Isla & Co. Opens in Fairfield CT with Australian Inspired Fare

I had the opportunity to attend a media dinner at the newly opened Isla, a restaurant featuring Australian fare. I wasn’t sure what Australian cuisine was but I was excited to check out this new eatery located in the heartbeat of downtown Fairfield right next to the community theater.

The restaurant itself is small, but when the weather is good it can take advantage of the wonderful courtyard area outside and more than double its seating capabilities. The restaurant’s design is minimalistic with dark green subway tiles lining the lower half of the crisp white walls dotted with hanging greenery and navy banquettes with café tables offer up seating. The back of the restaurant opens up to show diners the “behind the scenes” where they can watch bartenders crafting up delicious cocktails and, beyond, the chef in the kitchen preparing delectable fare. Let’s move on to that, shall we?

We were given a Preview Night Menu with several items from which to choose in several categories. At the top of their list (and mine!) were the cocktails. I started off with a Basil Gimlet. This beautiful basil vodka based cocktail featured a perfect balance of lime and spiced pineapple for a subtle sweetness, and was delightful on a warm summer evening. Also refreshing was the Cucumber Spritz with gin, lemon, aloe vera, cucumber and sparkling wine. The Kings Cup was beautiful. A vibrant pomegranate color, this drink featured tequila, lime, branca menta, mint, cassis and ginger beer. For those preferring wine, a selection of Red, White, Rosé, and Orange wines are available – from Australia, of course. Prefer beer? There are a couple of options available as well.

Now onto the food… What’s Australian fare really all about? I spoke with Barry Dry, Isla’s founder and owner who hails from Perth. He explained that since Australia is a fairly new nation having only gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1901, its cuisine has incorporated flavors profiles from Britain, Europe, Asia and the Middle East and we see those influences here.

As with the cocktails we had a selection of Starters from which to choose. We began with the Charred Octopus which was off the charts delicious. The meat was exquisitely charred and incredibly tender and the jam-like roasted eggplant and leek offered up a touch of sweetness to complement the slight bitterness of the char. The jalapeño dressing was so mild and didn’t at all overwhelm the delicate meat.

The Burrata with sungold tomatoes, pickled chilies, sumac and sunflower seeds was presented on a charcoal colored plate, allowing the bright colors of this dish to pop – my interest was immediately piqued. The creamy, buttery Burrata is prepared with the lightly roasted tomatoes. The flavors of the chilies and sumac only enhance the natural sweetness of this dish. The sunflower seeds add a nice texture. The grilled bread completes the textural experience – smooth and creamy, sweet and salty – for the perfect mouth-feel.

For the Mains we selected the Spicy Thai Green Curry – a wonderfully aromatic dish with seasonal vegetables and basmati rice. The curry’s natural slight sweetness to mild heat ratio are well balanced here. The creaminess of the curry sauce makes this simple vegetable and rice dish quite decadent. This was a favorite of mine.

The tender, well-flavored Braised Short Ribs with accompanying summer peppers were pull-apart and fall off the bone delicious as were the accompanying smashed fingerling potatoes. This dish was rich and comforting.

Next we had the Blistered Brussel Sprouts. Oh my goodness were these divine. Divine! This was not my choice. I am so over Brussels... But damn. The chili sauce sets these apart from the rest and boy was I glad I tried this dish. My regret was not selecting more sides to try. The Charred Zucchini looked divine with a spicy herbed yogurt and spicy macha – and I was told they were. Another regret was not ordering the Roasted Carrots. Don’t let this simple name mislead you. These beautiful multi-colored jewel-toned glistened on their plate… note to self: next time!

And, as you well know there’s always room for dessert! And as stuffed as we were we simply had to sample the offerings… all for your benefit, of course.

The Sticky Date Pudding with bourbon caramel and whipped mascarpone was a decadent treat and ode to Britain’s Sticky Pudding. Apprehensive about the word date? Don’t be – you can’t taste the dates, per se. The dates simply add to the rich denseness.

ISLA & Co.

11 Unquowa Road, Fairfield, CT 06824

hellofairfield@isla-co.com

Brunch 9am-4pm (walk in only)

Dinner 5pm-11pmThe Aussie Vanilla Slice features and light and creamy vanilla custard is topped with an airy pastry and loaded with blackberries and a sweet blackberry sauce. Both deserts were terrific – I cannot play favorites here.

I am excited to return to Isla and thrilled that they’ve chosen my hometown of Fairfield to put down their Aussie-Connecticut roots!