Eastside Kitchen + Bar
One of our favourite haunts in recent times has been Chippendale’s vibrant lifestyle precinct, Kensington Street. This laneway has come to life over the past year with the addition of some of Sydney’s most exciting small bars and restaurants. Eastside Kitchen + Bar joins the club to deliver contemporary dining with a fresh and whimsical approach.
Stepping inside this dramatic venue, you’re instantly immersed in the urban-luxe space. Exposed brick walls and the statement-making arched windows of the historic Old Rum Store building have been effortlessly combined with sleek finishes. This includes a leather panelled-bar, custom bronze light fixtures, herringbone flooring and steel and leather chairs. Finished with an imposing 10-metre mural by Belgian-born graffiti artist Caratoes, Eastside-Kitchen + Bar hints at New York style warehouses while capturing the essence of new-school Australian dining.
Eastside Kitchen + Bar is a shared environment where drinks with friends spill over into leisurely shared meals, celebrating and enjoying good food, great drinks and even better company. Chef Stanley Wong and his team have carefully developed a thoroughly modern menu that showcases the diversity of fresh, sustainably sourced, local ingredients prepared with fine attention to detail. Just one look at the spectacular dishes and their passion is evident.
Featuring Small, Raw and Hot selections, the menu is a beautiful exploration of flavour, texture and colour. Small plates include the beetroot & squash summer salad, foraged darling mills greens & 63º egg, and the roasted baby carrot and home-made green pea hummus which we chose to start with on our recent visit. With the addition of hickory-smoked almonds and fennel pollen, it’s the perfect tasty starter.
Raw plates include the shaved line-caught yellow fin tuna, Sydney rock oysters, angus beef tartare and our favourite, the king fish & tomato crudo with jalapeno, black garlic, rye croutons, dill & yoghurt crisp. A deliciously spicy mixture – you can’t go wrong with this one for something light before exploring the hot meal options. Some of these are prepared using the smokeless, flameless smoulder of the Binchotan grill such as the mouth-watering Tasmanian flaked salmon, steak, pork cutlet and our pick – the grilled Clarence River baby octopus. With black pepper reduction and spicy pineapple, you’ll be going back for seconds – a real highlight.
On the rest of the Hot menu, you’ll find the pan-seared fillet of mulloway, roasted spatchcock, parmesan-crusted free range lamb loin, and the purple potato gnocchi. And once you’re done with these incredibly delicious dishes, it gets even better with dessert. The delectable selection includes mango cheesecake mousse with bitter chocolate air, panna cotta, blood orange gelee, sorbet, toasted almond crumble, and cardamom icecream, pine nut biscotti, dark chocolate & hot berries. We found ourselves licking our plates clean. And for something extra special, the Signature Dessert Presentation ‘Fire + Ice’ is a theatrical display apparently not to be missed.
Perfectly complementing the Eastside Kitchen + Bar offering, the drink and cocktail menu features an extensive selection of international and Australian wines, Japanese Sake, after-dinner drinks and custom cocktails to round out what is set to be a highly sought-after dining experience this summer.
For a truly unique culinary journey in Sydney, head on down to Eastside Kitchen + Bar. Open for dinner Tuesday through to Sunday and lunch Thursday through to Sunday.
Eastside Kitchen + Bar
2-10 Kensington Street, Chippendale
www.eastsidekitchen.com.au
