July 7, 2013

Rainford Street Social, Surry Hills

Recently I was invited to visit Rainford Street Social to try their new Winter Menu. The restaurant is located on the corner of Rainford Street and Crown Street in Surry Hills.

It was a cold winter’s night in Sydney and the air felt was so chilly outside, it was positively arctic. Opening the door inside felt like walking into a warm, cosy lodge.

It was more spacious inside the restaurant than I expected. There was an open kitchen with seating along the bench, a little nook with a flat screen tv to watch sports and several tables scattered around.

I was seated at a large table was tucked away in the back corner. I liked the table because it felt very private and had the best lighting!

There were a lot of hipster decorative touches everywhere with different types of jars galore and carefully mismatched tableware. I liked the overall ambience and thought the flowers added a very nice touch.

Since this was a tasting session, we were bombarded with different dishes to try.

First up were some cute meatball sliders.

They looked adorable with one big meatball stuffed in between the toasted buns. I would have preferred them with a bit more sauce but happily gobbled it down nonetheless.

Sweet Pea & Jamon Broth, slow cooked egg

The broth was the perfect entree for a cold night. Hams and peas are such a classic combination and you can’t go wrong with a gooey egg. I don’t know if I have tried sweetpea leaves before – they were quite hard and chewy. My friend couldn’t finish hers and I ended up eating the rest for her!

Next up were a round of dishes to share.

Rainford Meatballs, tomato fondue, swiss cheese and pine nuts

Cauliflower cheese

The cauliflower cheese was very comforting and reminded me of my cauliflower cheese that I like to make at home.

Grilled pumpkin with garlic yoghurt

I love roast pumpkin and was happy to see it on the menu. Pumpkin has this lovely sweetness that really comes through well when roasting. The garlic yoghurt was a good contrast and this was one of my favourites for the night.

Confit duck leg, white bean puree and spiced cherries

I know the photo looks like a lot of duck on the plate so I have to reiterate that this was a sharing dish! I delicately extracted a leg for myself and had fun eating the crispy skin and meat off the bone.

Grilled vegetable lasagne

Lasagne is another one of my favourite winter dishes and this vegetable version was very hearty. Covered with stringy cheese and packed with winter veggies like eggplant, it filled us all up.

And last but not least, everyone’s most anticipated part of the menu – dessert.

Gluten Free Chcoolate Torte with whipped cream

Upside-down Cheesecake, brown butter breadcrumbs

Banana cream pie

If I had to rank the desserts (and let’s face it, who doesn’t), I would announce the banana cream pie as the winner by a mile. It was soooo yummy – the soft creamy banana, the caramel and the crumbly base all served with vanilla bean ice cream on the side. I wished on the night that we weren’t sharing the dish! I could have easily demolished one my myself.

Second place would be the deconstructed cheesecake which was light and fluffy with a hint of lemony tartness.

And I didn’t forget the chocolate brownie – it was more bitter than I expected but I quite like dark chocolate.

I had a lot of fun at the dinner and really enjoyed trying all the winter dishes. Now I just have to revisit for brunch one day!

The Food Book dined as a guest of Rainford Street Social and Cav Con.