SANDY — In 2000, native Australian Peter Osuchowski opened Matilda's, an upscale Aussie restaurant, at Jordan Commons. But a motorcycle accident injured his spinal cord, so he could not serve as the restaurant's chef, and other subsequent staffing problems resulted in the restaurant's closure. (Now it's a Ruby River Steakhouse.)
Osuchowski stayed at Jordan Commons, serving as the facility's food-and-beverage director, according to Deseret Morning News archives. And his dream stayed, too.
Now, Matilda's is back, albeit in a modified form. Occupying most of the space that formerly housed China Lily, it's a spacious and casual cafe with earthy colors, vibrant Australian art and a friendly vibe.
When we stopped by the new Matilda's Fair Dinkum Aussie Outpost for a recent weekday lunch, Osuchowski was ubiquitous in the dining room, greeting us, talking with the kitchen staff and making sure patrons were having a good experience.
Overall, our experience was quite nice. The one blot came at the beginning, when we were seated promptly but waited about 10 minutes for anyone to acknowledge us, and several minutes after that before we got menus and drinks. The restaurant is still new, and these sorts of timing issues should be worked out as Matilda's matures.
Once things got going, they moved along nicely. Our server brought a small, sliced loaf of crusty bread with butter and kept our drinks full. We started with the prawn dip, thin and cheesy with sweet-tender pieces of shrimp and a crumb topping. We ate it with the accompanying flour tortilla chips.
We also had the wooloomoloo rings, giant and juicy onion rings in a crusty Parmesan coating with basil aioli for dipping. They're excellent by themselves, but the aioli added a nice fresh tang.
The "joey fare" was fun, with chicken fingers and noodles with cheese changed to "chook fingers" and "worms underground," much to our kids' delight. Two of our girls had the noodles, substantial portions of linguini in white-cheese sauce.
Our middle daughter had Bronson's banger, a mini portion of the classic bangers and mash. This kid-friendly rendition had no gravy, just fluffy mashed potatoes, a big meaty sausage, peas and carrots. I'd like to try the adult version sometime; it comes with gravy and is topped with caramelized onions.
My husband had another pub favorite, the pie and chips. This tasty dish featured a stew of lean, tender beef in a thin, flaky crust, with steak fries, peas and carrots on the side. The gravy was the traditional British stuff, darker and more deeply flavored than American brown gravy.
I had the "chook from the barbie," two brown-seared chicken breasts topped with sliced avocado and mango chutney. The avocado grounded the dish while the chutney made it Aussie, livening every bite. On the side were nice crisp-tender mixed veggies and a basic but tasty rice pilaf.
For dessert, we had the "prime minister's vote." This is a huge square of warm, quivery chocolate cake slathered with hot fudge and resting in a drizzle of raspberry sauce, with cream and pistachio nuts. It's decadent, great for sharing and tasted very good.
We also tried the restaurant's signature Pavlova, a light, melt-in-your-mouth meringue topped with lots of cream and fresh fruit (pineapple, strawberry and kiwi in our case). Even my husband, normally a strictly chocolate guy, liked this one.
Appetizers $4.50-$5.95, salads $3.25-$7.75, entrees $8.50-$19.95, sandwiches $7.50-$8.75, kids' meals $5.99, desserts $5.75.
Matilda's Fair Dinkum Aussie Outpost
Rating: ***
Where: 9400 S. State, Sandy (Jordan Commons)
Hours: Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Friday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; Sunday 4-9 p.m.
Payment: Major credit cards accepted
Phone: 304-4095
Wheelchair access: Easy
Stacey Kratz is a freelance writer who reviews restaurants for the Deseret Morning News.
E-mail: skratz@desnews.com