Sydney Eat Street: Where to celebrate Father’s Day
FROM steaks to mezes, porchetta to pulled pork lasagne, there’s a feast fit for any father’s tastes around Sydney on the day we celebrate dads.
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FROM steaks to mezes, porchetta to pulled pork lasagne, there’s a feast fit for any father’s tastes around Sydney on the day we celebrate dads.
Take a tour of the area’s best eateries right here with The Sunday Telegraph’s Eat Street. Are you hungry for more inspiration? Follow us on Instagram.
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ANASON
ANY restaurant with a waterfront location stands a chance at luring Sydneysiders, but it takes one with interesting food and dynamic energy to keep diners coming back.
At Anason, chef Somer Sivrioglu’s second eatery (his first being Effendy in Balmain) has done just that by channelling the meyhanes (Turkish taverns) along the Bosphorus waterway in Northern Turkey with its cobalt blue decor, expansive meze menu and gracious atmosphere, an element that is particularly poignant come family gatherings, including Father’s Day.
Somer explains that in Turkey: “Families — usually very large ones — will come together at home and feast on a spread of classic Turkish dishes and delicacies.”
While it may not be around your own kitchen table, Anason is offering a similar set-up this Father’s Day with Kebab Feast, a set lunch menu with a range of shared hot and cold mezes followed by dishes from the charcoal including minced lamb Adana kebab, lavash and sumac salad; chicken skewers with warm tomato, shallots and pepper ezme and then of course, dessert.
There’s also a $25 kids menu that includes fairy floss ice cream.
“We want families to join us by the water in Barangaroo and feast on a selection of vegetarian, seafood and meat mezes,” Somer says.
5/23 Barangaroo Avenue, Barangaroo
ENDEAVOUR TAP ROOMS
THE smell of house-smoked meats can lure most any backyard grill-loving man so come Father’s Day, head to The Rocks and let him sniff out the Black Angus Beef Brisket, Borrowdale Pork Shoulder, wild kangaroo sausage and smoked chicken on offer with the Brewer’s Plate at Endeavour Tap Rooms.
For $29, he’ll get a choice of two meats and a variety of sides, plus a free beer, including the Bush Tucker Brew, a special blend of hops, lemon myrtle, finger limes and Davidson that will be on tap throughout September as The Rocks celebrates native-ingredient dishes and drinks.
Should the fruitiness of the featured beer be a bit beyond your palette, Endeavour’s founder Ben Kooyman recommends choosing the Growers Pale Ale along with the Kangaroo sausage and beef brisket.
“It’s a balance of flavours so it compliments rather than dominating the food,” he says.
39-43 Argyle St, The Rocks
THE LOCH’S ROYAL FEAST
IT’LL be a majestic day for the whole family with an excursion down to the Southern Highlands as chef Brigid Kennedy welcomes royal entourages to a feast fit for a king.
Located at her picturesque estate in the pastoral landscape of historic Berrima, Brigid will serve up platters of dad’s favourites made from the bounty of both The Loch’s and adjacent farms’ recent harvest.
Expect share plates of crumbed Loch-lamb cutlets, farm-ranged steak sandwiches, pork sliders with slaw and garden fresh vegetables, followed by a decadent apple and rhubarb crumble — all with the option of a flight of local craft beers.
While there, take your charming princes and princesses on a nature hunt around the royal grounds and uncover buried treasures.
Afterwards, you can explore more of this lovely location or make a weekend of it and book a chic guest suite above The Loch’s stables. (Go to theloch.net.au for details)
581 Greenhills Rd, Berrima
TASTE OF THE OPERA HOUSE
FOR the father that deserves a foodie experience as epic as the Sydney Opera House, join him for a culinary excursion around the sails themselves with the recently relaunched Taste of the Opera House tour.
Over the course of a Sunday afternoon, you’ll amble along to four distinct dining destinations, starting with a cocktail making session at Opera Bar where you’ll learn how to make their signature drink, the Sydney Sling, plus enjoy a selection of seafood and charcuterie from their Raw Bar and Meat & Cheese Room.
From there, it’s off to Opera Kitchen where, with the guidance of chef Santo, you’ll prepare your own Hawaiian tuna-sashimi-based poke bowl, followed by a leisurely lunch of Rangers Valley Beef brisket and NSW wines at Portside.
For the grand finale, you’ll be treated to a bit of theatrics at Sydney’s fine-dining institution, Bennelong Restaurant, first with the wafts of smoke billowing from the gold-hued butterscotch and spiced apple Old Fashioned and finally, to great aplomb, Peter Gilmore’s renowned eight-texture chocolate cake.
sydneyoperahouse.com/tasteoftheoperahouse
SILLY TART KITCHEN
GROWING up on a farm in Goulburn, chef and co-owner Josh Cook explains that much of what he does today is because of his father.
“My dad made me appreciate ingredients and the time, fuel and patience it took to grow them,” he says.
Taking his paddock-to-plate upbringing and cooking skills grounded in his mother’s kitchen, he has teamed up with friend and co-owner Nina Purton to take a dreary restaurant and turn it into a quirky cafe-come-wine-bar that is as comfortable serving fine wines as it is the clever cocktails with ingredients plucked from their vertical garden wall such as the herbs used in their Bloody Mary cocktail or the house-cured bacon salt use in the Bloody Bacon version.
For Father’s Day, they’re coming both sides again with their Pig & Pinot lunch, which starts with a Pinot Grigios cocktail along with a regional charcuterie plate, and lime cured salmon followed by a choice of 16-layer pulled pork lasagne or a 5-spice pork and hock meat loaf.
For dessert, there is a dark chocolate bourbon cake with brulee pear and as homage to dad, candied housemade bacon and bacon fat ice cream. (For more details, go to thesillytartkitchen.com)
I Kellett St, Potts Point
MUST TRY
SUNDAY ROAST
NOTHING says family time like a Sunday roast, so to show dad that he’s tops for the day, gather the crew and head to the East Village Hotel where English head chef Ryan Smith will be serving up Brooklyn Valley scotch fillet with Yorkshire pudding, slow-roasted sovereign lamb shoulder and Valenca free range pork loin with crackling.
Added bonus for the day is a free Balter beer for the man of the hour. (eastvillagebalmain.com.au)
East Village Hotel (EVH); 82 Darling St, Balmain
BAKED ONION, TOMATO AND SMOKED CHEDDAR
THERE’LL be a bit of nostalgia served along with the three-course meal as head chef Davide Rebecca has put together a Father’s Day menu that is inspired by his Italian upbringing and a celebration of family.
Coming from a long line of Italian bakers, he practically grew up in the kitchen so many of his fondest memories revolve around food including his favourite baked onion, tomato and smoked cheddar and the risotto with parmesan and black pepper, both of which are featured as part of the menu along with Davide’s other favourites.
Aqua Dining; Corner of Paul St & Northcliff St, Milsons Point
SIGNATURE STEAKS
MEAT is on the menu here with a three-course Father’s Day menu that features head chef Francesco Mannelli’s signature grass-fed dry-aged steaks, a 1kg T-bone (3-week dry aged) or 800g rib eye (6-week dry aged).
Cooked to perfection in a wood-fire oven, he notes that the end result really starts with choosing the right cut of meat.
“My go-to is to work with something dry-aged — the process removes the liquid, which gives more flavour to begin with,” Francesco says.
“My top tip though is if the cut is thick, it needs to be brought to room temperature before cooking.”
As if the meal alone wasn’t enough, 10 lucky fathers will win a masterclass experience with Francesco where they’ll learn more about preparing the perfect steak.
MODE Kitchen & Bar, Four Seasons Hotel Sydney, 199 George St, Sydney
BUTCHERY CLASSES
WITH the proliferation of food shows, it’s no wonder that so many culinary classes are popping up on the calendar. But if you have a dad who’s serious about his beef, treat him to an ivy league session of butchery or cooking at Victor Churchill, a place that famed chef Anthony Bourdain called “The most beautiful butcher shop in the world”.
With world-class experts at the helm, dad is sure to come home ready and willing to show off his skills and with any luck, make dinner
Victor Churchill; 132 Queen St, Woollahra
PORCHETTA AND PALE ALE
FOR dads who fancy the farm but can only spare an afternoon, take him to a small rural oasis in the inner-west where you’ll find delicious meals sourced from the adjacent (as in 8m away) “Pocket City Farm” and nearby suppliers.
At Acre Eatery, order their renowned slow-cooked porchetta — plenty for him and the rest of the crew plus on arrival dad gets a free Camperdown Pale Ale from the brewers across the road, Wayward Brewing. (acreeatery.com.au).
Acre Eatery; Camperdown Commons, 31A Mallett St, Camperdown