Smoked perfection lacking variety
You know you have found the right place when you are greeted by the unmistakable waft of smokey goodness as you walk through the door. Instantly our imagination (or was it hunger?) was filled with delightful meaty delicacies hanging in a traditional smokehouse shed. However, those expecting to find a variety of smoked meats, salamis and the like should look elsewhere. The Smokehouse team are masters at their craft and specialise in traditional, hot smoked seafood. May I add very, very good smoked seafood using only the finest local ingredients and aged South Coast hardwood.
The menu itself offered around 8 different entrees and about 8 different mains. We love a bit of variety, so for the entree we were pleased to find a “tasting plate for two” to share.
Table for 20: A remarkable concept and source of inspiration
It all started with my girlfriend who overheard the complaint of one friend to another – A restaurant in Surry Hills, near impossible to get into. We were curious.
It is described as neighbourhood dining. A dinner shared amongst friends and strangers lucky enough to get a reservation (which is only available by SMS). The concept is unlike anything else we had encountered in Sydney and instantly conjured imagery of some kind of underground, urban “food club”.http://www.tablefor20.blogspot.com/. The blog reads: “So here’s the deal – We do a 3 course set menu every night, you can BYO or drink mine. The cost is $60 Wed, Thurs, Fri & Sat.”
You won’t find this restaurant in your Good Food Guide. In fact you will find very few references to it anywhere outside of its own blog
Our experience.
After months of trying, we were fortunate enough to be given the seats of a last minute cancellation on Friday night. We arrived at about 7pm to allow us some time to have a drink at their bar Sticky and to suss out the wine options. The low-key entrance was via a quiet back alley in Surry Hills – in what felt like the loading entrance to a cool room. A piece of paper was stuck on the door “SMS the following password and wait patiently for entry. Password = Turtle”….
