bar surry hills & italian kitchen, surry hills

Bar Surry Hills & Italian kitchen is a sleek and modern restaurant (with a bar!) located on the ground floor of Rydges Sydney Central with a chic and fun atmosphere. It's easily accessible from Central Station (only a 5 minute walk!) and very distinguishable with its large window panels on the corner of Albion and Mary Street.

(Source: Zoom in with Eden Photography)

The premises of restaurant and bar was recently refurbished and now delivers authentic Italian cuisine and local craft beers. The dining menu offers quality, artisan produce, serving all your favourite pizza and pasta selections, while its bar serves classic cocktails and a collection of Sydney Brewery's finest.

Last Friday night, I was fortunate enough to be invited to its new concept and menu launch. Since the food portions were made to cater to large groups, the portion sizes shown in my photos might not be an accurate representation of what you get for the price you pay!

The charcuterie station - where all the magic happens with Italian cold cut meats and bread (Source: Zoom in with Eden Photography)

Passionfruit Paloma Cocktail: 

(Source: Zoom in with Eden Photography)

I think I had one too many of these. Loved it.

Espresso Martini: 

Espresso martinis in the making (Source: Zoom in with Eden Photography)

Salumi Misti board ($18.00):
Proscuitto, sopressa, mortadella, hand made grissini, sicilian olives and grana extra virgin olive oil.

On the board was shaved mortadella, proscuitto, salami and crisp bread. My favourites from this plate were the sopresso and proscuitto! Warm, black and green savoury olives accompanying super crisp, hand-made grissini sticks arrived alongside the platter.

Bruschetta ($8.00):
Pomodoro, imported goats cherve and baby basil.

Arancini ($9.00):

These golden balls of creamy pesto risotto are coated in a light yet crunchy crust and served with aioli and shaved parmesan. Two of these found themselves in my stomach within minutes.

When I saw pizza on the menu for the night my heart did a somersault because pizzas hold a special place in my heart and there's nothing better than using quality produce to create simple and comforting foods. Tonight, I was in Pizza Heaven.

A tradition neapolitan method (stone fired) is used with san manzarno tomato, buffalo mozzarella and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, basil and organic sea salt. If you're here with a party, you can order metre long pizzas. Yes you saw it right - one metre!

Fungi Misti ($16.00):
Porcini mushroom, truffle, ricotta and thyme. 

Before I could even try the pizza, I knew this was going to be good just from the aroma. I would have liked more of that incredibly tender mushroom though!

Patate ($16.00):
Potato, mozzarella, fresh rosemary, garlic and truffle oil

That carb on carb action.

San Daniele ($16.00):
Tomato, mozzarella, roquette, san daniele prosucitto, shaved parmesan.

The crust of these pizzas aren't as thin as you initially expect from the floppy slices yet they are still crisp and wonderfully charred at the bottom and edges.

Diavola ($16.00):
Tomato, mozzarella, hot salami, capsicum and olives 

The pizza diavola is hotter than I had expected and I loved the flaming chilli kick from the hot salami.

Quattro Formaggi ($16.00):
Mozzarella, gorgonzola, crescenza, ricotta, basil, shaved parmesan.

Quattro Formagi is basically a four cheese pizza and is perfect for all you cheese lovers out there. The cheeses used can vary but this particular pizza uses mozzarella, gorgonzola, crescenza and ricotta (also topped with shaved parmesan). The combination sounds so sinfully decadent and is worth every calorie.

Margherita ($16.00):
Tomato, mozzarella and fresh basil.

You can't go wrong with a classic margherita - the simplicity of tomato, mozzarella and basil on a crisp pizza base is just too good.

If pizza isn't the thing for you, then we can't be friends! Just kidding, there's also a pasta menu full of classics - serving up crowd pleasers like traditional spaghetti bolognaise, hand made potato gnocchi to butternut pumpkin raviolini and papppardelle with slow braised duck ragu.

And you're not done at an Italian restaurant if you haven't had the dolce.

Canoli ($4.00):
Hand piped sicilian ricotta with chocolate ($4.00):

The canoli is a crackling crisp shell with a chilled, rich, creamy ricotta and speckled chocolate filling. I love the contrast in textures, how there are absolutely no signs of oiliness and the pastry's time spent in the fryer. A light dusting of icing sugar completes the whole dish.

Nutella Pizza ($12.00):
Strawberries and sweet sugar.

Just when I thought we were done with pizzas for the night, this gigantic nutella pizza presents itself on the counter. It's a simple yet such a genius combination

Overall it was a great experience and definitely worth checking out if you're in the area! It makes the perfect venue for a romantic dinner, parties, business lunch or even if you're just looking for a few drinks after work.

Bar Surry Hills & Italian Kitchen
28 Albion St
Surry Hills, NSW 2010
f: https://www.facebook.com/BarSurryHillsandItalianKitchen
t: (02) 9289 0028
w: https://www.rydges.com/sydneycentral

Disclaimer: polyphagia ♣ was invited by Zoe from The Drawing Book Studios to the Bar Surry Hills & Italian Kitchen relaunch. Opinions are however my own.