Five Restaurants with Set Menus Perfect for a Meal with Friends This Summer
From unlimited hoppers to a 13-plate Mediterranean feast.
Five Restaurants with Set Menus Perfect for a Meal with Friends This Summer
From unlimited hoppers to a 13-plate Mediterranean feast.
At last, the summer season is in full swing. It's time to think about how, where and when you're going to celebrate the most important people in your life — your nearest and dearest, ride-or-die pals. Take it from us, there's no better way to do that than with food — lots and lots (and lots) of food. And all over Sydney, chefs have been pulling together scrumptious banquets, so you can spend a long lunch — or even longer evening — in good company, without poring over menus or worrying about what to order.
To help shed some light on which set menu to pick, we've compiled a list of five interesting, delicious and affordable banquets to try with your mates. Between them, they cover a significant expanse of the globe, from India and Sri Lanka to Cambodia and Bangladesh. Grab your pals and get ready to feast.
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5
Take your mates to Lonely Planet‘s Best Country to Visit in 2019 at Lankan Filling Station, a Sri Lankan eatery in Darlinghurst. For 60 bucks per head, you’ll score an epic banquet, created by head chef and owner O Tama Carey, who attracted a cult following at Carriageworks Farmers Market before setting up permanent digs here in August. The feast covers short eats (Sri Lankan snacks), curries, sides, dessert and, most importantly, unlimited hoppers — so there’s no chance of anyone going hungry. Just some of the delicacies to look out for are eggplant with tomato and tamarind, pol sambol (coconut, Maldive fish, chilli and lime) and watalappam (baked jaggery custard with cashews and sesame seeds).
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4
It’s becoming increasingly common at a group dinner to have a least one non-meat eater in the pack. And if you make Waterloo spot Paperbark the setting, prepare for them to feel not only appreciative but completely vindicated. With a focus on ethically sourced ingredients, Paperbark proves that plant-based meals are anything but boring. The menu changes regularly, but for $75 per person, you’ll get a nine-plate-strong selection of the best things in the kitchen that day. Dishes take inspiration from many cuisines but native Australian ingredients play a big role, so expect finger lime, wattleseed and Davidson’s plums to make regular appearances. Keep an eye out for the likes of hazelnut pâté with pepperberry-roasted beetroot and eggplant with corn, finger lime and lemon myrtle.
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3
If your buddies are the type of people who have done everything and been everywhere, book a trip to Don’t Tell Aunty. Opened in October, this is Surry Hills’ newest Indian restaurant and it’s hell-bent on breaking the rules. While owner Amar Singh (Melbourne’s Horn Please) and chef Jessi Singh (NYC’s Babu Ji) respect tradition, they don’t feel compelled to stick to it. Hence, the chef’s tasting menu ($55 per person) is an adventure in culinary innovation. Look out for experimental dishes like the yoghurt, green chilli and cardamom croquettes with beet and ginger sauce or Unauthentic Butter Chicken, a vegetarian take on an Aussie favourite, with tomato, ginger, garlic and fenugreek.
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2
Every Thursday and Friday night, Marrickville’s much-loved Italian cafe Two Chaps stays open late for dinner. The offering is always three set courses, but changes from week to week depending on what’s available at the market. One evening you might feast on spaghetti with white asparagus, pencil leek and Tarwin blue cheese cream. The next, spinach agnolotti, roast carrot, buffalo ricotta and tarragon beurre blanc. All dishes are made from scratch and served among the cafe’s recycled planter boxes, hanging bicycles and open kitchen. The cost is $55 per person, which includes starters, a main with salad, dessert and corkage (and did we mention it’s also BYO?).
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1
Just one week after Kensington Street Social closed, newcomer Barzaari was swiftly ushered in. Like its sister restaurant in Marrickville, the new kid on the Chippendale block serves up a bountiful selection of eastern Mediterranean share plates and offers two group share options: a ten-plate option for $70 per person or a whopping 13 plates for $85. If you opt for the former, you’ll start with snacks like the nettle and olive fatayer (pastry pockets) and cured beef-stuffed eggplant with toum (that delicious garlic sauce you always get on a kebab). For mains, there’s spiced beef short rib with hummus and hapuka fish served on a vine leaf with almond tahini and spiced barely. And, to wrap, you’ll get the restaurant’s signature baklava, which we recommend pairing with the theatrical sandpit coffee ($11): strong Middle Eastern coffee heated in a cezve over a large pan of hot sand.
Top image: Lankan Filling Station.
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