Monday, September 08, 2014

Guerrilla Eats Progressive Dinner, Darlinghurst

Miss Piggy and friend dined as guests of Guerrilla Eats. Terrible photos are all my own work as per usual. 

Sydney based company Guerrilla Eats is bringing a fun, new dining concept to those of us who are keen for a bit of adventure, and a brisk stroll, whilst enjoying a meal out. For those of you old enough to have memories of progressive dinner parties from the 70s and 80s rest assured you don’t need to bring your own plate along to the neighbour’s house in order to take part in this revamped version of the progressive dinner.

A few days before our scheduled Guerrilla Eats experience we receive a “treasure map” via email directing us to where our dinner kicks off, along with our other stops for the night. My friend and I both thought this was great fun and it really got us into the mood for a fun night out.



First stop is Hinky Dinks (185 Darlinghurst Rd, Darlinghurst) – a groovy small in Darlinghurst that has a bit of a cool 1950s “cocktail bar” vibe going on. I couldn’t think of a better place to relax on a Friday night and enjoy cocktail hour. Included in our Guerrilla Eats package is a cocktail each and a choice of one item each from the food menu.


Speaking of cocktails – we both decide to order the special cocktail of the night, the classic margarita. We’re giving a little basket of popcorn and also a bowl of beetroot chips to help the margarita along.



In order to maximise chatting and drinking time we ask our waiter to select the food for us…which is always a great idea in my mind as who knows the stellar menu items better than those people who work at the place? He doesn’t disappoint us, sending out a plate of lusciously fluffy, and tasty Jalapeño croquettes (4 per serve) and a box of moreish popcorn chicken with BBQ sauce.



Before we know it our time as Hinky Dinks is up and we’re off searching for the next place. I actually had no idea where Jekyll and Hyde (332 Victoria Street, Darlinghurst) was having not heard of it before so it was fun actually having to “search” for the venue.



Turns out Jekyll and Hyde occupies the spot where Café Fellini used to be – which is where Dave and I had our very first date a billionty years ago. It was lovely to see how the place had transformed into a warm, inviting space with a bit of a Brit meets Paris vibe going on.


More cocktails are on offer and my buddy and I decide on two different cocktails that take our fancy with the view to sharing them…sharing is caring after all. My favourite of the two was the Jekyll’s Elderflower Sour (Hendricks Gin with St Germain Elderflower Liqueur with fresh lemon juice, hopped grapefruit bitters and and rose – served on the rocks). Luckily my friend prefers the French Mojito which was just a *bit* too potent for me (Havana blanco, Peach Liqueur, Chambord, lime and mint shaken with sugar syrup, finished with a splash of Sparkling Wine for something different).


Our “dinner” portion of the evening kicks off with a few smaller plates including a battered and fried haloumi with a lemon honey syrup (yum), crispy fried zucchini flowers with roasted pumpkin and thyme stuffing with an aioli dressing and finally a deconstructed warm beetroot and goats cheese tart with candied walnuts and a beetroot dressing.



For our “large plates” I was really keen to try the slow cooked beef rillette served with a beetroot relish and chimmichurri sauce - served with crispbread of course – as it’s totally different to the French style rillettes we enjoyed in Paris last year (think duck, goose and pork). It wasn't as unctuous or fatty as the French-style rillette, and was still quite rich in flavour so the relish and sauce was welcomed. The rillette was accompanied by a sweet potato rotolo that I was really too full to enjoy properly. My stomach let me down!



By this stage I was feeling pretty (very) full so I was glad to get up and stroll to our final destination, The Darlo Bar, for a nightcap. Here we get to enjoy a tap beer or a house wine and watch all the cool Darlinghurst people having fun in this retro style pub.



This was a GREAT night out and with so many different Guerrilla Eats options on offer there really is something to suit everyone. I love the idea of making the experience of dining out a real adventure – and as a person keen to try ALL the restaurants Sydney has to offer what could be better than getting to try three places all in one night? Nothing!

You can visit the Guerrilla Eats website here, or phone them on 8078 4776 or email on  eats@guerrillaeats.com.au.

Hinky Dinks on Urbanspoon

Jekyll & Hyde on Urbanspoon

Darlo Bar on Urbanspoon


7 comments:

  1. I'd like those cocktails please!

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  2. Vanessa | The Monday IssueSeptember 8, 2014 at 6:56 PM

    Hey Mel,
    I love the idea of a food crawl! I usually end up eating, then getting hungry again very quickly, then eating again at another place. But the idea of having scheduled places to move on to is so clever - especially good for trying out new things!
    xx Vanessa

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  3. I've never been to one of those, looks like a fun night out!

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  4. Fried haloumi with lemon honey sounds like so much awesome!

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  5. I've been organising a few food crawls for friends - but they've always been themed (e.g. fried chicken, dumplings, ramen). Maybe I just need to try to organise a progressive dinner..

    ReplyDelete
  6. the popcorn chicken and zucchini flowers look great!!

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  7. I love the idea of beetroot chips with the cocktail, that is awesome :D


    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

    ReplyDelete

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