The Gidley

Overview

One underground restaurant dedicated to steak wasn't quite enough for Bistecca's James Bradey and Warren Burns. The Liquid and Larder directors, and minds behind The Wild Rover and Grandma's Bar, then opened The Gidley — an opulent basement restaurant inspired by old-school New York and London steakhouses.

The subterranean setup means there are no windows and no distracting "beautiful harbour views", says Bradey. Lack of distractions is a passion of the restaurateur duo, who banned phones at the table at their original steak spot Bistecca. The same goes here, too.

Dominic Loneragan

Instead of Instagram, you'll be soaking up the lusciously designed space, by Darlinghurst studio Tom Mark Henry, which was made to feel like a "rabbit warren" that you could lose yourself in. Split into several rooms, including a lounge, dining area, wine bar and private room, the restaurants seats about 120 all up. Expect lots of velvet (both drapery and furnishings), along with dark timber veneer, herringbone floors and plush leather lounges — aka all those vintage steakhouse feels. Linking the space back to its home shores is the ornate wallpaper, which depicts native Australian flora and fauna.

Overseeing the menu, that has its own notable throwbacks, is Bistecca Head Chef Pip Pratt. Taking inspiration from supper clubs and steakhouses, the menu heroes one dish: the Riverine black angus rib eye. Here, it's done three ways: chargrilled on-the-bone, a bourbon-glazed chop (300 grams) and a hard-to-come-by spinalis steak. To finish your steak off, douse it in your choice of roast chicken gravy, homemade barbecue sauce, cafe de Paris butter or garlic butter.

While the rib eye is the star of the show, unlike Bistecca, steak isn't the sole dish vying for your attention at The Gidley. Other mains include jerk spiced charcoal squid with squid ink taramasalata, kangaroo loin with saltbush and cafe de paris and lion's mane mushroom with green peppercorn sauce and onion rings. It wouldn't be a traditional steakhouse without a burger, either — this one has a double beef patty with cheddar, pickles and optional bacon and egg.

There's also a raw bar serving up the likes of oysters, caviar and prawn cocktails for starters, plus heaps of sides and salads — sizeable orders come in the form of seafood towers and a quarter suckling pig with confit potato, seeded mustard, thyme, iceberg and radicchio salad, homemade barbecue sauce, apple puree and cider jus. Desserts come with a bit of nostalgia, too, with the likes of corn and apple doughnuts, bourbon baba and buttermilk ice cream. Prefer drinking your desserts? There are plenty of sweet cocktails on offer too — take the Grasshopper Pie, made with Bulleit Rye, Archie Rose Double Malt, mint, cacao, Creme de Menthe, caramel and bitters.

Since no steak is complete without a good glass of red, there's, thankfully, plenty of that. The extensive wine program is looked after by The Gidley's sommelier Seán McManus, with the 23-page list featuring many well-made drops from many well-known brands, many of which are bio-dynamic and sustainable.

Bartender extraordinaire Jonothan Carr (Archie Rose, Kittyhawk, Door Knock, Burrow Bar) is pouring a "straight and stiff" array of batched and bottled cocktails at The Gidley. Expect all of your usual suspects and more creative options, including negronis for two and martinis served on silver trays.

Images: Dominic Loneragan

Appears in:

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