Acme, Rushcutters Bay

I’ve heard and seen many photos of the famous baloney sandwich on my feed, as I am sure most of you have also! Acme is the new-ish kid on the block which can be found in Ruschutters Bay. Head by Chef Mitch Orr – ex 121BC, Duke Bistro. The menu is modern italian and food is designed to share – small plates and pasta.

We started with the rockemelon, prosciutto (AUD6) – two long juicy blocks of sweet rockmelon coated in a prosciutto crumb. I love the salt and sweet combo but my parents thought this was a little weird even though they have had rockmelon wrapped with prosciutto before.

Next the toast, spanner crab, mascarpone (AUD16) – this was a hit amongst the diners – crab pieces mixed with mascarpone cheese on a toasted sandwich. Even the table behind us ordered this instead of dessert!

The famous baloney sandwich (AUD8) – 2 per serving, I was never a big fan of baloney when growing up but this was oddly good! The small house-made white bread was fluffy and light and i loved tomato sauce that came with it. The sausage was thin and silky smooth that it melted in your mouth.

I have to say, I was slightly disappointed with the fettuccine, spring vegetables, black sesame (AUD16). I get the al dente concept but the pasta was definitely under cooked – it was rather hard and chewy. Shame, as the flavours were pretty good!

The lasagna, mushroom, sheep’s curd (AUD20) was another disappointment for us. Not only was the serving small, but the three sheet (size of a playing card) was SO undercooked that it was border line inedible. The mushrooms however, were cooked perfectly!

I was definitely looking forward to the macaroni, pigs head and egg yolk (AUD18) and it was definitely better than the first two! I loved the pig’s head brisket, which was slightly fried, and the fresh chilli gave it that extra flavouring, although I think more chilli would give it that extra kick!

The wholemeal bucatini, goat, nduja, olive (AUD22) was definitely a winner amongst the diners. The bucatini was slightly denser and thicker than norm, and i loved the goat ragu with spicy nduja.

Lastly malloreddus, prawn, old bae (AUD22) – my favourite type of pasta, as you can scoop the sauce with the pasta, this dish had lots of flavour and like the macaroni had a nice spicy kick to it!

I have to say though, I wasn’t blown away with any of the dishes. I have eaten at Duke before and really enjoyed it, and also at Buzo – the pasta there was definitely fantastic. I was expecting the same at Acme but unfortunately, it didn’t live up to the same expectations. The first two pasta we ordered probably threw us off, and even though the last three pasta saved the dining experience, it was nothing to rave home about. It was missing something, some punch to the flavours, I have definitely had better pasta at Buzo (esp when Mitch was there). Service though was fantastic and friendly, maybe it was a bad night for us as I know a lot of people raved about this place, who knows.

Reservation is definitely recommended, the place was packed, and it has been packed since open night.

GA’s rating: 6 / 10

Acme Restaurant

56 Bayswater Road

Rushcutters Bay, 2011

Sydney, Australia

Ph: +61 2 8068 0932