SYDNEY where to eat?
Jun 13, 2021, 11:21 pm
#257
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: SYD, Australia
Programs: VA Silver, QF FF, Priority Club
Posts: 923
Sadly Bambini Trust no longer does breakfast.
There is no other place between Park St and St James on Elizabeth St (I work along that strip) unless you go into the Sheraton or get into the Tatts Club or have a function at Doltone House.
There is no other place between Park St and St James on Elizabeth St (I work along that strip) unless you go into the Sheraton or get into the Tatts Club or have a function at Doltone House.
Aug 19, 2021, 10:40 am
#258
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Houston
Programs: UA GS 2.6MM & Lifetime UC, Qantas Platinum, Hilton Lifetime Diamond, Bonvoy Platinum, HawaiianMiles
Posts: 8,695
Golden Century has gone into administration, always great to have available when having jet-lag issues:
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/...19-p58kch.html
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/...19-p58kch.html
Aug 19, 2021, 3:04 pm
#259
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: RSE
Programs: AA Exp|VA Platinum
Posts: 15,504
Golden Century has gone into administration, always great to have available when having jet-lag issues:
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/...19-p58kch.html
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/...19-p58kch.html
Seriously though, I'm told it's a dispute with the landlord and it's not going anywhere. Let's hope so. I don't think you can call yourself a Sydneysider if you haven't had a late night meal there.
Oct 24, 2021, 10:57 pm
#260
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 1,512
Close to 3 1/2 months after our first reservation we finally got to Porcine last weekend. Has a bit of hype because it’s nominated as a best new restaurant for 2021 and I have to say we absolutely loved it. It reminded us a hell of a lot of a good Bouchon in Lyon, oriented towards food rather than fine dining, not afraid of a bit of fat and hearty dishes and the sort of place where you can have a joke with the staff and where smearing lots of different things onto a generously buttered chunk of bread is encouraged. We loved pretty much everything, goats cheese and anchovies on foccacia, ox tongue and foie gras pate en croute, the pork creton and lentils (with all of the previous on bread), pork chop with crackling and a great jus that worked so well with fries. We even ended up ordering a dessert to take the edge off some amaros and absinthe. We really recommend it but you might need the old elastic waisted pants as it can get a bit out of control.
Oct 24, 2021, 11:22 pm
#261
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: RSE
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Posts: 15,504
Close to 3 1/2 months after our first reservation we finally got to Porcine last weekend. Has a bit of hype because it’s nominated as a best new restaurant for 2021 and I have to say we absolutely loved it. It reminded us a hell of a lot of a good Bouchon in Lyon, oriented towards food rather than fine dining, not afraid of a bit of fat and hearty dishes and the sort of place where you can have a joke with the staff and where smearing lots of different things onto a generously buttered chunk of bread is encouraged. We loved pretty much everything, goats cheese and anchovies on foccacia, ox tongue and foie gras pate en croute, the pork creton and lentils (with all of the previous on bread), pork chop with crackling and a great jus that worked so well with fries. We even ended up ordering a dessert to take the edge off some amaros and absinthe. We really recommend it but you might need the old elastic waisted pants as it can get a bit out of control.
It's great to see so many top restaurants on that stretch of Oxford Street. I have a photo from about 10 years ago taken on a wet, wintry Tuesday afternoon and there wasn't another soul on the street.
Oct 25, 2021, 7:21 am
#262
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 1,512
Porcine is a 5 minute walk from my house. The food is excellent and they appeared to do a roaring cocktail trade during lockdown.
It's great to see so many top restaurants on that stretch of Oxford Street. I have a photo from about 10 years ago taken on a wet, wintry Tuesday afternoon and there wasn't another soul on the street.
It's great to see so many top restaurants on that stretch of Oxford Street. I have a photo from about 10 years ago taken on a wet, wintry Tuesday afternoon and there wasn't another soul on the street.
Oct 25, 2021, 4:18 pm
#263
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: RSE
Programs: AA Exp|VA Platinum
Posts: 15,504
Be interested in hearing your thoughts.
ETA: Action Bronson loved it.
Nov 18, 2021, 4:30 pm
#264
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: RSE
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Posts: 15,504
Merivale has won the contract for the SCG. If you thought stadium food was expensive now...
They say a pie will cost $5.50 which seems unrealistic given the servo pies they currently sell are ~$8 iirc.
https://www.goodfood.com.au/eat-out/...0211118-h1zv5q
They say a pie will cost $5.50 which seems unrealistic given the servo pies they currently sell are ~$8 iirc.
Merivale's menu highlights for the SCG
Bistro 1886 – a restaurant inspired by CBD bistro Felix in the Members' Pavilion.
Smokehouse – a casual sports bar serving craft beer and smoked dishes.
Vinnie's Pizza – expect a more deep dish-style slice suitable for stadiums than a traditional Italian margherita, says Hemmes.
Dan Hong's dumplings and cheeseburger spring rolls.
Jordan Toft's Coogee Pavilion-style salads and healthy options.
Danielle Alvarez's hot Spanish bocadillo sandwiches.
Ben Greeno's fried and rotisserie chicken.
Mike Eggert's meat pies and burgers.
Bistro 1886 – a restaurant inspired by CBD bistro Felix in the Members' Pavilion.
Smokehouse – a casual sports bar serving craft beer and smoked dishes.
Vinnie's Pizza – expect a more deep dish-style slice suitable for stadiums than a traditional Italian margherita, says Hemmes.
Dan Hong's dumplings and cheeseburger spring rolls.
Jordan Toft's Coogee Pavilion-style salads and healthy options.
Danielle Alvarez's hot Spanish bocadillo sandwiches.
Ben Greeno's fried and rotisserie chicken.
Mike Eggert's meat pies and burgers.
Nov 23, 2021, 7:55 pm
#265
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 1,512
I’m looking forward to merivale at the SCG, it will be interesting to see if they can serve real food or the stadium reduces everything to slop to matter the provider. I’m cautiously optimistic.
Ok, got to 10 William st the other week. One caveat, it was for lunch and I got to bed around 7:00am that morning after drinking all night so I wasn’t on what you’d call my peak form. We really enjoyed it and thought the pasta was the best we’d had for some time, I thought it was a edge above albertos which was our previous favourite (the pasta that is). Service was excellant, I thought lunch suited the restaurant as it had a casual feel and the service was spot on while reflecting that light and casual atmosphere. Some of the other dishes were nice but quite overpriced (ok, the pasta was probably 40% more than what it was an edge above as so that’s pretty exy as well), with the sourdough at $3/slice actually quite average and outrageously overpriced. Not sure if this was post covid everything booked out prices but it was expensive compared to similar restaurants. Given we were all hungover (and I was very hungover, kind of pecked at things and could only manage a glass and a couple of sips of wine in 2 hours) we actually got out at 300 with tip for three of us so the bill was very reasonable but if we had enough been on our game it would have been a lot more. Really did enjoy it, will probably go back and probably again for lunch.
In more of a contrast we got to bast-ardo a couple of weeks back as well. This is the Italian outlet from the Porteno team and is a really happy, fun restaurant. Similar to 10 William it’s best dishes are the pasta but in contrast the servings are massive, like proper big bowls of pasta where even with four of us we could all really tuck in and we didn’t come close to finishing. The other thing I’ll say is it’s loud, really loud. It’s the sort of place you go with a group of friends who like good food and don’t mind a drink and shouting a bit across the table. Happily, that’s exactly what we were so it worked brilliantly but if you are on a first date or the like it would likely be a bit much. I thought pretty good value for what it was, for 4 of us it was 550 with the tip and that was massively over ordering the food (we didn’t realise the servings were so big), still ordering dessert and having a good go at the drinks. I think I do still just prefer albertos but Bast-ardo is excellant fun and well worth a visit.
New Monopole in the city and a mystery restaurant this weekend, should be fun.
Ok, got to 10 William st the other week. One caveat, it was for lunch and I got to bed around 7:00am that morning after drinking all night so I wasn’t on what you’d call my peak form. We really enjoyed it and thought the pasta was the best we’d had for some time, I thought it was a edge above albertos which was our previous favourite (the pasta that is). Service was excellant, I thought lunch suited the restaurant as it had a casual feel and the service was spot on while reflecting that light and casual atmosphere. Some of the other dishes were nice but quite overpriced (ok, the pasta was probably 40% more than what it was an edge above as so that’s pretty exy as well), with the sourdough at $3/slice actually quite average and outrageously overpriced. Not sure if this was post covid everything booked out prices but it was expensive compared to similar restaurants. Given we were all hungover (and I was very hungover, kind of pecked at things and could only manage a glass and a couple of sips of wine in 2 hours) we actually got out at 300 with tip for three of us so the bill was very reasonable but if we had enough been on our game it would have been a lot more. Really did enjoy it, will probably go back and probably again for lunch.
In more of a contrast we got to bast-ardo a couple of weeks back as well. This is the Italian outlet from the Porteno team and is a really happy, fun restaurant. Similar to 10 William it’s best dishes are the pasta but in contrast the servings are massive, like proper big bowls of pasta where even with four of us we could all really tuck in and we didn’t come close to finishing. The other thing I’ll say is it’s loud, really loud. It’s the sort of place you go with a group of friends who like good food and don’t mind a drink and shouting a bit across the table. Happily, that’s exactly what we were so it worked brilliantly but if you are on a first date or the like it would likely be a bit much. I thought pretty good value for what it was, for 4 of us it was 550 with the tip and that was massively over ordering the food (we didn’t realise the servings were so big), still ordering dessert and having a good go at the drinks. I think I do still just prefer albertos but Bast-ardo is excellant fun and well worth a visit.
New Monopole in the city and a mystery restaurant this weekend, should be fun.
Last edited by IMOA; Dec 31, 2021 at 3:49 pm
Dec 31, 2021, 12:11 am
#266
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 1,512
Some quick updates for the end of the year.
Monopole - moved into the city now and I have to say, it’s kinda like they stole the keys to Bentley and snuck in the monopole menu. The food is pretty similar to what they were putting out in Potts point but the atmosphere is all business dinner, I actually found it a bit of a mismatch. For the food there were some absolute winners, the spring pea pasta in particular was sensational, light and fresh and quite brilliant. There were also some, hmm, nice, the rump cap for example didn’t sparkle as much as we would hope. All in all a nice dinner and some dishes that were excellent but I think I preferred the old Potts point location where the food was more in sync with the vibe.
Poly - we ordered quite a few times from poly during lockdown so it was nice to get there in person and certainly didn’t disappoint. One of our best dinners of the year where the food was sensational, a really interesting wine list and just a fun, albeit a bit loud, place to be. The potato bread with sesame whip is famous for good reason, the only thing we got wrong is not ordering enough. Everything was brilliant but after that the standout dishes for us were some fried potato with salted egg that my Malaysian gf wanted to buy a years supply of and the lamb neck that I couldn’t get enough of. Just a brilliant night out and one of the best examples of the style of restaurant that imo sydney excels in, and kinda the style this thread is about. Highly recommended.
Cafe Paci - And then to another example of that style of restaurant, cafe paci in Newtown. Again it’s a wine focussed casual restaurant (or a wine bar with way too good quality food?) where the service is more relaxed, the wine list is interesting and tends to the funky end of things rather than classics and the food is brilliantly executed small share plates with interesting twists on what you expect. We had a lot of fun here because we were sitting up at the bar, on the sommeliers advice ended up with the most interesting wine we had all year and a lot of our favourite dishes were moorish in the extreme - I could have eaten a table full of the ox tongue and sauerkraut tacos. In many ways quite similar to poly above, great food, interesting wine, friendly service and no airs and graces required. Excellent dinner and I couldn’t pick between paci and poly for what I enjoyed more.
Rockpool bar and grill - not really in the vibe of this thread so will keep it short. Good, not great and I certainly wouldn’t want to be picking up the bill. When the Hiramisa kingfish carpaccio entree was better than the $85 rib eye on the bone and you’re in a steakhouse there’s a problem. Wasn’t impressed with the steak at al and apart from that there were a lot of good things but nothing that made me really go wow. Would not recommend.
Ursula’s - I’ve just realised the connection between the two as I was typing (well, the Rockpool bit, not so much the bar and grill bit) and the difference couldn’t be more stark. Ursula’s is sensational, and just around the corner from bensyd. French bistro with Asian twists on classics which just repeatability hit it well out of the park. Absolute highlights were the tuna and snapper crudo with pistachio pesto which may be my dish of the year, the ocean trout with a butter sauce with roe and warrigal greens that was a masterclass is balancing the salt, bitter and creaminess to create perfection and the wagyu with the Paris mash (order the mash, you must order the mash) that was everything that Rockpool wasn’t. A bit pricier than the others but still under $200/head including cocktails, a couple of different wines and desserts but worth every cent. I think this may have been our meal of the year and right now would be my #1 choice as a date night restaurant in Sydney. We’ll be back soon to order the things we didn’t order the first time. And the crudo because that pesto was magnificent. Highly recommended, for us easily best new restaurant of 2021.
Monopole - moved into the city now and I have to say, it’s kinda like they stole the keys to Bentley and snuck in the monopole menu. The food is pretty similar to what they were putting out in Potts point but the atmosphere is all business dinner, I actually found it a bit of a mismatch. For the food there were some absolute winners, the spring pea pasta in particular was sensational, light and fresh and quite brilliant. There were also some, hmm, nice, the rump cap for example didn’t sparkle as much as we would hope. All in all a nice dinner and some dishes that were excellent but I think I preferred the old Potts point location where the food was more in sync with the vibe.
Poly - we ordered quite a few times from poly during lockdown so it was nice to get there in person and certainly didn’t disappoint. One of our best dinners of the year where the food was sensational, a really interesting wine list and just a fun, albeit a bit loud, place to be. The potato bread with sesame whip is famous for good reason, the only thing we got wrong is not ordering enough. Everything was brilliant but after that the standout dishes for us were some fried potato with salted egg that my Malaysian gf wanted to buy a years supply of and the lamb neck that I couldn’t get enough of. Just a brilliant night out and one of the best examples of the style of restaurant that imo sydney excels in, and kinda the style this thread is about. Highly recommended.
Cafe Paci - And then to another example of that style of restaurant, cafe paci in Newtown. Again it’s a wine focussed casual restaurant (or a wine bar with way too good quality food?) where the service is more relaxed, the wine list is interesting and tends to the funky end of things rather than classics and the food is brilliantly executed small share plates with interesting twists on what you expect. We had a lot of fun here because we were sitting up at the bar, on the sommeliers advice ended up with the most interesting wine we had all year and a lot of our favourite dishes were moorish in the extreme - I could have eaten a table full of the ox tongue and sauerkraut tacos. In many ways quite similar to poly above, great food, interesting wine, friendly service and no airs and graces required. Excellent dinner and I couldn’t pick between paci and poly for what I enjoyed more.
Rockpool bar and grill - not really in the vibe of this thread so will keep it short. Good, not great and I certainly wouldn’t want to be picking up the bill. When the Hiramisa kingfish carpaccio entree was better than the $85 rib eye on the bone and you’re in a steakhouse there’s a problem. Wasn’t impressed with the steak at al and apart from that there were a lot of good things but nothing that made me really go wow. Would not recommend.
Ursula’s - I’ve just realised the connection between the two as I was typing (well, the Rockpool bit, not so much the bar and grill bit) and the difference couldn’t be more stark. Ursula’s is sensational, and just around the corner from bensyd. French bistro with Asian twists on classics which just repeatability hit it well out of the park. Absolute highlights were the tuna and snapper crudo with pistachio pesto which may be my dish of the year, the ocean trout with a butter sauce with roe and warrigal greens that was a masterclass is balancing the salt, bitter and creaminess to create perfection and the wagyu with the Paris mash (order the mash, you must order the mash) that was everything that Rockpool wasn’t. A bit pricier than the others but still under $200/head including cocktails, a couple of different wines and desserts but worth every cent. I think this may have been our meal of the year and right now would be my #1 choice as a date night restaurant in Sydney. We’ll be back soon to order the things we didn’t order the first time. And the crudo because that pesto was magnificent. Highly recommended, for us easily best new restaurant of 2021.
Dec 31, 2021, 7:28 pm
#267
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: RSE
Programs: AA Exp|VA Platinum
Posts: 15,504
Rockpool bar and grill - not really in the vibe of this thread so will keep it short. Good, not great and I certainly wouldn’t want to be picking up the bill. When the Hiramisa kingfish carpaccio entree was better than the $85 rib eye on the bone and you’re in a steakhouse there’s a problem. Wasn’t impressed with the steak at al and apart from that there were a lot of good things but nothing that made me really go wow. Would not recommend.
Ursula’s - I’ve just realised the connection between the two as I was typing (well, the Rockpool bit, not so much the bar and grill bit) and the difference couldn’t be more stark. Ursula’s is sensational, and just around the corner from bensyd. French bistro with Asian twists on classics which just repeatability hit it well out of the park. Absolute highlights were the tuna and snapper crudo with pistachio pesto which may be my dish of the year, the ocean trout with a butter sauce with roe and warrigal greens that was a masterclass is balancing the salt, bitter and creaminess to create perfection and the wagyu with the Paris mash (order the mash, you must order the mash) that was everything that Rockpool wasn’t. A bit pricier than the others but still under $200/head including cocktails, a couple of different wines and desserts but worth every cent. I think this may have been our meal of the year and right now would be my #1 choice as a date night restaurant in Sydney. We’ll be back soon to order the things we didn’t order the first time. And the crudo because that pesto was magnificent. Highly recommended, for us easily best new restaurant of 2021.
I tried out Josh Niland's new BBQ fish concept in Rose Bay a few weeks ago. It's essentially him trying to replicate the local BBQ chicken store but using fish (murray cod) instead. The menu is pretty limited and I thought the roll with gravy was OK but not worth $24. The yellowfin tuna cheeseburger I just kind of kept thinking this is nice but would be even better with a nice beef patty.
https://www.charcoalfish.com/
May 26, 2022, 5:49 pm
#268
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: RSE
Programs: AA Exp|VA Platinum
Posts: 15,504
My favourite fish restaurant moving into one of my favourite pubs. Excellent.
This has been rumoured for years around the village, but nice to see it's happening. (The Grand National shut in February 2019)
https://www.goodfood.com.au/eat-out/...0220525-h240j4
This has been rumoured for years around the village, but nice to see it's happening. (The Grand National shut in February 2019)
Acclaimed Sydney chef Josh Niland and restaurateur Julie Niland have revealed ambitious plans to expand their seafood empire by taking over the recently refurbished Grand National Hotel in Paddington.
Niland says the historic watering hole will be transformed into a multi-dimensional hospitality hub boasting an opulent 45-seat restaurant, 15-seat private dining room, bar and boutique hotel.
The Grand National Hotel will become the new home of Nilands' hatted fin-to-tail seafood restaurant Saint Peter, which will close the doors to its Oxford Street location in early 2023.
...
"It's going to be stunning. I'll have all the infrastructure I could ever imagine to be able to execute the vision of Saint Peter on a much grander scale," Niland says.
"The whole reason I cook, the whole reason I'm in hospitality, is because I love people and I love cooking for them. But since Saint Peter halved its capacity I've only been able to reach a handful of people each day."With this new opportunity we'll be able to reformat back into an a la carte experience where I can interact with guests and they can choose their own adventure."
The menu will continue to showcase Australia's leading seafood producers and Niland promises to maintain his "enthusiasm towards exploring what is possible with a fish".
Niland says the historic watering hole will be transformed into a multi-dimensional hospitality hub boasting an opulent 45-seat restaurant, 15-seat private dining room, bar and boutique hotel.
The Grand National Hotel will become the new home of Nilands' hatted fin-to-tail seafood restaurant Saint Peter, which will close the doors to its Oxford Street location in early 2023.
...
"It's going to be stunning. I'll have all the infrastructure I could ever imagine to be able to execute the vision of Saint Peter on a much grander scale," Niland says.
"The whole reason I cook, the whole reason I'm in hospitality, is because I love people and I love cooking for them. But since Saint Peter halved its capacity I've only been able to reach a handful of people each day."With this new opportunity we'll be able to reformat back into an a la carte experience where I can interact with guests and they can choose their own adventure."
The menu will continue to showcase Australia's leading seafood producers and Niland promises to maintain his "enthusiasm towards exploring what is possible with a fish".
Jun 9, 2022, 12:33 am
#270
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: RSE
Programs: AA Exp|VA Platinum
Posts: 15,504
The restaurants are all pretty up to date. Is there something in particular you're looking to try? Might help if you give a budget too. This ain't a cheap town.