Review : Bar H

80 Campbell Street
Surry Hills

9280 1980
enquiries@barhsurryhills.com

Lunch
Thurs-Fri Noon to 3pm
Dinner
Tues-Sat 6pm to late

Unfortunately we are heading towards the end of our week off. It has been a great week that has seen us visit Becasse, Four in Hand & Biota.

We have been meaning to visit Bar H for ages & a quiet Thursday lunch seems the right time to do so.

We secure a parking spot pretty much across the road, walk by cafe ish & grab a table at a very empty Bar H.
The space is small, yet it is very warm & inviting. The waitstaff are friendly & accommodating.
We have decided on the shared banquet for two, four courses at $70pp.

We knock back a couple of beers and before long our first course arrives;

Olives, grissini & honeyed prosciutto. The olives are plump & delicious with just a little bit of spice, they are moreish indeed. The prosciutto has a slight sweetness to it & is delicious. A very good start.

Next we have White anchovies, pickled cucumber & shiso, this course really awakens the palate, a great combination of salty, sweet & sour. We could have eaten a lot more of this... especially the lovely, chewy mushrooms.

Beetroot with house made ricotta salad, is very good & just what we needed after the zingyness of the previous dish. The ricotta is creamy & the beetroot refreshingly sweet. The crunch & slight bitterness of the walnuts works really well with the dish as a whole.

Now to the dish I have been waiting for Red braised beef short rib with black bean and chilli. This is so worth the wait. The beef is pull apart tender, the braise of black bean & chilli adds a warming, salty hit. Almost too good to be true.

A side of Roast pumpkin with cumin & lemon, topped with roasted hazelnuts is totally divine. The pumpkin is roasted to perfection, the cumin & lemon are a match made in heaven & the crunchy, roasted hazelnuts tie it altogether stupendously.

This is where our banquet ends, however Buggles & Squeak are not done yet!

Not huge fans of ginger we are both drawn to the Ginger Custard with Lime Syrup, by the mere mention of 'lime syrup'. Turns out this is a great move. The custard is rich & silky smooth, with the ginger not overpowering at all; the lime syrup delivers a powerful citrus hit & the candied ginger on top is to die for.

To finish off I order a long black (only espresso & long black available at Bar H) as we tuck into four delicious Earl Grey Chocolate truffles. Bliss.

So how does the 4 course banquet measure up?
At $70pp we think it is a bit steep. There is no doubt the food is spectacular, and the flavours amazing...there just isn't enough of it! So while there is no disputing the quality, in terms of quantity, it falls a little short.

Squeak