[SYD] Restaurant recommendations

Can anyone recommend something around $60 a head. Preferably with vegetarian options on the menu.
EDIT: And open for Sunday Lunch would be good too

 

I visited quay last night. What a disappointment. I don't really have time to describe what I dislike about it right now but I wouldn't go back if it was $10, let alone $750. Not sure if my palate is broken, but I honestly didn't enjoy one dish. The snow egg was a mulberry slushy with icing sugar.

 

That sucks HSV. Did you give them feedback? How did the person/people with you feel about it?

I have a good cheapie. Albee's Kitchen in Campsie. Awesome Malaysian food. Three people can have quite a feast for about $30-35. The Nasi lemak is awesome, so is the mee goering and picked veggies. I'm sure it's all good though

 

My partner enjoyed one dish, but agreed with me totally that it was a big let down. The problem for me is, that's two degustations in a row that I've been disappointed by. I'm concerned it's me and not the restaurant. I guess I like big flavours, and delicate doesn't do much for me.

In comparison I went to the little snail last night and had the kangaroo rare, and it was the best red cut meal I've had for a long time.

 

Hah. I haven't been to the little snail in years. Used to go heaps when it was at broadway.

 

Thread revival

Need to go somewhere nice for dinner with the partner. I booked Cafe Sydney as we haven't been but someone has told me it's overpriced pub food. Thoughts?

 

nels?

http://nelrestaurant.com.au/

 

Went last year on a trip back to Sydney - enjoyed it.

Other options: Automata, Firedoor? Both seem to be getting excellent reviews.

 

Both automata and firedoor are on my lunch list with clients... its smart flavourful food with a little flare.

If you're after a romantic setting try ormeggio.. was there recently with the wife... excellent without being pretentious

 

Hurricane's Grill - using my bare hands is my favourite experience !!!

 

If you want to eat meat...

LP's Quality Meats is the way to go in Sydney mate!

 

Had pork ribs at Hurricanes couple months ago
found it quite dry.

Is that normal or what?

 

Recommendations for good degustations? Somewhere not in the city would be good (though I'm open) would like to drive there. Want to go somewhere fancy with the husband though

 

Tetsuyas is awesome. Stay the night in the city

Oscillate Wildly (Newtown) is sposed to be top notch too and they were recently awarded another hat (although the head chef doesn't seem to care from what I hear). I'm booked in for their degusation in late Nov

 

Sixpenny in Stanmore is another option, I think it's by the Oscillate Wildly guys? I picked it over Sepia for my birthday a couple years ago (last one before child) as the unpretentious, no high expectations to be not met, and way cheaper alternative. Food was amazing, each dish had one of the many chefs come out and introduce it.
Have been to Oscillate Wildly a couple times, great too but you know... I wanted to try somewhere new.

 

Thanks guys. I looked at the menus and wasn't keen. I ended up making a reservation in the city anyway, we're going to Sails at Lavender Bay, which is where we went for our anniversary years ago. Hopefully it's as good as it was then

 

I need to get back to Sails, haven't been there in ages.

 

BY THE POWER OF NECRO..... \0/
Could have sworn we had a more recently updated Sydney Restaurants thread than this.... but this is what Aggle found when I asked, so here we are.

Not exactly a fine dining venue (it's in a big shed with a concrete floor), but here's a heads up for enthusiastic carnivores in or near Western Sydney/Blue Mountains area.
A friend and I checked out Smokin' Hot & Saucy's Penrith restaurant for lunch yesteday and it was friggin' awesome!

Backstory on this is that it's owned by an Aussie/American husband & wife team with family in Texas who lived over there for several years learning the arts of the BBQ pitmaster.
Returned to Oz, started a Texas-style BBQ food truck business up around Newcastle area and came up with the idea of the "Smoke in Broke" festival, now they have a location in Penrith too.
This began as another food truck serving local businesses and catering gigs until the owners paired up with the guys that run Rusty Penny craft beer company, who were brewing in a garage at that time and looking to expand. After lockdowns ended they found a warehouse space and put both businesses under the same roof, and it's a really cool arrangement. Brewing vats and bottling/canning equipment down one side, kitchen and two huge custom-built offset smokers on the other, pool table and chillout area with couches and video games near the entrance roller door and a sweet bar setup down the other end with about two dozen very nice brews on tap.

All of that historical info came from Chris, the current head chef/pitmaster. Got chatting with him when he came out to feed the fireboxes while I was checking out the smokers and stopped by our table later to see how we liked the food.
A marvellously friendly bloke with a booming laugh and a pretty wicked collection of hilarious tatts that he'll happily tell you the stories behind, as well as describing his experience as a professional chef.
Cooks a good brisket too. I am absolutely certain that he would be happy to share some tips re. cooking good meat for large or small numbers of people if you happened to catch him when he's not too busy.... he seems to enjoy a chat.



Friendo and I shared the $80 Texas BBQ platter (described on the menu as "enough for two very hungry carnivores or 3-4 regular people").
This includes 2 slabs of Texas-style brisket, a generous pile of pulled pork, 2 smoked chorizo-style jalapeno & cheddar sausages and half a dozen crispy wings. For sides you get their signature "corn casserole" which like a cornbread/corn kernel pudding (probably sounds weird to most Aussies but very tasty), apple slaw, American style potato salad and unlimited sauces. The sauce selection is generous and includes a spicy chipotle BBQ, sweet BBQ, hot habanero BBQ, raspberry chipotle jam (so good with the pork+slaw that I bought a $13 jar of it to bring home), and chipotle mayo which was bloody fantastic on the wings.

They also do a selection of awesome-sounding burgers, regular and sweet potato fries, and some kid-friendly options. Also had some fish specials for Easter e.g. beer-battered barra fillets/burger.
Vegetarian options are as limited as you might expect, but they do have a couple.
I tried the Penrith Lager, the American-style pale ale and an Irish pale ale from the bar, my friend had a "Strawberry Sour". All excellent drops. The strawberry sour is probably the best "fruity beerlike" I've tasted.
All the staff were very friendly and the facilities were fine. Would probably get rather warm in there of a busy summer's evening, but on a mild autumn afternoon it was perfectly comfortable.

In case the previous wall-of-text hasnt made it clear enough... highly recommended! Definitely going back to check out the "reverse seared" (smoked then seared) beef burglar.
Edit: Menu Linky (may not be fully up to date)

 

Shout out to Glen and Mel, owers of Young's Gourmet Pizzeria in Normanhurst 2076.

I was on pretty good terms with them already after offering some useful feedback soon after they opened (towards the middle/tail-end of Sydney's second delta lockdown, they were doing it tough for a while re. staff etc.).
Haven't ordered for a few weeks though and decided on a large "Denman" (BBQ sauce base, pulled pork, bacon, spanish onion, marinated capsicum, topped with smokey BBQ aioli) plus a bottle of fizzy for dinner tonight.

When I got down there both owners were out the front cleaning up for close, gave me a friendly "Hi Chris!" and asked to confirm my housemate's name because they've noticed a bunch of delivery orders from my address but they know that I usually order pickup because I like dropping in for a chat (and somewhat confusingly, housemate's first name is also Chris).
After hearing that I'd given a personal recommendation to try their pizza they chucked me a free garlic bread along with many thanks.
Very nice people. This is the way to run a local restaurant.

Edit: Post is useless without pics.

Excuse my filthy hand in the foreground, was working in the garden all day. This did not make the pizza any less tasty.

 

Looks good. I'll have to try them. Just 5 mins away.