Review: The Bite Parramatta (then Chocolateria San Churro!)

308 Church St
Parramatta


Sun-Thurs:
12pm - 10pm
Fri-Sat:
12pm - 11pm


We needed to have a catch up with Cooty (aka Squeak's mum) and as observant readers of Buggles & Squeak will know... the choice of lunch venue is a minefield that needs to be navigated with care. Seafood and Italian are usually the best options, but of late seafood seems to have ignited a few unexpected landmines so Italian seems our best option. The Western Suburbs are our destination so we check out what Parramatta has to offer and fall upon a place called 'The Bite'. The menu looks extensive which, while isn't necessarily a good thing in normal circumstances, seems to be what we need. There are loads of pasta and pizza options with a bit of seafood for good measure... so we are proud of seemingly negotiating our way across the minefield successfully!
The Bite sits amongst a variety of other eating establishments along Church Street such as Criniti's, San Churro and City Extra. The interior of The Bite is light, airy and modern and the service is very friendly. It is a good start.  They do offer a $20 two course lunch special which includes a drink (either a soft drink or wine). This seems pretty good value to us, but we decide to order from the regular menu on this occasion.

To start we share some garlic bread as well as the warm marinated olives. The garlic bread looks pale and bland when it arrives, but on eating it reveals itself to be quite moist, garlicky and moreish . The kalamata olives are panfried in olive oil with some garlic, oregano and chilli. They are delicious!

Squeak orders the Steak Dianne which is served on a bed of herbed potatoes. The dish looks good, although Squeak does lament not ordering some form of greens as it really does look like it could use some. The steak itself is tasty and tender, although a touch over the medium rare requested. The Dianne sauce is disappointing as it lacks the punch of Worcestireshire sauce and garlic that Squeak usually looks for in a Dianne sauce.

I order the Chicken Chorizo as I do find it difficult to go past anything involving chorizo. It comes served with a risotto of semi dried tomatoes and peas with a parmesan veloute. Sounds pretty good to me, although I am nervous of any risotto as they really can go wrong. On arrival, it is a very large serve and looks appetizing - despite the fact that the risotto does indeed look far too gluggy.  The chicken is moist though, with a nice crispy skin and stuffed with loads of spicy chorizo. The tomatoes in the risotto are nice but the parmesan veloute seems more like a generic sauce with little of the strong flavour that tends to define parmesan. Overall though I quite like the meal.

Now it comes to Cooty's meal. She decides to order The Bite Seafood Fettucine. This comes with tiger prawns, squid, smoked salmon and scallops with a creamy tomato sauce and a capsicum chilli jam. Cooty asks for hers without the jam however. The pasta looks quite good although the abundance of seafood suggested in the description didn't seem entirely apparent in the dish itself. She struggles to find the few flakes of salmon. Cooty isn't a real fan of squid, and this did seem to be over-represented, but it is quite tender. The pasta is cooked well, but the sauce seems to be heavier on the cream flavour than anything else.

Overall, the meals served at The Bite are generous and quite tasty, although the main downfall seems to be the saucing which could be better flavoured. It also isn't particularly cheap. Both the Chicken and Steak dishes are around the $30 mark, and we have certainly had better elsewhere for a similar price.

Serrvice is very good - attentive, friendly and accommodating. Would we go back again? Maybe - but we may need to find a different spot when taking Cooty along.

Following this... we decide that we need a sweet ending to the meal and just across the road is Chocolateria San Churro.  I LOVE doughnuts and Cooty loves chocolate so we decide to go and check it out. 

We order a couple of coffees and churros with pots of melted chocolate - milk chocolate for the Coot and dark and white for Squeak and I.  We head upstairs to sit as it is quieter and more roomy.
Cooty has never had churros before and initially isn't keen when she tries them sans chocolate. Upon dipping into the chocolate however she seems to acquire the taste for them. Squeak and I tuck into ours and are pretty happy.... with Squeak preferring the white 'chocolate' over the dark. I'm pretty happy with both.
We sit back with our hot drinks and chat away the afternoon with the rain pelting down outside. It hasn't been the best meal we've ever had... but with good company and conversation it certainly is a good day to be alive.

Buggles