Prithi thought it would be a great idea to introduce Leanne to me and what better place than Sentinel? Prithi and I first met here on a social basis and have been great friends since. It was a brown girl group with Shini coming along.

The Sentinel is conveniently located at the intersection of William Street and St Georges Terrace. I most fondly remember it as a place for a great wine selection and the spot for the beginning of a huge drunken night. The service is amicable so far – but we werent served by a nasty man I remembered from so long ago. Hopefully he has left the service industry.

The food is as good as I remember. I wish they had the duck Prithi and I loved so much but alas, that as a long time ago.

We started with some salt cod croquettes in a red pepper sauce ($12). This was a hit with the group which really isn’t surprising. Eating it, I realised it tasted similar to this south Indian fish cutlets I made recently (with fresh fish and mashed potato). Crispy crumbs on the outside, mashed potato mixed with salt cod.

I think our tastes were really similar. So instead of 4 different dishes at the table, we had 2 of the same dishes. No regrets. It was fabulous.

The fish of the day was Rankin Cod with smoked potato and white bean puree ($37.50). This was fabulous. The cod was soft and juicy while its skin remain crisp, the mashed potato smelled fabulously smoky (and tasted smoky too…) and the tangy chunky tomato and olive sauce combined everything beautifully.

I really loved the Gnocchi with roast fig, hazelnuts, radicchio and goats cheese ($26). I contemplated the perfect gnocchi and I realised I love gnocchi that is pan fried on the outside so its slightly chewy but pillowy, fluffy soft on the inside. Is that the perfect gnocchi? If so, this was pretty much it. The roast fig was still firm and gave the dish its sweetness – much needed because it contrasted with bitter radicchio. I love the nuttiness those roasted hazelnuts gave… Overall the dish tasted like it had a burnt butter flavour to it – gorgeous.

The Chocolate parfait, baked banana, salted caramel ($13) was not what I’d expect. The baked banana wasn’t soft, the salted caramel didnt come in a sauce – but crisps. It was a little underwhelming in the salted sense. I liked the ‘mud’ that it all sat upon; it went beautifully with the cold chocolate parfait.

The Creme Brulee, Passion Fruit, mango and lime ($11) was slightly better; possibly because the dessert chef is French! The creme brulee was really creamy and rich. If I remembered correctly, it was also surprisingly spicy!