Janus
Janus. Who and what is Janus may you ask? I didn’t know
myself. It was not until one random day,
where I was browsing through the Groupon website, that a certain deal captured
my attention. I remember seeing this name in one of the tweets in Twitter, so
decided to send a message out to my friends and bought the deal after we all
agreed on it for out next catch up. After booking a month in advance, the day
finally came and there we were, at Janus on a Friday night.
Janus Italian Sydney is a restaurant that specialises in rustic
Italian cuisine, bistro style. They have a few branches around the Sydney area,
mainly within the CBD. The deal was for their newly opened restaurant in
Westfield’s Sydney, taking over and replacing the previously owned Speido.
It
is located on level 6 of the building, towards the back end of the centre and
occupying a large space. When we reached at 6:30pm, it wasn’t very busy, but it
gradually got busy as we sat there for over two hours!
This deal included an entrée and a main for each person plus
a drink of choice from their menu, excluding cocktails. Four people at $57.00 is
a bargain, but how much of a bargain, we didn’t know till we actually got our
food.
We chose to sit outside as the lighting was better, but unfortunately we
sat next to some plants which had little insects flying about. Tin
Tin got paranoid about the bugs and starting itching and scratching herself. Other than that, it was
nice sitting outside as it was rather dimly lit inside.
We decided to share the food as this allowed us to try more of the
dishes. There was just way too much food on the table and it got bit
overwhelming . Looking and deciding on what to have first was a difficult
choice. In terms of portion size, everything we had was very decent in size and
at times, too much. They were very generous with their serving size.
We each had a drink
each. I had the ‘Batlow Apple Cider ($9.00)’ which was refreshing. I much
preferred this brand of cider over Somersby. It was lighter in taste.
Pork Lover and Tin Tin both wanted juice but unfortunately
no juices were available on the night. They both had the San Pellegrino Italian drinks, ‘Limonata
($4.50)’ and ‘Blood Orange ($4.50)’ respectively. It’s a sparkling beverage.
Chu Chu had the ‘Spritz Aperol ($10.00)’. A alcoholic drink
that is popular had in Italy. She found it a bit too strong for her liking.
The entrees/ starters were all brought out at once.
The ‘Chargrilled Chorizo ($11.00)’ consisted of chorizo, rocket and cherry tomatoes coated in a chill jam. This was cooked very nicely and wasn’t over charred like it usually cooked at other places.
My favourite dish of the night had to be the ‘Salt and Pepper Calamari ($13.00)’ which came with a lemon aioli and rocket salad. Deliciously crunchy calamari coated in a delicious batter.
The ‘Garlic Prawns ($14.00)’ were cooked with a chilli garlic lemon sauce, placed on top of rocket salad. Soft and tender prawns cooked perfectly.
Lastly, the picture perfect ‘Arancini ($12.00)’, are rolled up
balls of mixed buffalo mozzarella, deep fried, and then topped with a wagyu
bolognese sauce. I didn't mind it but not something I would order again.
'Alaskan Crab Linguini ($18.00)' was a nice, subtle pasta dish. It had bits of Alaskan crab, cherry tomatoes and garlic, cooked in a white wine reduction with butter. The pasta is made in house and hand rolled daily so that's a plus.
Next up was the 'Ham e Caramelised Pineapple ($18.00)', which is basically a posh name for a ham, cheese and pineapple pizza. Yes, I know, a boring topping but it actually tasted really good. Loved the thin and crispy crust with the abundance of large ham slices.
Once the 'Caesar Salad ($16.00)' was taken out by the waiter, I was shocked at how big it was. Wood fired chicken, cos lettuce, parmesan cheese, bacon and a perfectly poached egg sat on top of the salad. At least the croutons were stale. Refreshing and light way to balance out the meal.
The 'Wagyu Burger Italiano ($15.00)' is made from Australia beef patty topped with bacon, cheese, lettuce, tomato and tomato chutney. A side of hand cut chips was also included. It was at this moment that I couldn't eat anymore and my stomach was at fully capacity. We struggled to finish everything and this was the last thing I was yet to try. I, however, persisted and went on to try a bit of the burger. Mediocre as the beef was overcooked and burnt at bits.
Nice food and a great place to catch up. Prices are a bit on the steep side if it weren't for the voucher. We all had a good time eating and chatting away, eating as much as we could.
Where?
Shop 6004/5,
Level 6, Westfield Sydney,
188 Pitt St,
Sydney NSW 2000
Australia
Phone no: 02 8072 9140
Opening Hours
Monday - Friday
Breakfast: 7am - 11am
Lunch / Dinner: 11am - 9pm
Saturday - Sunday
Lunch / Dinner: 11am - 9pm
Website
