305 Restaurant and Cafe, Maitland

Where: 305 High Street, Maitland

Prices: Starters, $6.50 to $17.50; entrees, $26.50; mains, $38.50 to $42.50; sides, $9.50; desserts, $16.50; cheese, $26.50

Chef: Daniel Kibble

Wines: Mainly Hunter, with some interesting additions from other premium Australian regions and NZ,

with a few from France; eight by the glass

Hours: Lunch, Tuesday to Saturday, 11.30am to 2.30pm; dinner, Tuesday to Saturday from 6pm

Vegetarian: One bruschetta, one entree, one main

Bookings: 4933 9989

Bottom line: Entree, main, dessert, $135 for two without wine

It’s the little things that count. A miniature glass containing salmon, pickled ginger and micro herbs as an amuse bouche; a palate-cleanser of house-made yoghurt with a spoonful of strawberry granita on top; rich ganache-filled chocolates with excellent coffee; and a personal farewell as we leave. It’s the presentation of the bottle for inspection when ordering by the glass and the fine Riedel

glassware that matches the wine.

On the last visit, Daniel Kibble’s food was full of flavour and in keeping with the times, but times have moved on and so has the food. His cooking and presentation is now so much

more assured and elegant without sacrificing an iota of flavour.

We skip the ‘‘To Start’’ list and head straight for the entrees.

Three small scrolls of velvety Atlantic salmon gravlax alternating with two discs of finely diced and cooked tomato and shallot are arranged diagonally across a square white plate. The tomato discs are crowned with a small quenelle of horseradish and chive aioli. Tiny halved quail eggs topped with a few pearls of salmon roe and strategically placed dots of more aioli complete the picture. This is all very clever matching.

A memorable meal prepared by Serge Dansereau at The Bathers’ Pavilion at Balmoral Beach several years ago was my first experience of the pairing of scallops and oxtail. On that occasion the shredded oxtail was presented as a cre´ pinette (a sausage shape encased in pig’s caul). This time it’s in a tortellini sitting between two plump, seared scallops in a sea of saffron be´ arnaise sauce; an interesting change from the usual scallops and pork belly.

The mains are tersely labelled; venison, beef, lamb, duck, sea trout, bird, vegetable. It would have been good to have local venison but this dish is hard to pass up.

Juniper and pink pepper crust the venison fillets. You are warned; the venison will be rare. It’s more than rare (the French would call it ‘‘bleu’’) but I don’t mind. Much more cooking would turn this very lean meat to cardboard. It

could have been trimmed of some lingering connective tissue but that’s a minor quibble.

The sweetness of the poached beurre bosc pear and celeriac puree complements the gamey meat with a well-flavoured jus, some baby carrots and a few cylinders of potato gnocchi just adding to the pleasure.

The beef is a revelation. Gippsland organic, 10 grade, 220g fillet has been roasted, well rested then sliced to reveal its pink perfection.

More slow-cooked oxtail combined with shallot creates a boudin (skinless sausage) which supports the slices of beef. Caramelised onions in a rich gravy combine to make sauce Lyonnaise; and the vegetables are tiny beetroot and golden cocktail onions.

Chocolate Delice is a pull-no-punches celebration of chocolate with some portmacerated prunes bringing fruity relief. They perch on a cylinder of layered chocolate; dark

chocolate biscuit, milk chocolate, then dark chocolate mousse. For me, the highlight is the scoop of hazelnut gelato alongside.

It’s good to see this place going quietly from strength to strength. May it long survive.