The Winery – Surry Hills, Sydney
As soon as I saw the pretty Winery sign studded with bright red roses I thought to myself, “Good work! I have chosen the perfect place for my manly brother heh heh heh.” With the help of the lovely Steph, we ended up at the Surry Hills restaurant of the Gazebo restaurants to celebrate my brothers birthday.
Just gotta love the lazy afternoon feeling
It was a beautiful, warm day and the whole atmosphere of the place (although has a slight yuppie feel) was perfect fro celebrating with some good food and wine! The whole place was covered in pretty and colourful flowers and other interesting ornaments of upside down birds and deers wearing ties. I didn’t get a photo of the giant chessboard outside but I thought it really added a nice touch to the place, and giant chess = much entertainment ^^!
Wooww a Grange bottle for a flower vase hee hee
To start off, a nice glass of wine was needed to set off the celebratory mood! We browsed through the menu and I immediately recognized many of the dishes from the posts I had read so without delay Here Comes the Food
Crispy squid, mint, coriander & a chilled cucumber salad ($18)
Freshly fried curls of squid accompanied by a cool cucumber salad really hits the spot. The soft squid was of a nice texture and the crispy batter contrasted beautifully with the meat. A very fresh tasting dish with the addition of the mint and coriander.
Brandied chicken liver pate, cornichons, toasts ($18)
Probably my favourite of the share plates was this crunchy toasts with brandied chicken liver pate. Smear the toast generously with the beautiful creamy pate and crunch your way to a heavenly bite. The little cornichons also provided a nice refreshing burst of pickled goodness to break the monotonousness of just pate and toast.
Spinach & ricotta stuffed mushrooms, pinenuts, pesto, basil ($18)
These were very cute little mushrooms and burst with juices when you bit into them. Then the oozy cheesey filling warms to you. Very moreish indeed, but that is probably because I love the spinach and ricotta combination so.
Kingfish ceviche, lemon, ginger spritz & crunchy edamame ($19)
The kingfish ceviche was wonderfully fresh and with a decent zing of lemon and ginger spritz, it was also another popular dish among the table. The contrast of crunchy edamame with the soft and silky slices of fish was another big plus for this dish.
Beer battered Barra, mushy peas, fries & tartare ($24)
My cousin is a fan of all things deep-fried so he couldn’t really look past the beer battered Barramundi with fries. I really loved the presentation of this dish, in a tall cone of paper and longs sticks of flaky fish. Each bite gave a delicious crunch and the choice of different sauces/dips was awesome.
Eye fillet, creamy mash, caramelized eschallot, jus ($29)
I didn’t get to try any of this as my brother dug into it with a force to be reckoned with but from his face it seemed like it was satisfying, although maybe a little small haha.
BBQ’d lamb & fetta burger, grilled eggplant, yoghurt dressing & crinkles ($21)
My lamb burger was very juicy with the sauces and juices dripping down all over my hands and face… but I did not care for it was delicious and I just kept munching into it. The combination of flavours were brilliant and I also got a little pot of chips which were beautifully crunchy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside.
Grape, Champagne & chicken pie, buttered spinach ($23)
We just had to try the grape pie! Little blobs of grapes dotted the pie which had a beautiful flaky pastry crust and soft and tender shreds of chicken. The champagne flavour was also present although on the subtler side. The grapes popped with hot juices as we bit into them so you had to be a bit careful but they did had a very interesting dimension to the pie.
Hee hee urinal lights on the ceiling of the little boys room
Ahhhhhh soo ppuuurrrdddyyyy ^^!
Happy B’day big brooooo – not like a b’day without the sparklers!
Apple crumble in a crunchy walnut pastry cup, ice cream ($13)
A very interesting version of apple crumble and I really enjoyed the crunchy pastry cup and crumble but I am not a big fan of raisins in dishes :S I like them by themselves but when I dish I find them a bit too sweet and overpowering.
Chocolate brownie, ice cream, fairy floss, chocky sauce ($13)
We just had to get this chocolate brownie with the fairy floss (as Steph put it) mullet! Pure decadence with each bite and love the fun and airy fairy floss. The warm and gooey brownie was very good and finished off the meal very grandly.
A very tasty meal and with everyone satisfied we waddle off, saying goodbye and cya soon to the gossiping cockatoos.
*NOTE* talking about B’days and girly stuff I just passed mine (yeahh I’m olldd nooowww 
) and I got FF13 whheeeee ^^! So if I disappear for the next 100 hours or so you know where I am hee hee.
I have heard good and bad things… I’m hoping that they have not screwed it up (Damn you SquareEnix! Bring back Sqauresoft!) but to be honest I am more excited about FFversus13 ^^! Whhee Noctis ^^!
The Winery by Gazebo
285A Crown St
(through the old sandstone gates, next to Thomas Dux)
Surry hills, 2010
Ph: (02) 9331 0833
FFichiban
March 28th, 2010 at 1:12 pm
Oldie
March 28th, 2010 at 3:03 pm
FF13? Now you are lucky!
The food look fantastic by the way
March 28th, 2010 at 4:28 pm
No wonder you were up til 4am! I’m glad you enjoyed the winery, I hope it wasn’t too girly for your brother! LOL I don’t remember it having so many flowers! Mmm I love stuffed mushrooms, I will have to try that next time I go.
March 28th, 2010 at 8:28 pm
Happy birthday dude! Boys and their toys.. Can’t keep them apart at all! My boy just got God of War 3 and he’s loving it!
Food looks stunning, especially the Kingfish ceviche, and the lamb burger sounds morish! *drools*
March 28th, 2010 at 9:12 pm
haha FF13!
goodbyeee see you in a few weeks
March 29th, 2010 at 2:37 pm
happy birthday to you and your brother! the brownie and fairy floss looks like an awesome combo
March 29th, 2010 at 3:03 pm
What happens when Persian floss combines with sparklers?!? Looks dangerous…
March 29th, 2010 at 7:14 pm
I’ll have some of the stuffed mushrooms and that great looking brownie…. please???? pretty please?
March 31st, 2010 at 3:41 pm
i like the surry hills area