I’ve always like Tio’s. And it’s been around for a rather long time, considering the ephemeral nature of Surry Hills’ market for bars and restaurants. It combines casual and cool. I love the daggy sort of inside-outside bar where the bar area could be… on a beachfront or outside, and so the dark Surry Hills interior could really be outside somewhere, a warm night in a Latin American country. There has always been an interesting range of fun bar staff, mostly hipsters in various hipster dress, happy to explain the current range of mezcal and tequila. There are cheap cocktails. And there is good, interesting mezcal and tequila that I’m not sure you can get elsewhere.
We went on a beautifully quiet night; the only downside I’ve found about Tio’s is that it is sometimes uncomfortably busy and full for this ageing resident of Surry Hills. But perhaps I should time my visits better. We had a perfect nightcap here, after fried chicken and champagne at Butter, and I was reminded how much I like it.
Fratelli Fresh already has huge name recognition and a stellar reputation. Moving into the Entertainment Quarter, with few options for dinner, is a no brainer. So, no surprise this place was packed on a Saturday night, though we happily got a table for two without problem. It was date night! Lots of couples out for a meal, and an occasional family.
I’ve been to a few Fratelli Fresh’s in my time and have always been impressed with tasty, fresh Italian food. But here I think I was probably the least impressed. My negroni on tap was fine. The stuffed zucchini flower ($5 each) was perfection: molten savoury cheese oozing from deep-fried crisp vegetal matter.
My lasagna was OK, nothing special, as was my better half’s lamb ragu pasta. I think we should have gone for one of the mains instead. Because for drinks and a main course and a little bit more, $100 for the two of us feels a bit steep. Though prices in the Entertainment Quarter have always been steep. And prices in Sydney are steep too. Still. It was a good night out though: the visuals in the new Bladerunner film were amazing.
It’s comforting to find that Le Fix, just back from Taylor Square, is providing the same comforting atmosphere as Cafe Belgenny did for as long as I remember (though I believe Belgenny changed hands a few times).
Sometimes I just feel like I’m on a reconnaisance mission. I’ll have just a drink or a coffee to see if the place tempts me back for a meal. Or I’ll have a meal to see if it tempts me back for more meals, possibly at different times of the day.
In this way, Goros succeeded. I’ve been curious about such a non-descript shopfront that nevertheless gets a line up of folks on the weekend. Entering on a Monday after work, it’s surprisingly busy, and it’s a bizarre mash-up. There’s a karaoke area off on one side. Pinball machines. A bar. Booths as if in a Japanese restaurant… or a food court. There’s a neon fish skeleton on one wall next to the neon Pokies sign. The toilets are marked Geishas and Ninjas.
We had draft Asahi beer, and I had a shochu and soda, flavoured with peach and yuzu, which was refreshing and delicious. Happy hour, we should have gone for the one dollar gyozas, but the place is so bizarre and cool, I’m definitely intrigued to come back for a casual Japanese meal.
I like a pun. I mean, why not? These days: we need laughs. Also: we need coffee.
So, we stopped here in Lindfield on our way to the Hunter Valley for L & A’s wedding. There was a nice neighbourhood buzz about it, with folks stopping in for breakfast and coffee, and I imagine there is a stream of interlopers like us, pulling off on the Pacific Highway for some java fuel.
We also split a plate of spring rolls, and my god: these were among the tastiest of the fried Vietnamese spring rolls that I’ve had lately. They tasted really freshly made, and luscious and crisp and meaty. Yum.
We arrived a little early in Newtown before meeting our friends to go to Black Ginger, so I dragged husband to have a drink here. I’d seen the signs saying it’s a tequila bar… and hey, I like tequila. It’s upstairs in the revamped railway station, and has a good atmosphere.
But oh Sydney, you and your twenty dollar cocktails. I had a smoked margarita made with mezcal. Husband had the infamous “Bulldog” which has a Corona beer shoved into a Margarita. I would think this could be dangerous for the careless. If you tried to pull out the bottle, your glass would overflow.
My margarita was quite tasty, I admit. I didn’t really like the beer and margarita concotion, amused as I was by its presentation. We split a $15 plate of guacamole with corn chips (where I again think: oh Sydney, you and your prices).
I was hoping to see some interesting tequilas on the menu; maybe you have to sit at the bar instead? This was just cocktails and margaritas, and the food menu looks pretty standard. I’m not sure I’d come back to try it.
Pleasant and easy with particularly friendly service, Black Ginger has a nice feeling of being your neighbourhood Vietnamese restaurant. The menu is pretty standard in terms of the usual hits: banana blossom salad, various duck dishes, spicy salads, pho, shaken beef, chicken curry. I’m not sure there was anything that stood out as unusual.
But everything we had was tasty. The pho was particularly nice with a slightly sweet broth. I recommend getting a big bowl of that and splitting it among your table. I always like the deep fried spring rolls, the Vietnamese pancake was appropriately crispy and filled with freshly cooked bean sprouts. There were lots of herbs to tear off and add to the various dishes.
Also: BYOB makes it easy to bring your favourite wine (and I thought the bottle shop at the Town Hall Hotel, next to Newtown Station had a great selection at great prices). And the fish tank has some gorgeous fish in it! After, you can go in either direction for ice cream: Cow and Moon if you can get there before 10:30pm, or as we did, get some Turkish ice cream, tasty and strangely sticky.
New kid on the block, et al., takes over from Impromptu, which lasted a little less than a year (I didn’t manage to get there!). In fact, the last time I ate here was when it was a modern Korean place called Kim (which I adored; I love modern interpretations of traditional Asian dishes).
