Tio's + Wild Rover small bars, Surry Hills

I LOVE the advent of the Sydney small bar scene. This is kind of an odd thing for me to say seeing as I don’t really drink and I have only been to about three of Sydney’s small bars. Actually, it’s more likely I’ve only been to two, not three – but whatever the number I do love them. I love them as they are not big, over-crowded, noisy pubs. I like the intimate feel of a small bar and how they all seem to specialise in something – rum, whiskey, tequila...hangovers.

On a recent(ish) girls night out I was lucky enough to try two of Surry Hills small bars – taking my grand total of small bar visits in Sydney to a whooping FOUR!

First stop was Tio’s which is located on Foster Street – just up from Bar H. Tio’s specializes in tequila although there are other drinks on offer...like beer.

There's not much on offer in terms of food, but they do serve bags of popcorn (free with your drink order) and at 6pm we noticed a limited food menu being handed out. But, pretty much it’s just tequila, so line your stomach beforehand. The popcorn is pretty moreish though...sprinkled with paprika it's savoury and spicy (but not too spicy).

I can't quite remember which two cocktails I ordered - but they were from the cheap (aka $10.00) side of the menu. I think I probably had the Paloma as it has grapefruit in it and I LOVE grapefruit. Sticking with the theme of drinks I love it makes sense then that my second drink was the El Diablo as it has Ginger Beer in it.

I’m not sure what’s with all the bras behind the bar. The barman assures us they are real, functioning bras handed over by their lady customers. I don’t know – bras are SO damn expensive, there’s nothing (not even a stomach full of tequila) that would get me to hand over my bra without receiving a fistful of cash so I could go buy a replacement bra.

 

Our next stop is The Wild Rover. If I hadn’t seen someone opening the nondescript door to this bar as I walked past a few weeks prior I would have no idea that a cool, small bar lurked behind the walls of what honestly looks like an old butchers shop. There is literally nothing identifying this as a bar – I love the clandestine, hidden feeling of this place – even though it sits on a busy road in Surry Hills.

They specialize in whiskey here at Wild Rover and the feel of the place is decidedly “Irish pub meets the New York Irishman circa 1940” (or something like that). There's of dark wooden furniture, exposed brick walls, pewter mugs for beers and a large central wooden bar dominating the downstairs room. I particularly love the old railway station signboard that serves as a drinks menu...

The staff here are really friendly and don’t bat an eyelid when all I order is a Cranberry Juice (I’m all boozed out from the tequila bar earlier). There’s a few food options on offer and the girls I’m with decide to order a (very delicious) vegetarian sausage roll to tide us over until we hit our dinner spot later on.

Do you prefer a small bar over a pub dear reader, and if so what's your favourite Sydney small bar?

Tio's is at 4-14 Foster Street, Surry Hills.  



The Wild Rover is at 75 Campbell Street, Surry Hills. 

4Fourteen, Surry Hills

We’re lucky enough to have a Scheduled Day Off each month at my work – a luxury that makes me feel like one of the luckiest worker-bees on the planet. Thing is I’m such a lazy person that I often just waste them by blobbing about on the couch at home and pottering about (more blobbing than pottering though). For my last SDO I was determined to get my (ever-expanding) butt off the couch and head in to Surry Hills to try one of the eateries on my ever-growing wish list (ergo the ever-expanding butt problem).

Initially I was thinking of heading to Orto Trading Co or Rueben Hills – two cafes that have been on my Surry Hills radar for way to long. However I thought a Friday lunch would be a perfect time to visit Colin Fassnidge’s newest restaurant, 4Fourteen. Colin’s two other restaurants in the Eastern Suburbs are insanely popular and really busy so despite only being open for a few short weeks I already knew that 4Fourteen was PACKED to the rafters on weekends as well as for weeknight dinners.  Lunch turned out to be a perfect time to visit - not crowded, quiet and very enjoyable.

I’m not really sure why I wanted to visit 4Fourteen as I don’t feel overly motivated to visit either Four in Hand or the Paddington Arms despite their rave reviews.  I think they are just too far from where I live to make it “easy” for me to get to (I’m lazy remember, too much effort makes me want to nap). The new restaurant in Surry Hills seemed much more accessible to me – easy to get to on the train. And it seemed like a nice "special" place to catch up with Big Sister and hear all about her recent travels overseas.

We were offered a seat at the counter over-looking the open kitchen. No food blogger in their right mind would say no to this, what we’d consider a million dollar view. What a GREAT place to sit! We got to see all the action, watch our meals being prepared and ask the chefs questions (when they weren’t too busy that is).  My height-challenged sister had a few issues getting down from her perch though (which was quite fun to watch).

Big Sister decided to forgo entrees (though she did end up eating half of both of mine - hmm) which meant I had to order two entrees in order to get the "full entree experience" that sharing entrees normally brings.  The Chicken Wing with Parfait, Crispy Tortilla and Quince Chutney ($7.50 each) was sublime (and the chook was free-range so bonus points)!  Although I now know how to DIY pork crackling thanks to the #porfkest cooking class I did recently at Atelier, I still felt it necessary to order the (free range) Pork Crackling with pickled vegetables with smoked mayonnaise ($9.00).  The crackling was excellent - super crispy, light and salty.  The pickled vegies offered a wonderful acidic hit.

For mains Big Sister ordered the Seared Bonito with Fennel Juice, Vanilla Buttermilk and Celery ($18.00).  The Bonito was lightly seared - really lovely. The fennel juice was..."interesting" and didn't have an overly aniseed flavour like I was expecting. 

I ordered the Crumbed Pigs Tail with Crab and Corn Salad, Avocado Puree ($22.00) and it was totally amazing. It wasn't the de-boned pigs tail that I was expecting (of Masterchef fame), but more like shredded pork that has been crumbed then fried - the shape actually resembled those frozen fish portions we sometimes buy (ok, we buy them every week. Don't judge) rather than a piggies tail!  It was such a tasty dish - the pork was so tender and full of smokey flavour.

We thought a few sides would be in order.  Big sister choose both the Mixed Grain Salad with red and white quinoa, toasted nuts and puffed rice ($12.00) and the Orange and Ginger Carrots with Cumin and Yoghurt ($9.00).  I LOVED the big chunky carrots - deliciously caramelised and the yoghurt dressing was perfectly tart.  The Mixed Grain Salad was such a healthy option...so healthy we decided to be virtuous and not order dessert.

4Fourteen is at 414 Bourke Street, Surry Hills (entrance via: 72a Fitzroy Street). Phone them on 9331 5399. AND THEY TAKE BOOKINGS *happy dance*.