Denise Irvine says yes to Trust the Chef at Thyme Square

I’ve always liked the notion of a “trust the chef” dinner, those occasions when you put the menu aside at a restaurant and say to staff, “please just cook us something that you know we’ll love”. And you’ve got no idea what will happen next.

Thyme Square in Hamilton East takes this to the next level with its Trust the Chef dining option, and on a recent Tuesday night delivered a real treat to our table of six. We’d gathered in honour of a mutual friend who had died in Brisbane; we were raising a glass to him and remembering all the good food and wine we’d enjoyed together.

Some of these occasions were at a Julian’s, a much earlier eatery in the vintage Thyme Square premises on Grey St. So it seemed like the right place to do the glass raising. Thyme Square is BYO, wine corkage is free on Tuesdays, and we were very well looked after, from go to whoa. Owner Logan Murray was having a rare night off, chef Ericson Pasqua was on the tools in the kitchen with Astraea Miller running front of house. So a team of two, and they didn’t miss a beat.

We’d chosen  the two-course Trust the Chef option – entrée and main, $75 a head – and there was a complimentary platter of garlicky, warm-from-the-oven bread to peck at (or hoover) while chef cooked our entrée.

We started with fragrant pork cheek char siu on saffron-pickled apples and quince, and celeriac puree on the side. The pork was crispy on the outside, meltingly tender in the middle, the dish was sticky and sweet, the richness neatly cut with the celeriac puree. Everything in harmony, the chorus at the table sang its praises.

The main was Beef Wellington, a culinary classic that has become something of a signature dish at Thyme Square:  eye fillet, mushrooms and prosciutto encased in pastry, and the challenge, always, with this is to cook all the elements perfectly. No one wants under-done pastry and over-done beef.

 Chef Ericson did the perfect rendition – pink, tender fillet, crisply textured pastry, earthy mushrooms, sweet and salty prosciutto – and he brought the dishes to the table, talked us through the flavours.  He’d plated the BW with green leaves, a velvety miso beurre blanc and burnt onion powder, the sauce providing a divine hit of umami. It was tempting to lick the plate.

We left the cosy little eatery feeling well-fed, and well looked after, and we’d liked the element of surprise as the dishes arrived. A memorable meal and our late friend had been well honoured.

• Thyme Square, 259 Grey St, Hamilton East, is open Tuesday-Saturday for dinner. Trust the Chef is available each night, along with an a la carte menu Wednesday-Saturday. On Tuesdays, there is only Trust the Chef available. Corkage is free that night, with a fee on other nights. There are several different options and courses, including desserts, for Trust the Chef, and dietary requirements are noted.