Surly's, Surry Hills

American bbq? Sydney still can't get enough. The newly opened Surly's combines a laidback American bar - complete with neon beer signs, bar stools and widescreen TVs - with a hearty rib-sticking bbq menu of smoked brisket, cornbread and fried chicken.

Surly's is the latest venture by the Parlour Group, the same group behind Riley Street Garage and The Stuffed Beaver. In the kitchen is Brendhan Bennison, a bonafide Southerner who's keen to serve up the best barbecue from across the USA.


Fried chicken with potato salad $14
Three pieces with choice of side

The menu is huge. We're talking bacon cheese fries, buffalo wings, a whole deep-fried battered onion and tortilla chips with chilli con carne - and that's just the starters. A philly cheesesteak is a welcome sight and there's a nod too to fusion food with a smoked pork shoulder banh mi. The Surly beef burger is a modest $13 and there's also a veggie burger, "for all you whining hippies" the menu says.

It's no surprise that we order the fried chicken, three pieces of on-the-bone chicken that sadly comes with a thick - and somewhat undercooked - batter. We get the potato salad as our included side, reminiscent of Japanese potato salads with its slightly smashed cubes mixed with carrots and peas.


Beef brisket bbq plate $19 
(your choice of two sides with homemade cornbread)

The American barbecue plates don't kick off until dinner time, somewhere between 5pm and 6pm. There's pulled pork and chicken thighs available but we zero in the beef brisket. We score four thick slices of meat piled into a basket with onions, pickles and cornbread. The brisket isn't as fatty as we're secretly hoping but there's some good smokiness in the skin. It's a DIY job with the barbecue sauce bottles on each table. I prefer smoky barbecue sauce over the chipotle variation, dunking the brisket generously into great big puddles it.


Green beans and BBQ beans

We go with the two different beans as sides to our brisket. The barbecue beans have a hearty meatiness, and the green beans are the palate-cleansing veggie quota you need between mouthfuls of meat.


Pork spare rib bbq plate with coleslaw and mac 'n' cheese $20
(your choice of two sides with homemade cornbread)

Pork spare ribs win out over beef ribs when we place our order. It's a well-rewarded decision, scoring two ribs that are the picture of juicy pink. Our side of coleslaw is a zingy combo of red cabbage and carrot; the mac 'n' cheese brings back memories of the Kraft blue box from our childhood. The macaroni elbows are drenched in a thick and salty cheese sauce.

But the pork rib. Oh boy. The meat comes clean away from the bone, there's a generous layer fat between the meat and the skin, and the smokiness is mellow and lingering.

The vibe is relaxed and casual, and they have a load of craft beers on tap. All that's missing is a pecan pie for dessert. Then we'd totally be set.






Surly's
182 Campbell Street, Surry Hills, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9331 3705

Opening hours:
Tuesday to Sunday 12 midday to 12 midnight


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