Jane Surry Hills — Restaurant in Sydney

(No AI was used in this review; my words are my own.)

Jane recently delivered a fantastic solo-dining happy hour experience that turned out to be my most memorable meal in Sydney. Let me tell you more.

I was rambling around Sydney for the week and craved some ‘weird Australian food’, my lizard brain being incapable of being more articulate. During my research into where to eat ‘roo, Bogan, Morton Bay bugs and so on, I realized that Jane served entirely Australian booze, was a modest 15 minute stroll from my perch in the Surry Hills and furthermore boasted an “Australiano hour” from 1700 – 1600, so off I hopped.

When you find yourself in these time-limited situations you have to work fast: sit at the sleek, marble topped bar, immediately make eye contact with the busy server and start the order process. I began with the Australiano Spritz, a local take on an Americano, perfectly fine if not much of a departure. The Kangaroo tartare arrived next, seriously well put together, a texture-bomb with crispy-salty chips and pickled cucumber to scoop up the tender, lean meat. Some of the best tartare I’ve had in recent memory, granted my memory is poor.

Andy behind the bar was cunning, and sensing that I was fattening up for a night on the town, steered me to the rabbit and ham hock croquette. This was a darn good four bite snack, crispy and rich with a phenomenal pickled carrot garnish, rabbit and carrots being quite fond of each other, as we know. A massive bowl of fried whitebait dusted with vinegar powder arrived next, and I figured they needed a beer, so a bottle of VB accompanied, skip the glass. These crispy tiny snack-fish are addictive, and I wish I had more now. You need to try them.

The spicy lamb dumplings with saltbush, chili and yogurt were likewise superb: tender, aromatic, succulent and a terrific value at $16. I happily made them disappear, then a peculiar “MartinOz” arrived, regional gin, maraschino, and a dash of plum liquor. This was weird enough to intrigue and a fine palate cleanser.

At this point I was quite pleased and happy hour had ended, but mom taught me there’s always room for green ants. I wrapped up with a delightful and memorable Rockmelon (aka Cantaloupe) sorbet, dusted with the aforementioned green ants, which added a light crunchy texture and a bright citric acid bounce. Ants, we salute you.

The total bill for the 5 happy hour dishes, 2 drinks and the insect-sorbet was a very modest $85 AUD. I was happy, the bar was happy, everyone was pleased except for the ants, who I imagine would have been indignant to learn their ultimate fate as a dessert topping.

I can’t recommend Jane highly enough. It’s fun, the service is swell, the price is right, and on a busy Tuesday night they made time for a lone traveler at the bar. They are doing nearly everything correctly. Watch the step down to the washrooms though,...

My partner and I was recommended by her colleague to give this place a go. Plenty of street parking on a Sunday evening.

We ordered the Lamb dumplings, spinach, leek, cheddar flatbread, and kangaroo tartare for entrees, Rangers valley steak to share for mains, arthurs sourdough and potato, whey, cured yolk on the side, and finally daintree chocolate cake for dessert. My partner also ordered an Australiano for drinks.

Lamb Dumplings - Very tasty, but no lamb flavour at all. Which is good for my partner as she can't stand the taste of lamb. The yogurt sauce adds a zestiness that complements the meatiness perfectly.

Spinach, leek, cheddar flatbeard- Definitely the highlight of the meal. Super moreish, with flaky pastry wrapped around rich cheesy filling.

Kangaroo tartare - Surprisingly delicate for kangaroo. I was expecting gaminess but not as rich as I thought it would be. Wish the potato crisps were more sturdy though, as the crunch would juxtapose with the rich meat nicely.

Ranger Valley Steak - Cook really nicely (Medium rare). Excellent flavour and fat content. Love love LOVE the sauce!

Sourdough with keffir butter - Just perfect. My partner and I reckon we can polish off 10 portions

Potato, whey, cured yolk - Our least favourite dish of the meal. Interesting presentation, but nothing that really stands out in terms of flavour. Not bad by any stretch, just not very memorable.

Daintree chocolate cake with espresso creme - DECADENT! We were shocked at how rich and moist the cake was. It's almost like they took the middle bit of a chocolate molten lava cake and shaped it into a slice of cake. The cool espresso creme dial down the richness abit, but not really much coffee flavour.

Service was exceptional for the most part. However we weren't offered a drink menu until my partner had asked for one. Even then they did not come back to take the drink order until much later. They also do not serve coffee, which was abit disappointing.

The restaurant is definitely cozy. Very intimate setting, but well set-up. So it never felt too cramp or like we are bumping into things. Retro decor that transport you back to the 70s.

Overall we had a very enjoyable evening and a delicious meal. Very much looking forward to heading back to try out the rest...

We came to Jane because it’s run by the same team as Arthur’s - which til this day is one of my favourite dining experiences. Unfortunately, Jane and Arthur are siblings, not twins. Looking at the menu, I was immediately sold as it seemed to feature a lot of native bush-tucker like green ants and saltbush.

The food here was overall mediocre with a couple of stand out dishes. Service was friendly, very attentive and quick. Note that the tables are quite close to each other, because it is a small cosy restaurant.

On the Australiano hour menu I can recommend the lamb dumplings and oysters. The oysters are minuscule but at $3 and with that delicious guava vinaigrette? I can say; size doesn’t matter.

We tried the wild rabbit and ham croquette and while the pickled carrots were perfect to cut through the grease and hammy taste, it wasn’t something I’d say was notable as it got boring after the second bite; 7/10.

Skip the vinegar powder dusted whiting unless you’re looking for a cheap fried bar snack you dip in mayo. The portion is massive, tasted very average and took up stomach space that we wanted to save for the good stuff, 6/10.

The lamb dumplings were delicious with the yoghurt and fried saltbush leaves. The bottom is pan fried so it’s a nice contrast with the steamed wonton skin. Definitely the best thing that we got off the Australiano menu, 8/10.

As for the main menu, we ordered the spanner crab, cod and potato. Spanner crab was disappointing. The yuzu added a balanced, fresh taste but otherwise the flavour was quite one dimensional. It was cold too, on-top of a thin slice of brioche which made for a cold crab-lukewarm toast mixture. Not sure my mouth quite enjoyed it 6/10.

Cod is a must order. Loved everything about the dish, my partner especially commends the mustard sauce. That skin was perfectly blistered too. Simple dish done executed perfectly 8.7/10.

As for the potato. It’s good because it’s potato. I wouldn’t say it was an amazing Mille feuille style potato though. The egg yolk garnish? I can’t say I tasted it. 6.5/10.

Overall wouldn’t return for dinner, as it was forgettable. If we do return, it’ll only be for the...