Pucca is a newish addition to the Noosa area fine dining scene. It combines a fashionable eating area and bar, with interior and al fresco table service. It has been open for some two years now and is part of a revival of the dining scene in the Noosa Junction strip.
The Restaurant
The food offering is fine dining Indian, with a special emphasis on Southern Indian cuisine – lots of fish and crustacean dishes.
Neal White is the head chef. He is well credentialed with stints in Michelin starred restaurants in Europe and the UK, including Gordon Ramsay’s. He is ably joined by Cecyl Ducat and John Forrester, to create an elegant dining experience with special emphasis on South Indian cuisine. Neil says that after working in Europe for some time he came back to Australia when his father was ailing. His dad is from Kerala in the south of Indian. Neil decided to use his Michelin training to create a unique blend of Kerala style cuisine. He has succeeded well. Neil told me that he has a new South Korean Sous chef who is also a great asset.
Cecyl is the sommelier. His French background is shown in the excellent wine list which combines the best of Australia and Europe. There is even the choice of 500ml red and whites, including an excellent Loire Valley sauvignon blanc. It didn’t disappoint. There are many occasions when a full bottle is just a bit too much, especially if you are keen to try a cocktail before a meal. It is a treat to have such a good wine list in an Indian restaurant. I noted that some of the regulars also bought a good bottle of their own, although the restaurant is not advertised as BYO. Apparently, you can BYO on Thursday night.
John Forrester is clearly a professional maitre’d. There is an easy atmosphere at Pucca, but the service is first class.
There is a large dining space outside, which is where we dined. Families are welcome for an early sitting. There were a number of couples with young babies, which may sound daunting, but it wasn’t.
As with every decent restaurant in Noosa these days, booking is essential.
Cocktails
Well, it is a gin bar, so we had to have a gin. The gin special on the day was a blood orange gin.
It was a refreshing gin and a good palate cleanser for the food to come.
I must note that the following day we went to the Pomona Majestic Theatre to see Rudy Valentino in a silent movie – an absolute must if you are in the area. An original Wurlitzer organ provides the accompaniment. This is the oldest continuously running silent movie house in the world!.
I digress, prior to the movie we managed to buy a large bag of blood oranges at the local farmers market, which kept us in blood orange gin’s for the rest of our stay.
Tip: Go to the Pomona or Yandina markets on a Saturday. They are easier to access than Noosa Markets, and have greater variety. The fresh pasta at the Yandina markets is amazing.
The Menu
Starters
First off – “Dad’s Puchka’s”. A puchka is a form of street food very popular in Kolkata, a puffed pani puri, with chickpear masala and coriander. A pani puri is a fried flat bread filled with various vegetables, usually potato, onion or chickpeas.
Then: Buttered Sweet Corn Chat Masala; Crispy Okra Pakora, with a chilli chutney (Pakora is a spiced fritter – in this case made with Okra a favourite Indian vegetable). Spiced Lamb Curry Puff ; and our favourite Spanner Crab Samosa.
The spanner crab samosa was my favourite. You could actually taste the crab! BUT
TERED SWEETCORN CHAT MASAL
Entrees
Angus Fillet Tartare, Gin Cured Hiramasa Kingfish with Kachcumber, Fermented Beetroop Bhel Puri and Baked Half shell scallops with balachaung.
Mrs E went for the Gin Cured Hiramas Kingfish. A good serving of fresh Kingfish accompanied by a serving of Kachcumber. You often see kachumber in indian restaurants – chopped tomato, cucumber, onion and some lemon juice.
We also order some Roti bread (butter paratha on the menu). At Pucca this was a delicious bread, a bit like a croissant. It is handy to soak up the sauces. In traditional Indian restaurants the bread is used to eat the food, a knife and fork is not used.
Main Course
Palek curry – a vegetarian curry with chickpeas, spinach and garlic; Elgin Valley free range Tandoori Chicken; Keralan coconut Fish Curry (a Goan style curry); Mooloolaba Prawn Saag (with spinach and tomato); Pork Belly Vindaloo and Buffalo Shin Masala.
We ordered the Fish Curry and the Tandoori Chicken. The fish curry was superb. Fresh snapper fillets cooked in a coconut broth with light seasoning. The Tandoori chicken was similarly very well cooked and came with a flavoursome rice side dish.
We really enjoyed our main courses.
The food from the south of Indian is in a number of cases lightly spiced, though some Kolkata recipes can be hot. It was interesting to note that there were a number of beef dishes on the menu. You rarely see this in most Indian restaurants on the sub-continent – especially in the North, for religious reasons.
Dessert
There was a unique selection of treats – spicy pumpkin Halwa, Aunty Carol’s Love Cake with coconut sorbet and pomegranate; Cherry Ladoo with chocolate sauce and a variety of fresh sorbet.
Regrettably, there was no room left, so we will need to revisit Pucca and try a desert.
Wine
This would be the best wine list at an Indian restaurant that I have seen. It ranked with the bet of the Oberoi Hotel’s in India. There was an excellent variety of local and international wines. You could get a house wine that was reasonably priced and could be purchased in a 500ml serving. The white was a French sauvignon blanc in the dry Sancerre style, rather than the overly fruity variety from New Zealand or Australia
The Review – 3.5 Stars
This restaurant is a must. In Noosa there are plenty of Italian, French and Australian cuisine based restaurants, but few fine dining Asian. Even fewer from the Sub Continent. There is Sum Yung Guys, but it is a bit noisier, there is Bang Bang – but a bit expensive for what you get – there is a reasonable Indian in Hastings Street, but the atmosphere and presentation is lacking.
The attention to detail at Pucca and the emphasis on premium ingredients shows. This is really worth a try!
