Sydney Eat Street: Picnic boxes, platters to enjoy during lockdown
Spring has never had a warmer welcome now Sydneysiders can finally gather (in groups of five) outside for a long-awaited picnic.
Eat Street
Don't miss out on the headlines from Eat Street. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Take a tour of Sydney’s best eateries right here with The Sunday Telegraph’s Eat Street. Are you hungry for more inspiration? Follow us on Instagram or Twitter. #SydneyEatStreet
Steve Costi’s Seafood
Deceptively packed in cardboard boxes, the platters of sashimi, cooked tiger prawns and lobsters, Sydney rock oysters and Moreton Bay bugs are an absolute treat for true seafood lovers.
“With the beautiful spring weather we have, and outdoor picnics being planned, a cold seafood or sashimi platter is the perfect way to celebrate with family and friends you haven’t seen in a few months,” Steve Costi tells Sydney Eat Street.
“The beauty of seafood platters is there are no hard and fast rules, they are great for picnics because it’s mostly finger food made for sharing.”
As a lifelong fishmonger, he knows what he’s talking about. Starting with the opening of his father’s Lakemba fish shop in 1958, Steve’s experience and relationships with local fishmongers enabled him to open his own store Steve Costi’s Seafood, in 1985 in Sydney’s world-class David Jones Food Hall — followed by 20 more stores in the subsequent 35 years.
As of this week, he’ll be adding one more outlet to the list — an online store delivering market-fresh seafood prepared and packed each morning directly to your door.
You can choose from an impressive selection of premium fresh seafood, including whole lobsters, whole fish, fish fillets, oysters by the dozen, cooked and raw prawns, and decadent sashimi platters.
They’ve also begun a line of ready-made meals for two or four people, with dishes such as seafood lasagne and fish pie.
You’ll need to order by Wednesday 5pm for a Friday delivery, though all other fresh seafood is available for next day delivery. There’s a minimum of $50 for delivery and a $15 flat delivery fee to the Sydney metro area.
The Tea Cosy
Between homeschooling, conference calls and just getting through the day, no one is immune to the 3pm slump. A cuppa can usually do the tricks, but now that you’re able to meet up with five friends outside, take it up a notch and treat everyone to a civilised sit-down (or spread out) with scones.
The Tea Cosy’s owner Ash Kinshin, says: “Our picnic packs are made fresh every morning. We think that the scones, strawberries, and sandwiches are a perfect pairing for a spring picnic.”
There are two options: The Classic Pack, which includes six scones, three different housemade jams, and double thick cream, and The Picnic Pack, which comes with four plain scones, two different jams, double thick cream, four fingers of cucumber, cream cheese and dill sandwich, a punnet of strawberries and an optional bubbly upgrade.
“Scones, sandwiches and strawberries go hand-in-hand with spring picnics. We hope our customers feel like they are boating on the Thames or jumped into a painting in Mary Poppins,” Ash says.
The Tea Cosy offers Sydney metro delivery on select days, but you can also pre-order for pick-up at their cosy and quaint tearoom in The Rocks.
“The Botanic Gardens are a stone’s throw from The Rocks, and that must be one of the best picnic spots in Sydney. So, looking forward to reopening,” Ash says.
And once The Tea Cosy reopens, you’ll want to head back to this sweet destination for a relaxing cuppa surrounded by bright and colourful spools of yarn, crocheted throw and a vast collection of whimsical teapots and cosies.
— 7 Atherden St, The Rocks, theteacosy.com.au
Yakitori Yurippi and Tachinomi YP
A picnic blanket is important but not as essential as the food to share with friends. To mark the moment, you’ll definitely want to make sure there’s plenty to eat and plenty of options.
And no rule says you have to get it all from just one place. Try some of the premium Japanese chargrilled yakitori skewers from Yakitori Yurippi, a small and humble shop with a bold menu that includes skewers of Wagyu, xo tale, scallops and pork belly.
You can get them on their own, on a bed of rice (donburi) or even pre-marinated so you can grill them on that BBQ in the park. Add to that a few sides of edamame, burdock root chips and cabbage salad to nibble on.
You can pick up some Japanese beer and wines there or head over to their sister venue, Tachinomi YP, which is normally a tiny stand-up bar specialising in Japanese whiskeys, fruit wines, and beers, but also offer really affordable bento boxes ($13) and traditional “Okinawa” rice ball sandwiches – Spam, rice, lettuce, and tuna wrapped in a thin egg omelette ($6).
The menu comprises staff favourites such as the Okinawa, housemade matcha cake and specialty puddings. You can even purchase beer on tap (700ml bottles) or fill up your own growler.
Picnic food and drinks sorted. Yurippi and Tachinomi YP are open Monday – Sunday for takeaway and delivery. See online for details.
— 7 Falcon St, Crows Nest; yurippi.com.au or Shop 1/20 Burlington St, Crows Nest; facebook.com/tachinomiyp/
Busfood
Picnic Packs have long been a staple for Busfood. As a mobile and fully-fitted-out commercial kitchen, this sleek (Mercedes Benz) bus not only has the practical versatility that makes it a regular at special events, promotions, and product launches, but Josie Gagliano and Robert Dessanti, the team behind Busfood, know the nuances of transportable food, aka a picnic.
Josie explains that first and foremost, a picnic needs to include what you like, not what someone else tells you to enjoy.
“Love a bottle of red wine with cheese and crackers to complement? We will build a pack around that. Like Italian beer? In it goes. All our picnic packs are bespoke,” Josie says.
Busfood works in conjunction with Euro Concepts Sydney, a business that specialises in Italian producers, but Josie and Robert also have a passion for supporting local Australian producers.
“Think freshly baked goods like sfogilatelle and crunchy loaves of bread, pane carasau (traditional flatbread from Sardegna), as well as salumi and cheeses, olive tapenade, Italian soft drinks, and more,” she says.
Picnic and grazing packs start from $85. Delivery to most Sydney metro suburbs.
Porcine Bistro X Buffalo Trace
It’s the perfect pairing of two legends — a heritage breed Berkshire pig and Buffalo Trace
Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, and they’ve come together in a French bistro above a
bottle shop in Paddington.
While they may be a match made in BBQ heaven, they’re only together for a week as Porcine’s chef, Nicholas Hill, limited his purchase to three whole Berkshire pigs, which he has butchered into different cuts, brined, smoked, and packed along with a “Treacle and Trace” glaze. In addition to the generously-sized piece of pork, Hill has curated a menu that complements the wagyu of pork which includes Pâté en Croute (made with minced pork), seasonal veggies, a cauliflower and cheese pie, and banoffee trifle laced with Buffalo Trace bourbon.
Boxes are $150 and available to order through September 23 for delivery (within 10km of Porcine) or pick-up from PnV Paddington on September 24 and 25.
There are only 100 boxes to be had, so get in quick.
— 268 Oxford St, Paddington; porcine.com.au
Wedding in a Box
When you’re in love, you’re in love, and with a wedding day set, thoughts turn to visions of
flowing dresses, fragrant flowers, champagne toasts, and, right after that lockdown
announcement, despair.
Rather than wallow, just remind yourself that love lasts a lifetime, and fingers crossed, lockdown won’t, but in the meantime, you can mark the day or make the commitment with “The Blonde Butler’s “Wedding in a Box”.
Designed to cater for five people, it includes an array of canapes, fresh seafood, a share-plate dinner (with a choice of proteins & sides), petit fours, as well as a bottle of Veuve Clicquot and a (huge) custom “I Do” brownie from Baked by Blonde Butler.
There’s also a beauty pack from ModelCo so the bride will look stunning, and tableware, placemats, and beautiful flower decoration, so the setting looks stylish as well. ($1500)
Q Station Manly
You’d probably pull out a biscuit and blanket in the carpark right now just to take advantage
of the five-person picnic rule, but you needn’t be so uncivilised when you can have a seat on
the sprawling grounds of Q Station Manly and enjoy a curated hamper from executive chef
Shane Davey.
“Our new hampers are packed with picnic platter favourites as well as a selection of drinks from Manly Spirits or De Beaurepaire Wines. We’ve got three options for people to choose from; a picnic mix of charcuterie and cheese, a seafood hamper or an afternoon tea picnic basket stocked with sweet treats; basically, there’s something there for all to enjoy. We’re all about bringing people together at Q Station and can’t wait to see people reconnecting on our lawns, overlooking Sydney Harbour.”
The hampers are suited to either two or four people and come with a bottle of sparkling wine, Semillon sauvignon blanc, or Cabernet Sauvignon ($89, $139; premium wine, $99, $149)
— 1 North Head Scenic Dr, Manly; qstation.com.au
The Star
It’s usually a tough task getting a table at one of The Star’s award-winning restaurants, but
with “The Star at Home” pick-up and delivery service, you can visit them all with the click of
a house.
The menus are designed for two and feature favourites from each of the six venues. So you could make this Friday evening date night and savour Sokyo’s ready-to-eat glazed toothfish and kingfish ceviche ($140) or with a bit more planning, opt for their finish-at-home version with Wagyu scotch fillet ($200).
If that sound too filling, there’s also Sokyo’s 16-piece sushi box ($65) which could go quite well with Flying Fish’s seafood platter ($140) and a pre-mixed cocktail (100ml, $15) or bottle of sake ($35).
The premium steakhouse BLACK Bar & Grill also has a ready-to-eat and finish-at-home offering, both of which include choice Wagyu. If you’re after something more casual for a mid-week meal, try the pizza or rustic Italian meal ($75) from Cucina Porto.
Seven outlets, seven days of the week. Coincidence? I think not.
(Delivery within 5km of The Star Sydney, Monday-Sunday, 12pm-10pm. Pre-order pick-up
from The Star at Home kiosk, located at The Star Grand Residences valet desk.)
— 20-80 Pyrmont St; star.com.au/sydney/thestarathome
WHAT’S FRESH
Meals 4 Good
It’s a win/win/win set-up that OzHarvest, Australia’s leading food rescue organisation and food delivery service Menulog, have created, and you can help. As part of their “Meals 4 Good” program, on the last Friday of every month from September onwards, for every meal ordered from one of Menulog’s Local Legend restaurant partners (independent and smaller chain restaurants that provide the best food and experience to customers in their local area),
Menulog will donate a meal to OzHarvest.
This way, you can munch on Chat Thai’s rice vermicelli with prawns or a Turkish kebab from Golden Pide and know that in addition to enjoying a great meal, you’re also supporting a local business and helping someone in need.
Firepop
There are picnics, and then there are Firepop picnics. Once you’ve lit up Firepop’s single-use charcoal grill, heated up the Blackmore Wagyu and pasture-fed Aussie lamb skewers, and poured out the single-serve pre-mixed cocktails, that dry chicken, soggy chips and warm beer will never taste the same.
Winter warmers to celebrate the season
Everyone is happy to see the sun peeking through the clouds, but winter’s not all bad. Bid farewell to the colder days with one last hurrah of warming fare.
Sniffing out Sydney’s best truffle desserts
Save the best for last. As truffle season comes to a close, be sure to indulge in some sweet treats featuring the annual earthy gem.