Bistecca, Sydney

meltin

Steak. That's the only main you'll find at Bistecca, celebrating the Tuscan classic, bistecca alla Fiorentina. If you've ever harked for a quality T-bone, seasoned simply and cooked over glowing charcoal, this is the place for you.


Cocktails at the bar

Your first task is finding the place. George Street light rail roadworks aside, Bistecca is accessed by a set of dingy fire stairs leading you to the basement bar. Is the drab entrance a deliberate ploy to amplify your surprised delight when you enter the bar area? Maybe.

The second task you'll face is getting into the restaurant. Reservations are only accepted for dinner for groups of 6 of more. Any less and you'll have to depend on walk-in availability. Only when your entire table is present will you be shown through the secret door leading to the dining room.


Optional locked drawers for mobile phone storage

Here's another challenge. Diners are encouraged to have their mobile phones secured in a locked drawer for the duration of their meal. It's a move designed to allow customers to enjoy their meals without distractions, our waiter explains. Once our mobile phones are locked away (and yes, I agree), we're given the key with reassurances that we can access them at any time as needed.


Bistecca menu

Bistecca alla Fiorentina traditionally uses Chianina cattle, a Tuscan breed prized for its flavour. At Bistecca they use an aged grain-fed black angus beef sourced from the Riverine region in southern NSW.

The bistecca alla Fiorentina costs $13 per 100 grams. All you have to do is decide the size of the steak you want. Staff recommend about 300 grams per person (including the bone). We agree and settle on 2.1kg between seven people.


Complimentary focaccia

As staff light the candles on our table, we're presented with complimentary serves of focaccia.


That's no ordinary candle

That's when staff explain the candles aren't made from beeswax but beef dripping. It's a surreal surprise, resulting in childlike delight as we dip the bread into the melting puddle of beef fat.

You'll probably want to add a sprinkle of salt (provided on the table) to amplify the flavour, but dip generously and you'll notice its meaty fattiness coming through.


Hacksaw and cleaver in the open kitchen

While you're playing with your food, the kitchen will meanwhile be portioning your steak using a hacksaw and cleaver in the open kitchen. There's a comforting crackle and pop soundtrack that comes from the woodfire grill, used solely for cooking steaks as far as we could see - although they were attempting to smoke garlic bulbs too. The rest of the cooking is done behind swing doors leading to the main kitchen.


Our steaks

Our steaks are portioned, weighed and presented for approval at the table. It's a bit like ordering fresh seafood at a Chinese restaurant, without the risk of getting splashed by a gasping fish. [Keen eyes will notice the use of candles for photography lighting in the absence of our mobile phones!]


Seasoning our bistecca alla Fiorentina with salt and pepper

The steaks are seasoned with just salt and pepper before hitting the charcoal grill.


Our bistecca cooking over oak and charcoal

We fangirl over the charcoal grill. Is there a better TV station? You can also see the garlic bulbs on the shelf above the barbecue.


Fritto misto $13

There might only be one main but there are plenty of sides to transform your meal into a multi-course banquet for pescetarians and vegetarians.

Fritto misto yields a snackfest of fried fish, prawn and squid.


Sardines, raisins and pine nuts $14

We nibble on olives and sardines, the latter beautifully filleted and pickled, contrasted against sweet raisins and deep brown roasted pine nuts.


Ricotta dumplings, artichoke, goats cheese and tomato $21

Ricotta dumplings have an impressive lightness to them, baked with artichoke, tomato and goats cheese. You could happily eat this as an entree on its own.


Deboning and slicing the bistecca alla Fiorentina

It doesn't take long for our steak to cook. It's served mandatorily medium-rare, to which we have no objections.


Basting the bistecca with burnt butter and dripping

The T-bone steak is filleted, sliced and then reassembled onto the plate before being brushed with a sauce made from burnt butter and beef dripping.


Bistecca alla Fiorentina

Here's our 920g bistecca alla Fiorentina, ready for service.


Medium rare perfection

The meat is cooked to medium rare perfection. The larger 1.2kg steak (pictured above) affords greater juiciness just because the cut is thicker. For that reason alone, I'd suggest you dine as a group of four of more so you can get the bigger steak.

The meat itself is soft and tender with just the right amount of chew you'd expect from beef. It's not a fat-laden puddle of squishy wagyu, but a prime steak licked by charcoal flames. I expected a smokier char to be honest, but then I've spoilt with sirloin cooked directly on top of coals.


Scored the best piece

If you're a hands-on eater like myself, you'll make no hesitation to call dibs on the bone. Sure everyone else is eating daintily with knife and fork, but there's no greater carnivorous satisfaction than gnawing meat right off the bone. Those crevices hold all the juiciest bits.

The only condiment to your steak you'll get is a lemon wedge, but if you're a heathen like me, you'll start dipping your bits of steak in all the leftover oils and sauces from your sides (the confit garlic cream from the cavolo nero is particularly good).


White beans $12

A storm of side dishes arrives at our table all at once. The white beans are a crowd favourite, cooked to the right stage of al dente toothsomeness.


Beetroot with ricotta and burnt butter $12

Earth roasted beetroot chunks are perked up with lemon rind, burnt butter and dollops of creamy ricotta.


Cavolo nero with confit garlic cream $11

And if there's one way to convince you that greens are delicious, it's confit garlic cream. We inhale the cavolo nero, and then squabble over the remaining sauce. Mop up the leftovers with your steak and thank me later.


Potato mash $10

And can you ever have steak without potato? The mashed potato here is a fine rendition, creamy and silky in all the right places.


Brussels sprouts, pecorino and sour cream $15

Don't forget to order the Brussels sprouts either, roasted to a papery crisp golden brown and showered with finely shaved pecorino cheese.


Cheese board with mustard fruits and croutons $40
[L-R]: Lar Tur (goat, sheep and cow brie from Piedmont)
Casa Madaio il caprotto (goat hard cheese from Campania)
Blu di caravaggio (cow and buffalo variation on gorgonzola from Lombardy)
Buffaleto (cow and buffalo taleggio-style cheese)

There are just two choices for dessert: tiramisu or your choice of four cheeses available singularly or combined. We get all four cheeses on the cheeseboard, all Italian, and incorporating a mix of goat, cow, sheep and buffalo milk.

There's a distinct sharpness from the buffalo as well as noticeable musty notes from the cheeses containing goat milk.


Tiramisu $15

You bet we ordered the tiramisu. It's one of the better ones in Sydney - not suffocated with cream, but well balanced between soaked sponge fingers, mascarpone cream, bitter chocolate and a hint of booze.

If you're looking for a more alcoholic finish, you can order the milk or cacao negroni. The fernet spider offers the most fun, combining yes - fernet, vanila icream and cola - to create a concoction that's equal part herbal bitters and foaming fun.






Bistecca
3 Dalley Street, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 8067 0450

Opening hours
Restaurant
Lunch Wednesday to Friday 12pm-3pm
Dinner Monday to Saturday 6pm-10pm

Bar
Monday and Tuesday 4pm-2am
Wednesday to Friday 12pm-2am
Saturday 4pm-2am

All guests must be over the age of 18
Dinner reservations only accepted for groups of 6 or more, at 6pm or 8.30pm


Related Grab Your Fork posts
Steak - BLACK at The Star
Steak - Rockpool Bar & Grill
Steak - The Chophouse (tomahawk)

Huxtaburger, Redfern

Burger fans rejoice. Melbourne's Huxtaburger is now officially flipping burger patties in Sydney. They're the second Melbourne burger lord to head north, hot on the heels of 8bit which opened in Darling Square in May.

Huxtaburger's first Sydney location is a clever one, sitting at the base of a recently completed student accommodation tower and only a stone's throw from Redfern train station.


Huxtaburger dining space

While Huxtaburger had an official open date of Saturday September 15, we acted on a hunch they were trading beforehand in soft launch mode. We rocked up and strolled right on in.

The dining space design is inner city grunge mixed with industrial chic. The vibe feels a little forced and over-stylised though, especially when the graffiti-covered walls are overlaid with feel good motivational messages like "Smash a burger. Smash Life" and "Every human is equal". Mmmkay.

Otherwise the menu reads much like its Melbourne counterparts. Burgers cover brekkie, beef and chicken. Vegetarians and vegans get to choose between the kale, zucchini and quinoa patty or the spicy bean and quinoa patty.


Cheesus beef burger $14

Out of the 8 variations of beef burger, we find Cheesus. The double grass-fed beef patty with double cheese and cheesy mayo isn't as hefty as you'd expect, but the melting puddle of cheese is pretty spiritual.


Double grass-fed beef patty cross-section inside the Cheesus beef burger

The beef patties are tender but they do have a somewhat spongy consistency. There isn't a great deal of caramelisation either, but there's a consolatory sweetness from the tomato sauce and pickles.


Britney chicken burger $13.90 

I'm a bigger fan of the Britney chicken burger, a towering assembly of fried chicken (you can also choose to have it grilled) with grilled bacon, aioli, cheese, lettuce, tomato and smashed avocado.


Hello bacon 

The chicken thigh fillet is impressively juicy, coated in golden fried breadcrumbs. And while the bacon could probably have been cooked to a darker crisp, there's a overall sense of harmony to this burger, the fried chicken and grilled bacon balanced out by crisp iceberg lettuce and creamy avocado.


Onion rings $6.50 

You can order chicken tenders, chips, hash browns or tater tots (called hash bites on the menu) as sides. We're all about the onion rings, their sweet translucency sheathed in crunchy batter.


Furphy ale $8.50 ($5 during happy hour 4pm-7pm everyday) 
and Shit The Bed hot sauce

Little self-serve condiment trolleys are situated at the front and rear of the store. From these you can help yourself to tomato sauce, salt and Shit The Bed hot sauce that really does stand up to its heat rating of 12/10. A liberal use of Scorpion chillies means this sauce has a Scoville rating of 35, 000 units. I'd recommend cautious dipping your food into this sauce rather than committing to a dangerous pour over.

And yes, Huxtaburger is licensed too. Choose from six beers, an apple cider or whisky and dry ginger ale. Wine drinks get just one red, one white and one sparkling. Happy hour (4pm-7pm daily) offers $5 Furphy ale, white wine or red wine. They also do milkshakes, soft drinks and Nespresso coffee.


Ice cream burger with chocolate sauce $3.95 

There's only one choice for dessert, the ice cream burger with chocolate or caramel sauce. Ours is missing the Huxtacrunch (crushed feuilletine?) promised on the menu but we're hoping this was just a soft launch glitch.

Keen to try the burgers yourself? Get there for their opening day party on Saturday 15 September for $1 Huxtaburgers from 12pm to 8pm. Expect craaazy queues. 






Huxtaburger
Shop C, 66 Regent Street, Redfern, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 8591 1108

Opening hours
Sunday to Thursday 10.30am-9.30pm
Friday and Saturday 10.30am-10.30pm


Related Grab Your Fork posts
Huxtaburger, Melbourne

8bit, Darling Square
Down n' Out, Sydney
Lord Gladstone Hotel, Chippendale
Mary's, Newtown
Mister Gee Burger Truck
Superior Burger, Wakeley

Fich at Petersham

So you thought Petersham was only about Portuguese charcoal chicken? Not so. It's seafood ahoy at the suburb's most recent addition, Fich. Co-owners and chefs Jose Silva (he also co-owns Sweet Belem) and Manny Paraiso (ex-Bibo Winebar) are bringing a new kind of fish and chip shop to the suburbs. Expect the best catches of the day available for dine-in or takeaway. And yep, they have potato scallops too.



There's just one A3 page to the menu, broken up into small, large, burgers, salads and sides. Kids get to choose from fish cocktails, calamari rings or a fish burgers ($10-12), each served with chips. And yes, it's all seafood - don't go looking for any other proteins.

The dining room is clean lines and Nordic influences. The main wall is dominated by a giant fish mural. It's the kind of space that is low-key enough for young families but also passes as date night-friendly for couples.

I end up visiting twice in the space of a week: the first with friends, the second time with family. Ready for the onslaught of photos? Scroll on.


Ceviche $19

The swordfish ceviche is a good place to start. Chunky slices of swordfish have been cured with coconut vinegar to a barely-cooked softness. A blanket of coconut cream provides decadence, contrasted with the zingy pop of pomelo and the crisp bite of paper-thin cucumber.


FICH taco $9

At $9 a pop, the fish taco seems a little exxy at first glance, but there's a fair amount of work in this handheld snack. The battered fish combines puffy crunch with succulent flesh, balanced with a cucumber and tomato salsa and a perfectly cut square of butter lettuce. The highlight is the deep fried fish skin, scattered across the top like confetti.


Potato scallops $2 each

Of course we had the potato scallops, much thicker and chunkier than my 20c takeaway shop memories. There's a noticeable creaminess to the potato, encased in a thick armour of crunchy batter.


School prawns $18

Most addictive dish is awarded to the school prawns, deep-fried so they eat as noisily as potato chips. It's a simple dish that works only with the freshest of ingredients. And there's attention to detail too, with the deliberate scattering of baby radishes, chives and micro herbs to break up the heaviness.


NSW eagle ray skate schnitzel $22

There isn't enough skate on Australian restaurant menus, I reckon. Fich widens its appeal by turning it into a schnitzel. Our eagle ray skate schnitzel doesn't feel like it hits the mark this time, tasting a little mealy and without its trademark collagenic texture.


Kinkawooka SA mussels $20

The Kinkawooka mussels with sobrasada butter is another story. I order it on both visits. On my second, we get two serves. The mussels are plump and juicy; the toasted bread is seductively charred and smoky, but let's be honest, it's all about the sobrasada butter. It's literally drinkable.

We do just that, breaking open the mussel shells and using one half as a spoon to scoop up every last drop. Its salty sweet butteriness has both the fragrance of seafood and the gently spiced undertones of sobarasada, a pork and paprika cured Spanish sausage.


FICH love salad $12

Five choices beckon from the salad menu. We try three of them overall. The love salad promises bacalhau with cos lettuce, tomato, cucumber, olive and croutons. We only manage to find three tiny pieces of cured cod, but otherwise it's a tasty serving of vegetables (and deep-fried bread. Yum).


Beet salad $10

There's much to like about the beet salad, the earthiness of crimson roasted beetroots offset by a labne dressing, bitter rocket and crunchy roasted chickpeas and pumpkin seeds.


Rocco salad $10

The rocco salad is all about celebrating cous cous. It's a fluffy mound, interspersed with roasted zucchini, charred capsicum, toasted almond flakes and the sweetness of raisins.


Polenta chips with anchovy mayo $12

Polenta chips aren't presented in usual Jenga block fashion, but in cubes. That makes for a more favourable crunchy outer ratio, made even better with a splodge of anchovy mayo.


Whole grilled trout with grilled tortillas, molhol verde, piri piri and aioli $36

The largest - and most expensive - dish on the menu is the whole fish, either grilled or southern fried as you choose. The fish varies day to day. We were keen to have the flathead but it's not on the menu today. We opt for the whole grilled trout instead. It's cooked with expertise, sporting slightly charred skin.

We demolish it all, alternating mouthfuls with the trio of sauces on the side: a Portuguese green sauce, piri piri chilli sauce and aioli. A grilled tortilla and pickled turnips and gherkins round out this substantial main.


Grilled garfish with grilled tortillas, molhol verde, piri piri and aioli $36

On our next visit, we're again denied the flathead so choose the snapper instead. This causes some confusion when grilled garfish arrives at the table. There's an awkward moment when the waitress asks us if we're happy with the garfish or if we'd prefer the snapper. We acquiesce but then suffer regret as we battle with the minefield of tiny bones. The fish is tasty, if hard work though.


Grilled Cone Bay barramundi with roasted Jerusalem artichokes and broccoli $36

Much easier to eat is the grilled Cone Bay barramundi. It's another testament to the expertise in the kitchen, cooked so the crisp is crisp without compromising the flesh. Roasted Jerusalem artichokes and broccoli on the side would make this an ideal main course for one.


Fich n chips $18

The classic fish and chips is one of the real highlights though. The beer battered New Zealand ling fillet is masterfully done. Is there anything more beautiful than deep-fried perfection? A massive serve of chips means you'd probably want to share this.


Fich bowl chai tea custard $10

We end up trying all three desserts available. The Fich bowl chai tea custard is probably the most disappointing, only because the taste of chai is barely discernible. Warm quince and the scattered crumble of oats, pumpkin seeds and almonds make this feel like I'm eating breakfast. If there's been more of the chai flavour this could have been so comforting.


When Fich meets Belem $7

Fich meets Belem is a cute tribute to the famed custard tart sold around the corner. The pasteis de nata is blinged up with blowtorched Swiss meringue and an assembly of finely sliced fruit. Few things can beat flaky pastry and eggy custard. It doesn't need all the garnishing to be honest, but it does mean you get to feel a little better about eating more fruit?

Looking for a night out or a night in? Go Fich. And get those mussels.


Fich ice cream sandwich $8

Surprised dish of the day? The ice cream sandwich. It's more than that. It's swoonworthy. The discs of incredibly flaky pastry make my eyebrows arch, but it's the salted caramel too, a thick and dense sauce that has been pushed to the edge of sweet and salty bitterness.






Fich at Petersham
Shop 3, 98-106 Audley Street, Petersham, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9572 7887

Opening hours
Wednesday to Sunday 12pm-9pm


Related Grab Your Fork posts
Petersham - Brighton the Corner
Petersham - Oxford Tavern
Petersham - Pig and Pastry
Petersham - Sweet Belem