Tharen's

Another restaurant review to be found in 3D World on Monday.

Tharen’s Restaurant and Bar
15 Kellet Way, Kings Cross

I was duped by Tharen’s. In my research I discovered that this little French restaurant in Kings Cross is owned by a beautiful French woman named Tharen, who escaped from the clutches of the evil Nazis in Paris during WWII and came to Australia to set up a lovely restaurant in the name of her dead parents. As it turns out, Tharen’s is owned by a 20-something Australian guy named Bobby.
“I feel bad about the whole thing,” he said. “The story is made up, and it’s effective, but it’s time we let it go. We’re all Aussies here, and we’re proud of our French restaurant.”

Going back to 1979, the recently updated and refurbished Tharen’s has been given a new life by its manager and director, Bobby Jewell. After buying the restaurant from its previous owners at the ripe old age of 21, Jewell re-designed it to fit the theme of a rather loud, raucous and fun costume party. Hats of every size, shape and colour adorn the restaurant walls. A woman in a Queen of Hearts costume greeting you by the door, with fire spinners in her hands. The hat stand by the front door is full of feather boas and other accessories. Magicians, fantasy face painters and performers walk through the restaurant at regular intervals.

At first my partner and I were shy – we chose a hat and sat down at our table as the restaurant around us began to slowly fill with the excited chatter of newcomers: two birthday parties, one hen’s night and an office party. The restaurant caters for parties of 4 to 180 and the menu is set. For $55 per person (food only) you can have your choice of six exotic entrees, mains and desserts, and buy your own drinks from the bar. For entrees, we opted for the Moroccan spiced lamb with chickpea, tomato, preserved lime and cucumber riata and the caramelised onion, goat’s cheese and tomato tart with green olive dressing. Both arrived on time (after complimentary garlic bread and salad) and tasted delicious. The portions weren’t big, but that left us excited about the mains. When the mains did arrive, the restaurant party was in full swing – the soundtrack playing was made for sing-alongs, and everyone was taking advantage of it. My partner’s main of herb and garlic chicken ballentine on spec and pumpkin rosti and citrus basil beurre blanc was succulent and tangy, while the red wine jus on my mustard roasted veal loin fillet with potato and kumara gratin made me, albeit discreetly, lick my plate.

Seeing as there were a few birthdays to celebrate, including my own, we were informed that we’d have to try the Tharen’s house special Bombe Alaska baked ice cream cake. As the cakes are brought out by staff in fancy dress, the house lights dim as the whole restaurant bursts into chorus to sing ‘Happy Birthday’. The cakes are lit on fire, briefly, before being divided into portions. I’ve never had fiery baked ice cream before, but I’m sure to make it a habit after this particular experience. The pace inside the restaurant picked up after dessert – tables were pushed back and people took to dancing. We marveled for a while at the sight of a restaurant where complete strangers become best friends by the end of the night, before calling it quits ourselves after four hours of extravagant, Tharen’s fun.