When you think of a typical Australian restaurant, you often fall into the stereotype of brunch or steakhouse. And rarely do we hear anyone say, ‘Oh, I really want to go to an Australian restaurant tonight.’ Yet we risk missing out on a unique experience.
Located in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village, Acru is the first restaurant from chef-partner Daniel Garwood (previously sous-chef at two-Michelin-starred Atomix). In the main room, Acru offers a tasting menu inspired by international techniques and flavors, drawing on Chef Garwood’s Australian roots and a decade of experience at some of the world’s best restaurants.
The simple yet welcoming venue is perfect for a romantic evening and to discover dishes inspired by Australian, Korean and Scandinavian flavours and techniques, prepared by chef and partner Daniel Garwood, originally from Tasmania and a former student of Atomix, one of the pioneers of fine Korean cuisine in the city.
“It’s a funny one. If you look at the way people perceive [Australian food] here, it’s avo toast. You go to places like Ruby’s for a bacon-and-egg sandwich in the morning or something,” Garwood said in an interview. “There aren’t really any dishes that ‘define’ Australia, you know. I think Australian cuisine is a frame of mind – how we work and how we work towards things. How I see it, and what we’re trying to do here, is define the Australian dinner and our casual culture.”
Acru’s cuisine is a very refined and never predictable project, however. The restaurant offers New Yorkers a tasting menu ($95 for six courses) that, until recently, was nearly unknown.
Among the various dishes are chicken and mushrooms under a very thin slice of lard; a fragrant portion of monkfish liver, calamari and carrots; and a very tender strip of lamb belly (Garwood says lamb is an ingredient rarely used in the United States) glazed in something called “seamite,” Garwood’s version of the iconic black cream made with sea lettuce and seaweed.
The dessert course is more irreverent and playful, with revisits of the Golden Gaytime ice creams and fig leaf lamingtons, both inspired by Garwood’s Australian childhood.
The nods to “Australianness” on the menu are subtle. Some dishes almost seem like inside jokes that only Australians would understand. But they are always creative and, above all, fun.
