Review: Food Society, Sydney

I had the most phenomenal dining experience at Food Society over the weekend. After months of hearing rave reviews about this cosy little joint in Darlinghurst from a zillion other food bloggers, I finally managed to rally a group of friends to join me on my little culinary excursion - my first in a long time, I might add! 

To begin, the service was spot on. Waiters dressed in plaid shirts and bow ties fit in perfectly with the off-beat, homestyle decor of the restaurant; our dishes and drinks came racing out of the kitchen in a heartbeat, and fun little nibbles were scattered on our table within moments of being seated. Ah, good service - a rare and dying art these days, and so appreciated!

On to the fun part: the food. Apologies in advance for the grainy photos; it was the best the iPhone could muster up on short notice!

For starters, we noshed on meat and vegetable pierogi (Polish-style dumplings that resemble ravioli) - they were slightly chewy and reminded me of gyoza. Interesting and worth a try. The spinach and ricotta burek (pie) was tender and moist, layered with a wonderfully light and crisp puff pastry. There were also fresh oysters washed down with French bubbly off a well-curated wine list. Checking all the right boxes so far!

Spinach, Ricotta Burek with Ajvar ($11)

We selected two boards to share amongst the 7 of us: cured meats and chicken liver parfait with onion jam. Ok, there's not much to be said about the former; slices of meat and toasted chips are pretty standard aren't they? Salty and thin. The parfait was absolutely beautiful - a little awkward to pick out of the jam jar, but it melted like butter in your mouth, and delish when coupled with a dab of onion jam.

Cured Meats with house pickled vegetables ($20)

Chicken Liver Parfait with toasted breads and onion jam ($18)

Next came a slew of wondrously carnivoristic mains - tender roasted chicken, squid ink risotto, tender pink cuts of beef fillet, and lamb so delectable that it's giving my favourite restaurant, Cotton Duck, a run for its money! The best part was that all the dishes slid around the table quickly so everyone could snag a bite with no problem. Food was made to be shared after all! 

Chicken breast with potato dumplings, mushrooms and paprika ($25)

Grilled cuttlefish on squid ink risotto with parmesan ($26)

Fillet of beef with lardon, kohlabi puree and roasted carrots ($27)

Ciara anxious to get at the lamb!

No meal is complete without dessert, so we dug up our second stomachs and scoffed down the chocolate ganache and mousse (rated "so good I could die" by my choc-aholic house mate and believe me, she would know!) and the pashka (Polish-style cheesecake).

I ordered it purely because our bow-tie clad waiter said "it's not much to look at but tastes great." He spoke the truth - it arrived looking a bit like a slab of badly poured cement in an off-white colour, but thankfully tasted a lot better than it looked. If you're a fan of super-sweet desserts though, this might not be one for you. It's light and almost airy, with just a touch of sweetness. Most of the punch comes through the tangy strawberry compote. It's a great and balanced way to round off an otherwise-heavy meal though!

Signature pashka with strawberry compote ($10)

All in all, this definitely ranks up there as one of my favourite restaurants in Sydney. They absolutely deserve all the great reviews they've received so far! And to sweeten the deal? It was less than $45 per head, even with three (or was it four?) bottles of wine ordered. So grab a crew and make a booking stat. xx

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Food Society
91 Riley St, Darlinghurst
+61 2 8090 3462
http://www.foodsociety.com.au