The Thievery - Glebe, Sydney

I say this time and time again that our city is so lucky to have such a great diverse food scene. Sydney is home to many restaurants that specialises in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisine. Glebe alone has many amazing options. If you haven’t been to Thievery, then you need to hit them up!

Many of y’all know that Julian Cincotta is the genius behind the food at Butter Surry Hills and Parramatta. But did you guys know that he is also Thievery’s executive chef? Thievery is a modern interpretation and accumulation of Middle Eastern cuisine and a dash of some Mediterranean flavours. You can also see influences of Julian’s time in the early days of Nomad. The space also has a moody and hip contemporary Middle Eastern vibe. There are tables for two and communal tables on first and second floor. They even have a lovely balcony space.

First and foremost, y’all need to try their burnt butter hummus ($12)! Apparently, using butter in hummus is a common thing in Nothern Lebanon. It should be a common thing in Sydney too in my opinion! Lebanese bread dipped in the caramelised flavour of the butter with paprika in that fluffy hummus was heavenly.

Their Lebanese Fried Chicken or LFC ($16) is off the hook fam! The perfectly cooked juicy chicken fillets covered in beautiful rippled crispy spiced coating with sweet notes were delicious. It came with a sweet and salty black garlic sauce.

Their BBQ King Prawn ($16) is absolutely beautiful. Grilled giant prawns with beurre blanc, za’atar and calvisius oscietra royal caviar.

It’s currently truffle season and there’s a separate truffle menu available. If you like the sound of or have tried their burnt butter hummus, you will want to get your hands on their truffle hummus. Traditional hummus drizzled with truffle butter goodness and fresh Western Australia (WA) Manjumup truffles.

The Aphrodite Haloumi is grilled haloumi drizzled with honey, macadamia dukkah, freshly shaved truffles. It had those salty and sweet flavours that deliciously offset each other with sweet earthy and nutty notes from the dukkah and truffles.

Both food and service at Thievery is top notch. I’m already looking forward to my next visit. Also, just a heads up that Thievery will be doing a Middle Eastern Style Yum Cha from the 7th of August 2018 to the 1st of September 2018.  Check out their website and social media accounts for more details.

Thievery
91 Glebe Point Road
Glebe NSW
Contact: 02 8283 1329

Hours:
Brunch Saturdays: 12.00pm to 3:00pm

Tuesday -Thursday 6pm to 11pm
Friday 6pm to 12 midnight
Saturday 6pm to 12 midnight

Caffeine Villains Espresso Bar, Newport - Sydney Nothern Beaches

The Northern beaches of Sydney has a badass coffee joint in their midst. Caffeine Villains is a family run cafe in the heart of Newport. They have only been around for a few months but locals and people from different parts of Sydney have been flocking to this spot since their opening day. It’s probably mostly due to the powerhouse husband and wife owners Alberto (ex Three Rosetta and Cavalier Espresso) and Barbara Fuerte (ex Three Rosetta and Back & Forth Castlecrag).

   

Tucked away within the shopping area of Newport and just a short walk from the beach is where you’ll find Caffeine Villains. The space has a warm and modern beach shack type vibe going on. Alberto is one of the best baristas around. So with his mad skills and Melbourne’s St Ali beans put in the mix, y’all know magic is about to happen! Then there are Barbara’s creations taking inspiration from different cuisines like the Philippines, Japan and Mediterranean countries. There is no doubt that this place has got it going on!

Both the flat white ($3.50) and piccolo latte ($3.50) we ordered had the perfect milk temperature and velvet texture. Whilst the flat white was sweet and smooth, their piccolo was rich with dark chocolate notes. Alberto really knows how to deal with St Ali’s dark roast coffee beans.

Every now and then, they have beans from guest roasters. I was lucky that during our visit, I got to try a beautiful Colombian coffee from Kwila.

The CV Benny ($18) has gotta be one of the most beautiful looking brunch dishes I have come across! It’s an exceptional Japanese inspired twist to the traditional eggs benedict. The most notable parts of this dish was the textural contrast and flavours between the umami packed house smoked salmon and nutty flavoured brown rice wrapped in nori. The perfectly poached eggs and wasabi hollandaise sauce is the icing on the cake.

Y’all know those amazing burgers at Back & Forth in Castlecrag? Barbara’s the genius behind all of that! So I was pumped to see a double cheeseburger on the menu. The Caffeine Villains Double Cheeseburger ($16) is a work of art. A beautifully stacked dish of juicy double beef patties and double melted cheese, CHEESE SAUCE, bacon, onions, pickles, lettuce, tomato sauce and mustard in a soft charcoal milk bun. This burger didn’t really need the lettuce but I do really appreciate that there’s only a small portion of it. This burger was saucy but not too messy and just packed and layered with great flavours. Umami galore yo! I would smash this again for sure! For some chips on the side, just add $2.

The buttermilk pancakes ($14) tastes as beautiful as it looks! Stacks of fluffy pancakes topped with nutella, strawberries, blueberries, fresh cream and vanilla ice cream.

Congrats to my homies Alberto and Barbara for doing a great job with Caffeine Villains. Y’all need to hit them up when you’re in the Nothern Beaches area.

Caffeine Villains
Shop 7/331-335 Barrenjoey Road
Newport NSW
Opening Hours:
Mon-Fri 6:00am to 3:30pm
Sat-Sun 7:00pm to 2:30pm

Mercado Restaurant, Sydney

I'm no expert on Spanish cuisine, but I grew up in Manila eating a lot of it. Whether it was during family gatherings or eating out for dinner, Paellas, lengua estofado, cochinillo asado (suckling pig) and jamon played a big part in my childhood. Enough about my childhood and let me introduce you to a new kid in town. 

Mercado (spanish for Market) is the latest tasty addition to the Ash St/Martin Place dining scene. It's a bar and restaurant located on a sub lane/street level is a restaurant with chic interior and elegant mood lighting. Nathan Sasi (ex-Nomad and ex-Rockpool), the dude behind those amazing goats cheese churros and other dishes when Nomad first opened is the owner and head chef of Mercado. Expect exceptional Mediterranean flavours with mostly Spanish and Moorish influenced dishes. Traces of his work at Nomad can be seen on the menu. The cheese, charcuterie, pickles, bread, sauces etc are all made in-house. Most of the snacks comes with a side of their amazing sourdough made from spelt, whole wheat, corn & rye. This is what Chocolatesuze and I had on the night:

Before our orders came out, Nathan brought out some snacks for us to try on the house such as; buffalo ricotta with truffle honey, oregano and a side of toasted sourdough ($16) and also fish and chips ($12). 

Buffalo ricotta with truffle honey and oregano

Toasted sourdough

The buffalo ricotta was so light and fluffy. Along with truffle and oregano, it reminded us of Nathan's goats cheese churros back in Nomad.

Fish and chips

Mercado's fish and chips is not the traditional snack that consists of a battered fish and hot chips. Instead, it's a smart interpretation of it, which consists of housemade potato crisps and addictive smoky fish dip. 

We ordered some of their charcuterie offerings, which in my opinion is some of the best I've had in Sydney! 

Wagyu cecina with wood fire beets and quest garrotte

The smoky and buttery wagyu cecina ($22) was nicely complimented by the sweetness of the wood fire beets and light queso garrotxa. 

Truffle mortadella

The truffle mortadella ($19) had a nice fatty soft texture with next level hints of earthy notes from the truffle. The guindillas peppers that came with the mortadella was sweet and sour with heat that slowly creeps up at the back of the palate.

Ortiz anchovies tart with roasted bull horn

The Ortiz anchovies tart with roasted bull horn ($14) was superb.  It's a delicate snack that balances intense and subtle flavours. 

Smoked wagyu tongue and pickled green tomato

One of the most instagrammed snack here at the moment is their smoked wagyu tongue and pickled green tomato in a super buttery toasted brioche ($14). It was the best toastie I've had to date. The wagyu tongue was tender, buttery and smoky. The pickled green tomato gave balance to this rich snack.

Foie gras parfait with pickles and toast

Their foie gras parfait with pickles and toast ($29) was mind blowing! The foie gras parfait was like an exquisite sweet and creamy liver pâté but with a smooth whipped-liked consistency.

Spit roasted David Blackmore wagyu blade

The spit roasted David Blackmore wagyu blade ($52) is a massive steak that was cooked perfectly medium rare. It was fatty, juicy and flavoursome with a nice caramelised charred surface. It came with a meaty tasting gravy that almost had a jus-like consistency. 

Dripping potatoes with roasted garlic and creme fraiche

We picked the dripping potatoes with roasted garlic and crème fraîche ($16) as an accompaniment to our wagyu blade main. The chunks of potato were so crisped on the outside and fluffy inside. It was nicely seasoned and flavoured with salt and rosemary. 

Fat from heaven

Last but not least, we had the "fat from heaven" ($16) for dessert. It's a milk flan with vanilla bean and caramel with sticks of short bread. Though the texture was a little bit light than I what I would prefer, it was still nice and smooth. The vanilla in the actual flan and orange in the caramel was a nice touch along with the beautiful short breads.

The service is outstanding, the venue is fab and the food is excellent. I'll be back soon Mercado!

Mercado Restaurant

4 Ash Street

Sydney NSW 2000

Phone: (02) 9221 6444

Opening hours:

Lunch 

Mon to Fri 12pm-2:30pm

Dinner

Mon to Thurs 5:30pm-10pm

Fri and Sat 5:30pm-10:30pm