By now whether you’ve had the chance to visit or not, you’d be familiar with The Inn. Perched atop the beloved Edgars at the Ainslie Shops, it provides a more refined dining area than its sister venue, with its wood-lined bar, concrete walls and moody art deco light fixtures.
While the bistro-themed menu is simple and uncomplicated, it goes above and beyond the expected standards. At first glance you can tell right away that the food is seasonal, with wintery favourites such as Jerusalem artichoke, blood orange, fennel and mushroom accompanying the dishes.
Continuing to pay homage to local produce, the wine list boasts a delightful range of Australian and Canberra wines – for us a bottle of the 2019 Long Rail Gully Shiraz was the pick of the bunch for a cold winters’ night.
If too many dishes catch your eye, the menu is perfect for sharing. To kick us off we started with freshly shucked oysters topped with a Rosé infused granita and scampi roe.
Next up, cured ocean trout with grapefruit, avocado and sea succulents. While the perfect avo can make a dish, the citrus from the grapefruit paired perfectly with the creaminess of the trout.
Getting on to our first meat course, the wagyu skewers were just what you’d expect from MBS 9+ – melt in your mouth. Paired with shitake mushroom, black beans and chilli.
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
Putting an Aussie twist on steak tartare, the Kangaroo tartare with daikon, macadamia and mountain pepper was both interesting and delicious. Using capers as it was traditionally done, they added a lovely salty element, also paired with the saltiness of the cracker.
Onto our quite generous large plates, they had to be the standout dishes of the night. Free range ‘Bannockburn’ chook with Brussel sprouts, kohlrabi and ‘nduja, and Riverine beef short rib with soy caramel and smoked potato mash. Most likely the tastiest Brussel sprouts ever made, paired with the roast chicken it would get any vegetable hater loving a good sprout. And for the sauce, it was simple yet absolutely morish. Leaving the beef to last, the ever satisfying falling off the bone got us straight away and really did taste as good as it looked, with the sticky sweet sauce and buttery mash to accompany it.
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
And of course, there is no better ending than with dessert. New to the menu, our choice was the dark chocolate mousse with grapefruit sorbet and a crunchy brandy-soaked cracker.
While we can only imagine the great vibes of The Inn as it fills up on weekends, it also makes the perfect mid-week casual dinner. Cosy and intimate with attentive staff, it really does feel like a second dining room, as it was intended to be.
For more tasty photos check them out at @theinn.egdars or make a booking on their website.
