Arthur Surry Hills — Restaurant in Sydney

Arthur Surry Hills had been on my wish list for some time. The reviews I had read were glowing and the concept simple, a curated set menu, intimate and cozy location and exceptional service, the hallmark of a five star experience.

On this occasion I joined a group of six friends to see what all the fuss was about.

As we waited outside with the growing crowd of fellow 8:30 starters the last of the previous sitting poured onto the street. One of the recently fed exclaiming in a thick sarcastic tone that is was “no good, you won’t enjoy it” followed by a cheeky smirk…Yup, were in for a great meal!

The dining room is basically split into two. The open kitchen providing those in that section with front row seats for the preparation of the nights feast and the front bar area serving an outlook onto Bourke Street. The ambiance is really good. There is no loud music blaring (others please take note!! Too many restaurants are doubling as nightclubs), the lighting is low and there is a real feel of intimacy even with our group of six.

The dining concept is simple but effective. Everyone embarks on the journey which is the set menu. At $95 per person the value is good and additional options can be added that most people will want to include to varying degrees. An optional drinks pairing is also available for an additional $79.

The service begins with the super friendly and suitably casual waiter explaining the dining concept and then seeking to find out how many oysters we required to kick off the meal. We opted for a dozen of each of the Sydney rock variety. The oysters are magnificent and served with either a simple finger lime garnish or a decadently salty trout roe. Both variations have a wonderful flavour profile and the creamy texture of the oyster is contrasted brilliantly with the popping pearls of lime or roe.

What the waiter described as “snacks” arrive next. These consist of bite sized servings of Jerusalem artichoke with a velvety oyster cream and a rich and full bodied wagyu beef bresaola with pepper berries. A shared serving of ocean trout with grapefruit and capers was fresh and delicate, a beautiful tasting dish with good contrast and balance.

Main dishes arrive next and to my delight these are served as individual plates to each diner. A lot of restaurants are using the “sharing” concept as an excuse to be lazy and it takes away from the experience if you have to plate up your own food for every course. Well done to Arthur for maintaining a happy balance of both styles.

The mulloway, pumpkin and marigold delivered on presentation and flavour. The al dente strips of pumpkin cover the sweet flesh of the mulloway. Marigold foam completing the delicate theme of this dish. On a personal note I would have enjoyed the dish much more if it had a little more temperature.

We opted for the scampi at an additional $21 per person. Maybe not the best value for money but the juicy meat of this crustacean in a butter XO sauce was divine. But I regretted not saving some of the sourdough bread to soak up the delicious remaining sauce!

The chicken dish is very rich in both flavour and texture. The waiters description of a chicken style foie gras was right on the money and this small serving packed in a bold punch of velvety goodness.

Last of the savoury mains was the lamb. The tomahawk cutlet is sourced from Oberon and melted in the mouth. Served with a slice of rendered belly it was a stand out dish. A simple accompaniment of fioretto (baby cauli) in a herb sauce was a match made in heaven.

Last but not least we arrived at desert. The persimmon sorbet was fresh and zesty contrasted by the burnt honey and sheep’s yogurt. Feeling like Mr. Creosote contemplating the “tiny wafer” we could barely fit in the raspberry and chocolate tart But of course we did!

A truly wonderful experience with a drinks selection equally as good. A must visit for any food lover!

One gripe! Groups of 6+ are charged a 10% mandatory gratuity. Unaustralian you might say? We agreed, we were going to...

If you love the neighbourhood feel of restaurants like the sadly departed Blancmange in Petersham, or Stanmore’s Sixpenny, there’s a fair whack of corner-store charm in Arthur, even if it is situated in cosmopolitan Surry Hills. While the Set Menu ($80/head) reads like it will be a drawn-out degustation, by presenting the dishes in pairs, owner/chef Tristan Rosier (ex-Farmhouse Kings Cross and Biota Dining) ensures it eats more like a five-course sharing meal.

Dining in this Victorian era corner building feels homely, what with the distressed walls and the round-backed wooden chairs. The two-room restaurant has about forty seats, mostly arranged around solid wooden tables. For the Sunday lunch I took part in, nearly all of them had bums on chairs, giving it quite a convivial feel. Most tables, like my own party of five, were groups of friends toasting the end of the year, keeping the high-counter bar in the front room busy dispensing communal good cheer.

The wine list is all-Australian, and the spirit list follows suit, leading to an Australian Negroni ($21) made on Aussie gin and Applewood Okar Amaro, an Adelaide Hills bitter aperitif made using riberries and native bush herbs. If you’re interested, you can try it straight as a digestive with your sweets, though I personally recommend Mac. ($14). The nutty, round macadamia liqueur is made using roasted macadamia nuts and toasted wattleseed by the folks at Brookie’s in Byron Bay. You’ll like it if you like Frangelico and lime, and it isn’t a bad addition in the Mac. Old Fashioned ($20), either.

We start our long lunch with house-made sourdough and cultured butter. While I applaud making things in-house, I often wonder about the wisdom of baking bread when dedicated bakers – like Iggy’s Bread - usually do it so much better. Arthur makes a very good case to ignore me entirely. The airy wedge of crusty bread is made even better with the addition of ruby red kangaroo tartare, enhanced by tangy bush tomatoes and a spattering of shallot.

Against the faint pineapple from the elegant, lean 2018 Adelina Eternal Return Arneis ($84/bottle) we dip into a turnip studded mound of raw Bundaberg scallops flavoured with brown butter and hazelnut oil, cut by maritime bursts of Tasmanian wild trout roe. It’s such an unusual combination it takes me two bites to work out if I like it, but I do. It’s teamed with a glistening arrangement of green tomatoes, lardo and fennel that’s interestingly sour but lacks the punch to be more than a side. That’s not something I can say about the 2017 Brash Higgins CHN Chenin Blanc ($82) – it’s uncharacteristically big with lemonade, honey and some wood. While floor staff at Arthur proved very patient and great with recommendations overall, I would have appreciated warning that this chenin blanc was not emblematic of the usual lean, tart varietal.

The next pair of dishes, goldband snapper with super-salty chicory in the mix of greens, and beetroot and sour blood plum under a hat of rapa, worked together well. It’s honest cooking that lets the produce do the heavy lifting, with enough weight towards vegetables to make it feel like you're eating a balanced meal. Portioning was handled well for our table of five, with a bigger portion for three people and a smaller one for the diners eating as a pair.

Against the smoky, dry, lip-schmacking pleasure of the 2018 Courabyra Pinot Meunier ($73/bottle) we eat pork loin in an earthy jus with a baby carrot apiece. Portion control is your key to profitability, after all.

As we wind down into a mango parfait with yoghurt and macadamia, juxtaposed with a vanilla and blueberry slice, I reckon what's missing for me is multiculturalism. Arthur made me miss the punch of flavour that we find in most contemporary Australian cooking that throws in the best parts of our geographic neighbours. As one dining companion put it, our meal at Arthur had no crescendo,...

Ok going a bit south with this review. There were some real delights on the menu … but the experience was disappointing. No love. We went on Xmas eve and it feels yuppie to complain when you are being served in family time. For me my husband is my family and as a chef in training it takes a lot for him to splurge on a degust. The on arrival moment was … no smiles. Some confusion about table and then a seating with a scripted here’s what 5 course is about. Zzzzz. Not a big cocktail list and I ordered from menu .. big mistake . Think of a sour cordial of yuzu and citrus overpower. The drink is the first exhale when you sit down to a treat. My partner tried to get it modified but it was unsavable so he drank it in one gulp to avoid spoiling his palate. A dirty martini to my rescue proving that classics are always best. Harry’s lemonade was flat and exchanged. The food got progressively better though. The chicken liver tart, Scallop-esque thingy in xo and zuchinni stuffed with sea spaghetti were my faves.. a lamb noisette main also hit the spot. They had scallops and a cheese tart as ‘extras’ .. not a big fan of extras. It’s a degust not a build your own menu by $$ option 😞 if these were incorporated in the 160 per head it would be perfect . The bill came with no recognition of the bad start. Even knocking the lemonade off would have been adult. 🤷‍♀️ food is life and high end end food is a treat . The chef is ex Dead Ringer a place I’ve loved for decades. The switch to fine dining has IMHO lost a spark. The food did save the noche buena meal but food is an act of love. I’d love to see that play out a bit more at Arthur. Has potential.. needs some human...