1821 Restaurant, Sydney

1821 is a significant year for Greece. It was a year of revolution and independence. 2016  is a great year for Sydney's culinary scene. Amazing restaurants like Mercado and Restaurant Hubert opened. Joining that line up is Jim Kospetas and David Tsirekas' (ex-Perama and Xanthi) newly opened 1821 Restaurant. A Greek restaurant that takes Greek food to another level.

David Tsirekas

The old Vault Hotel was redeveloped and transformed by designer Dimitris Economou into a stunning two-level venue that also has a sub level function room. Dimitris did a spectacular job of incorporating the heritage look of the building with his contemporary interior. The exposed brick wall design that forms the flag of Greece is a brilliant touch. The place has a mixture of comfortable communal seatings as well as seatings for 2 and 4. The food is as great as the venue. I expected nothing short of amazing from chef David Tsirekas.

Prawn manti

David's prawn manti ($28) is one of the best dishes I've had this year. Egg prawn dumplings with carrot pureé, feta, candied walnuts, burnt butter currant dressing and fried mint leaves. It was like a Greek version of a burnt butter sage ravioli. The plump prawns bursted with juice and flavour. Every component made this great but it was the caramelised taste of the burnt butter currant dressing that gave this dish the most vibrance.

Pork belly baklava

The pork belly baklava ($28) is back and it is as amazing as I remember it to be. Every layer was just pure awesomeness from fatty pork to the flaky filo pastry and tiles of pork crackling. The sweet-ish date and mastic sauce enhanced the pork's flavour the same way apple sauce does.

Moussaka Circa 1910

The moussaka circa 1910 ($37) is next level: potato gratin, braised lamb in orange and cinnamon, and béchamel sauce. The bechamel was so creamy and just made the potato gratin extra special. Using buttery braised lamb instead of minced meat is brilliant. The orange and cinnamon accentuated the lamb.

Yia Yia's hand cut chips

 We also had Yia Yia's hand cut chips ($14) with the moussaka. A great spud dish with feta, mountain oregano and egg.

Caramel baklava ice cream

For dessert we started with another one of David's signature Perama/Xanthi dishes, his caramel baklava ice cream ($16). A luscious dessert that consists of layered vanilla bean ice cream and caramel fudge then sprinkled with baklava nuts.

White chocolate feta cheesecake

Last but not least is their white chocolate feta cheesecake ($16). A beautiful eye candy and great tasting dessert that consists of a big scoop of white chocolate feta cheesecake with pound cake base, freeze dried cherry, halva crumble, sour cherry and lemon balm. This is a standout dish and probably the most innovative cheesecake type dessert that I have come across. The sweet white chocolate and slighty salty feta offsets each other into a balanced tasting cheesecake.

1821 Restaurant is contemporary Greek food at its best. PS: I need more of their prawn manti in my life.

1821 Restaurant

122 Pitt St,

Sydney NSW

info@universalhotels.com.au

(02) 8080 7070

Opening Hours

Monday to Saturday: 12pm – 12am

Sunday: 12pm – 10pm

The Kerrigan at Pier One Hotel, Walsh Bay - Sydney

The season for picnics and enjoying the outdoors has arrived! I especially love eating by the water. So when Pier One Sydney Harbour Hotel announced that they were doing an outdoor food shack called The Kerrigan, I knew I had to check them out ASAP.

Pier One's food shack The Kerrigan (named after their smoker the Kerrigan) is right behind the hotel by the water. You get a nice view of the Walsh Bay waters while smashing a great feed. They have everything sorted from smoked bbq meats, to burgers and fried chicken wings. Oh be still my heart!

Fries with melted cheese and bacon

The shoestring fries is only $4 and for additional $1, you can add melted cheese and bacon. It was so damn good!

Their smoked beef brisket ($15) was pulled and served in 3 tortillas (like soft tacos) with lettuce, lime, salsa and coriander. It was a nice way to serve the brisket. Though, I would have preferred chunks of fatty brisket instead as you would get the buttery texture in chunks. 

Korean fried chicken wings

The fried chicken wings were off the hook! I opted for the Korean-style ($14). The coating was rippled and crisped, which kept the meat juicy in the process. The sweet and spicy yangnyeom sauce was on point!

Double smoke stack

Last but not least was the best thing I tried here, the double smoke stack burger ($16): double beef patty, double melted American cheese, pickles, smoky crisped bacon and Kerrigan sauce in a lighty toasted soft milk bun. For a double stack burger, it handled very well. They seem to have used a fatty patty blend. Even if it was cooked well done, the patty remained juicy. Seasoning was just right. It's a classic cheeseburger executed well. The kerrigan sauce was creamy with tangy notes.

Stunning views, music and delicious food. What more could you ask for?

The Kerrigan

Pier One Sydney Harbour

11 Hickson Road,

Walsh Bay NSW 2000

Opem daily

11:30am to 9pm

Ume Burger - Barangaroo, Sydney

The Streets of Barangaroo is one of the most popular and still growing dining districts in Sydney. Since the completion of Wynyard Walk, access to Barangaroo has been super easy! Just take exit 4 from Wynyard station and you're there in about 5-7 minutes.

Walk down straight to Wulugul Walk near the water and you will find one of my most loved burgers in Sydney, Ume Burger! My homie Kerby Craig (Executive chef and owner) and the Ume family has done a great job with the set-up. The space is all about wabi-sabi: minimalist, simple, uncluttered and beautiful. It works for Ume Burger and it reflects the type of Japanese-style burgers they offer: simple, beautiful, perfect, and no nonsense. It's all about treating the produce with respect and making flavours work right. The other two things that made me excited about the new Ume burger is their vending machine that has Calpis and a D.I.Y. SOFT CREAM MACHINE!!!

Yuzu brown sugar soda

The soft cream (to be exact) from a DIY soft serve machine is Hokkaido style where the soft serve base is milk and infused with Ume's flavour of the week. In this case, strawberry and shiso!! It tasted like fresh strawberries and milk with notes of citrus and cilantro.

Here are the classics:

Fries with umami salt ($4.80) was on point! What's even better is that you can get a nori mayo ($1) as a dip. Do yourself a favour and get this highly addictive dip full of deep flavours.

The Ume burger ($14.60) is as umami packed as ever! A cheeseburger with perfectly medium-cooked grilled Wagyu beef patty, melted American cheese and meat sauce in a soft lightly toasted milk bun. The burger is balanced with the sharp flavour of chopped onions, sweet pulpy juice from the truss tomato and creamy mayo. The beef is one of the juiciest and beautifully seasoned patty I've had.

The Menchi burger ($14.80) is back! Handmade pork katsu, mild mustard, tonkatsu sauce, spanish onion and shredded cabbage in a soft lightly toasted milk bun. I love the contrast of textures you get from the tender ground pork and crisped golden coating of the pork katsu patty. The bite and acidity of the mustard and umami from the tonkatsu sauce compliments the pork katsu well.

The ebi burger ($15.50) is my all-time favourite Ume Burger item. Handmade prawn katsu patty, Japanese tartare sauce and shredded cabbage in a soft lightly toasted milk bun. The prawn katsu has a golden-crisped crumb coating and perfectly cooked prawns.

I have always loved the philosophy of "perfection in simplicity". That's probably why I love the work Bar Ume and Ume Burger does. Congrats Kerby and team Ume!

Ume Burger
Wulugul Walk
Barangaroo NSW 2000
Opening hours:
11am till late (around 10 to 11pm) everyday