Don Quixote, Sydney

EDIT: Don Quixote has closed and been replaced by The Sanctuary Hotel.

Suckling Pig.

Two words which trigger salivary overdrive for many a gluttonous foodie.

In search of the perfect venue for a foodie Christmas function, we headed to Don Quixote to er... pig out.

Don Quixote has been around since 1968, but has only been in its current premises in the heart of the Spanish Quarter since 1999. Inside, the restaurant is open and airy with plenty of rustic wooden chairs and tables, red brick walls and terracotta tiles.

We elected for a banquet menu with a few edits at our request.
NB. Prices quoted are a la carte prices.


Mejillones frescos a la marinera $18.50
Mussels cooked in onion, tomato salsa and aromatic herbs


Gambas al ajillo $19.00
Prawns cooked with olive oil, chilli and garlic


Calamares $18.00
Deep-fried squid rings with lemon and tartare sauce


Paella Valenciana $50.00 (for two)
Spanish national rice dish cooked with chicken, prawns, mussels, scallops and blue swimmer crab.


Jamoncitos de pollo a la catalana
Chicken cooked in tomato, onion, capsicum, mushrooms and white wine sauce


Toston Sancho Panza $30.00
Suckling pig, basted and stuffed with a traditional seasoning.

The mussels and chicken were both tasty and the suckling pig was tender, but somehow our grand visions of carnivorous satiation weren't quite realised. There was plenty of pork available, but a bit of wow factor was lacking by the pork being presented already carved, rather than whole. Maybe our expectations of suckling pig were too high, or maybe my tastebuds were clouded by (inaccurate) visions of fatty pork with crispy crunchy crackling, as the Chinese do.

Indeed roast suckling pig can be prepared a myriad of different ways as I have since discovered. Try Balinese, Cuban, Russian or Lithuanian. Don't have a spare piglet in the larder? Then make one out of sausage. Plenty to get your snout into.

Don Quixote (CLOSED - now The Sanctuary Hotel)
545 Kent St (Cnr Liverpool St) Sydney
Tel: 02 9264 5903