amuse bouche, it is salty, deep and immediately wakes up the taste buds. 


The bread at Kindred is every bit as good as those from Kitchen By Mike (which anyone who knows me would know has my absolute favourite sourdough - I've written all about it here). It is chewy, fluffy, crusty, and dangerously moreish. I had to resist the urge to finish the giant piece with which we were presented so I had room for all the other deliciousness to come. 


This is the carrot triangoli, which is a beautiful little dumpling filled with pureed carrot. It is gently sweet and creamy, swimming in a pool of brown butter, goat's cheese pistachios. Absolutely divine. 


Those who turn their nose up at raw beef are truly missing out. The beef carpaccio at Kindred is paper-thin, delicate, and beautifully flavoured with capers, gherkins, dollops of pumpkin seed aioli and 24 month parmesan. The sourdough crouton is crispy and salty, and the salad adds just a little bit of bitter freshness. 

We all know mushrooms are wonderfully umami, but I had not expected them to be so delicious when served with gnocchi. Not even a hint of stodginess could be found in these soft, pillowy goodness, and the deep, earthy mushroom broth works perfectly with the sweet corn puree, king brown mushrooms and oyster mushrooms. 


Pappardelle is my favourite kind of pasta. Wide ribbons cooked to perfection to scoop up all the goodness from slow-cooked Ranger Valley beef shin ragu and portobello mushrooms, this is one satisfying dish.


This is a cabbage salad with currants, pine nuts, and absolutely drenched in buttermilk dressing. Crunchy? Tick. Fresh? Tick. Flavourful? Tick, tick, tick. This salad works particularly well with the pasta. 


I will be the first to put my hand up and admit I am no Tiramusu fan. The one at Kindred, however, it lovely and soft, satisfying and lovely. It could be a tad more boozy, but if I'm being completely honest, when it's so well-made, I'm not even mad that there is hardly any happy-liquid to be tasted. 


Finally, the most wonderful end to a most wonderful meal: fig leaf semi freddo sandwich served with charred nectarines. Fig leaf is a particularly unusual flavour, I have never tried it before and I fell in love almost immediately: it has an almost-citrusy freshness that is so fragrant yet delicate; a little like virgin olive oil drizzled on ice-cream. 

Apart from the beautiful food, Kindred also has a decent wine list with some interesting wines - highly recommend having a glass to accompany all the wonderful food. 

Score: 5/5
Price: $60-$80pp
Address: 137 Cleveland St, Darlington NSW
Website: https://www.kindredrestaurant.com.au/

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