The following reviews and news of Restaurant Atelier are available -

702 ABC Sydney - Tomato Tarte Tatin Recipe - November 2006

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Tomato Tarte Tatin Recipe - 702 ABC Sydney

Darren Templeman - Beef Daube Recipe - Good Living, SMH - August 2006

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Darren Templeman - Guest Chef - Good Living, SMH - August 2006

SMH Good Food Guide 2007
page 126

Restaurant Atelier
15 / 20 - 1 Chefs Hat

Modern European

"This is heavenly food crafted by the hands of a kitchen saint.  The huge white plates are an appropriate canvas for Darren Templeman's artistry within this homely Glebe cottage of burnt-reds and exposed brick.  Dark-leather banquettes hug the walls of the cosy interior.  A seriously impressive red capsicum and white anchovy tart is accompanied by Western Australian sardines topped with smoked tomato sorbet.  New-season white rabbit is cooked two-ways - the coconut flavoured paired with tender slices of pancetta-wrapped saddle and blanched baby bok choy.  Classically light and delicious are exemplary john dory fillets with a puffed, stuffed zucchini flower, pancetta king prawn and sauce vierge.  While on our visit the service did not do justice to Bernadette Templeman's resounding reputation on the floor, everything else was spot-on, right down to the house-made ice creams and sorbets, including the caramel salted butter, and basil mascarpone versions, which make such refreshing companions to the intricate desserts."

SMH Spectrum Liftout- September, 2005

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Restaurant Atelier Review - Spectrum - shm.com.au

SMH Good Food Guide 2006 
page 117

Restaurant Atelier
15 / 20 - 1 Chefs Hat

Modern European

"Wow. We've always been fans, even when Atelier was in a dog-ugly site in Newtown. But now, with the talented duo of Darren and Bernadette Templeman having moved to a lovely old cottage in Glebe, it's even better. Sure, Bernadette still effortlessly graces the room, and yes, there is a courtyard for milder months. But the real improvement is in the finely honed, Brit-French style of the menu. Templeman's food is seriously good; a wondrously smooth and nutty amuse bouche of butternut pumpkin with pumpkin seed oil is a gentle start. Later, there's a complimentary and seriously sexy pre-dessert of vanilla and citrus-peel pannacotta with strawberry granita. And in between are outstanding dishes, such as tomato tarte Tatin with goat's cheese, which blow your taste buds away. Lamb with eggplant and zucchini compote pairs with an intriguing pastilla (a bit like a strudel) in which the richness of the lamb blends magnificently with the sweetness of sultanas, almonds, and hints of cinnamon."

SMH Good Food Guide 2005 
page 123

Restaurant Atelier
15 / 20 - 1 Chefs Hat

Modern European

"There are two things we adore about Atelier: the first is Bernadette Samardzija, who works the floor, and the second is Darren Templeman, her partner who runs the kitchen. Between them they have given a formely drab space, near the tattoo parlour on the quieter arm of King Street, a good sprinkling of fairy dust. Samardzija graces the floor with passion for the produce and with poetry in her motion. Meanwhile, Templeman, who earned his stripes with London's (now Brisbane's) Bruno Loubet, graces every plate with deftly constructed dishes that grounded in (but not bound by) classical cuisine. It could be a tomato tarte Tatin enlivened with cabernet vinegar caramel and lit with rounds of goat's cheese. A finger of buttery-textured pork reclines beside sea scallops, while an escabeche of sardines is perfectly comfortable mingling with plenty of pickled onion slivers. The lamb moussaka is incredible and Templeman's version of Loubet's daube with Thai aromatics is addictive enough to warrant several repeat visits."

Gourmet Traveller - Fare Exchange - June 2004 

Recipes You've Asked For From Chefs Around Australia

"On a visit to a great new local, Restaurant Atelier in Newtown, Sydney, I tried their amazing, melt-in-your-mouth boudin blanc. Could you please ask chef/owner Darren Templeman for his recipe?" – G Black, Newtown, NSW

Prawn and scallop boudin blanc, from chef Darren Templeman of Restaurant Atelier.

Darren Templeman serves this entrée with a globe artichoke, black olive, wild rocket and pink grapefruit salad. Alternatively, you could serve it with crushed waxy potatoes, or a simple watercress salad dressed with balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil.

Makes 10

Place the bowl of a food processor in the refrigerator for 1 hour or until chilled. Process prawns in chilled bowl until smooth, then add scallops and process until a smooth paste forms. Add egg and process until well combined, then, with motor running, gradually add cream and process until well combined.

Transfer mixture to a large chilled bowl, add lemon juice, cayenne and ground fennel seeds, season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, then combine well, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Drop 1 teaspoon of mixture into a saucepan of simmering salted water and cook for 1 minute, remove with a slotted spoon, then taste and adjust seasoning of remaining seafood mixture, if necessary.

Spoon 1/4 cupfuls of mixture onto individual pieces of plastic wrap, shape into 4x12cm rectangles, then roll up into a sausage shape. Firmly clasping each end, continue to roll over work surface until compact, then tie end securely with kitchen string. Using a thermometer as a guide, heat a large saucepan of salted water over low heat until 70C and cook boudin blanc for 10 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and immediately refresh in iced water. Drain, remove plastic wrap and pat dry on a clean tea towel. Heat oil and butter in a heavy-based frying pan and cook boudin blanc, in batches, over low-medium heat for 2–3 minutes or until light golden. Serve immediately.

The (Sydney) Magazine, The Sydney Morning Herald - March 2004 

Dish It Up
Matthew Evans shares his favourite dining moments of the month.

Tomato tarte Tatin at Restaurant Atelier
Anybody who has ever heard of Bruno Loubet, London’s (and now Brisbane’s) stellar French chef, will salivate at the knowledge that a protege is in modest digs in Newtown. Darren Templeman has a deft hand at the stove, his technique precise but never fussy. You only have to taste the puff pastry in the savoury tarte Tatin to feel the earth move. Pure butter puff is laid over confit tomato then laced with cabernet vinegar caramel. The lot is then baked to mysterious darkness. It’s pulled from the oven and topped with slices of Kytren’s goat’s cheese, which only makes it more desirable.

Good Living, The Sydney Morning Herald - December, 2003 (pdf 2.0Mb) 

Good Eating
Eat Out - Matthew Evans

Buried Treasure
A sparkling gem is unearthed away from the bright lights.

This is the reason I love my job. Being a public palate means that when a good restaurant comes along, particularly an unknown one, I can rave about it and get people to take notice in a way few others can.

Thanks to a readers recommendation, here I am in the 'other' part of King Street, Newtown, south of the intersection with Enmore Road. The area is quiet compared with north King Street. There are some folks sitting outside the tattoo parlour a few doors up from Restaurant Atelier and the occasional couple heading home or wandering north, lured by the bright lights.

My expectations are not high as I push through the front door and into a spartan room. There's white paper over the linen tablecloths and the walls are deep (and not particularly appealing) aquamarine, with nothing much to break them up.

Meeting and greeting is Bernadette Samardzija and in the kitchen her partner in love and business, Darren Templeman. Templeman's enticing menu is a mix of Sydney faves (Bangalow sweet pork belly with scallops) and London technique (boudin blanc of prawn and scallop). And I'm entranced by Samardzija, an intelligent woman whose passion for food, wine and the restaurant industry is infectious.

We listen as she describes the Lillet (a fortified wine from near Bordeaux) to the next table and watch impressed as she flits effortlessly around the room.

UK expat Templeman may be a stranger to Sydney but he has worked with one of London's luminaries, Bruno Loubet (now in Brisbane). Loubet is a seriously good cook and it's probably one reason why Templeman wields a pan with such finesse.

His tomato tarte Tatin ($14), a dish he made in England, is robust yet surprisingly elegant. Buttery puff pastry is topped by confit tomato enlivened with cabernet vinegar caramel. Two rounds of oozingly warm Kytren's wonderful goat's cheese pair effortlessly.

The pork belly with scallops is heavenly ($15.50). A rectangle of buttery textured pork sits beside scallops that are browned on the sides from the grill but retain their glassy middles. An amazingly good pickled cucumber salad waits on the side to cut the richness. The only thing that's missing is some crisped skin.

We're also impressed by the special of poached veal and beef terrine. It's a textural masterpiece, tender meats in a slice of terrine studded with garlic and ringed by the finest sheets of grilled eggplant.

The bloke knows how to cook. Even Templeman's 'saltimbocca' of veal ($28.50) is cooked to medium-rare perfection. A tall wedge of milk-fed veal loin is wrapped in prosciutto before being bedded on roasted asparagus. Shame about some doughy wrappers for the tortellini garnish, because their fromage blanc filling (a french cheese) is sweetly superb.

I just have to return a week later to see if everything can be as good a second time. An escabeche of sardines (like pickled sardines) is enlivened with plenty of onion and matched with an exquisitely grilled piece of baguette. Duck ballotine (think of it as a terrine but harder to make, $17.50) is generously filled with foie gras. Seeded mustard dressing and lolly-coloured mustard fruits add the perfect sweet foil.

It's a quiet night and by the talk around the room, the other diners are here for the food. They could also be here for the early-in-the-week, two-course deal; $36.50 for an entree, a main, decent coffee and chocolates.

As part of that deal, Atelier's lamb moussaka ($26.50 a la carte) is even more incredible. A light, potato-graced moussaka comes ringed with zucchini and topped with garlic cream. It really rocks. Slices of roasted rump and merguez sausage skirt the outside, while an oniony jus moistens the plate. Wow.

And then there's daube ($25.50). Oh, the daube. Beef cheeks have been slow-cooked with red wine and white wine to lighten the dish. Gently gelatinous, juicy flesh is given a good nudge of Thai aromatics such as lime leaf, ginger and coriander root. There's even a bit of well-cooked bok choy.

For dessert, the warm Valrhona chocolate tartlette ($12) is another ode to Loubet. Seriously dark, bitter and rich, it's perfect with caramel ice-cream.

Restaurant Atelier is a great addition to the new breed of Sydney bistro and Templeman's touch is classical but light, the flavours clean, friendly and delicious.

You don't go to Atelier for the bar, the view or the decor. The dog-ugly ceiling at least absorbs noise (although it's probably only restaurant reviewers who would even notice the ceiling) but I'm not going to penalise a good restaurant just because it doesn't have Bose speakers or a fresh lick of paint.

Atelier is my kind of restaurant. It's comfortable enough and boasts engaging, interesting staff, food that is cooked unbelievably well and prices that come in on the diner's side.