squishies 9 December 2009 Dessert, Dinner, Spanish, Sydney, Surry Hills 16 Comments  Print This Post  Email This Post

I’ve been bugging Dat for a catch up, as we haven’t seen each other in ages. Finally after (most probably) 6 months of trying to set up a dinner date, we manage to agree on a date and the only problem was a place. It was funny that we were tossing up between Ryo’s and Becasse… and somehow ended up here, in Surry Hills, at a Spanish tapas restaurant.

Dat and Ier were running a bit late, and as I was getting a bit worried that we might not get a seat, I enquired if it’s possible to grab a table since most of our party were already here. The waitress was apologetic and said that we could wait at the bar instead if we’d like until everyone to arrived (we were kicking our heels at the kerb at this stage).

Once they arrived, the waitress immediate went to seat us though we were plagued with indecisions: inside or outside? Okay, so outside (because we were already outside). The far or near table? Okay, so near then (because we were right next to it). Terrible. I got a bit worried with how we were going to fair with the menu.

Thankfully, we weren’t as indecisive with our choices on the menu as to where to sit and we were all down to the serious business of picking our dishes, making sure that our choices weren’t overlapping (naturally).

Required Bread Shot

We were served a generous helping of bread with some olive oil. We thought that the olive oil was flavoured with something, but after talking to the waiter, it turned out that it was just made with young olives. Interesting that they would taste different to mature ones, even in oil form.

Fried Spiced Calamari with Alioli ($18)

The calamari were wonderfully soft, yet firm and the spices weren’t overpowering but was deliciously complimentary to the zesty aioli. I loved how they were so generous with the dollop of aioli – then I don’t have to be stingy with how much I put on my calamari (and I really love to slather it on). It was a definite hit at our table.

Argentinean Style Beef Empanadas with Salsa Criolla (4 for $13.50)

Spiced Pumpkin and Feta Empanadas with Yoghurt Sauce (4 for $13.50)

“Empanada? What’s empanada?” We looked over at another table and whispered to each other, “Is that it?” When our waiter confirmed our guess, we couldn’t decide which one to get as we couldn’t get both (considering the amount of food we were already getting). Our ever-helpful waiter suggested that they could do 2 of each for us and we quickly agreed.

The empanadas were crisp, crunchy and slightly thick – it also wasn’t oily as I thought it might have been. In other words: they were perfect shells for the two fillings. The Argentinean style beef filling had bits of olives and boiled egg white mixed in and was scrumptiously well-seasoned. The salsa added a welcoming tangy component to the dish. The pumpkin filling was I think spiced with cummin and a couple of slices of chilli, which was nicely tempered by the yoghurt sauce.

Needless to say, another hit at our table – so much so, Ier decided to make her own empanadas at home recently!

The “fish fingers” were light and refreshing, made more substantial by the crunchy garlic toast. The sashimi and ceviche were incredibly fresh with the thinly sliced onion adding some acidity, though we thought there was a bit too much onion.

This dish was our clear favourite of the night and on talking to some of the people in the line for the bathroom, it was also enthusiastically theirs – no wonder why our waiter unhesitatingly recommended it.

Beetroot, Witlof, Labna and Orange Salad ($16)

I adored this salad. It was deliciously refreshing with the scrumptiously juicy beetroot and blood orange segments, accompanied by the thick, soft labna. The witlof added a nice crunch to the salad though there weren’t much in the dish.

Fried Cauliflower, Chickpeas and Silverbeet ($16)

The cauliflower was nice and crunchy and went well with the silverbeets and chickpeas. It was well-seasoned and we found that we had a lot of chickpeas left over long after the silverbeets and cauliflowers were eaten.

Warm Salad of Octopus, Spanish Chorizo and Kipfler Potatoes ($20)

It sounded so promising, but I think this dish was a bit of a disappointment to my friends. While the octopus was soft and firm, but not chewy, well-seasoned with perfectly cooked potatoes, they felt the chorizo lacked something – some oomph that may have made the dish great. They were topped with sliced celery, which was received with mixed reactions. Tien loved its slight bitter crunchiness, while Dat preferred his celery to be cooked, not raw and in the form of a salad.

Seared Scallops with Morcilla, Braised Cabbage and Pickled Cauliflower ($24)

There was a collective “oooh” as this dish was presented at our table. Breaking the crisp took some work, especially when not trying to spill what’s on top, but it added a much needed crunch to the dish. The morcilla was surprisingly tasty and complemented well with the decently seared scallops. The sauce on top of the crisp did a great job helping to meld the two components together. Though I would have to say, I couldn’t really taste the pickled cauliflower amongst everything else, but on its own, there was a nice acidity to it.

Steamed Pork Belly with Warm Salad of Onion and Shiitake Mushroom ($24)

There was another collective sigh of appreciation when our eyes feasted on the pork belly. Ier said something that I thought was pretty much spot: “On its own, the pork belly isn’t anything fantastic, but with the mushrooms and the caramelised onions… mmm it’s great!” The pork belly was sinfully soft and had a good amount of fat – not too much and not too little. I only wished there was more mushrooms!

Slow Cooked Lamb Loin with Roast Garlic Miso and Eggplant ($32)

Our final main dish drew another appreciative noise from our table. The lamb, our waiter informed us, was cooked sous-vide and was lightly seared before serving. It was scrumptious – moist and tender as it looked. The eggplant though being super mushy had some fibrous strands that made it a bit hard to cut. It went really well with the lamb though, especially in the presence of the miso sauce. I didn’t count on the sauce to be so… spicy. I found myself coughing a little and having to reach for my glass of water. Terrible, I know. Sigh. It was worth the fire in my mouth though. I thought the roasted pine nuts was a nice touch.

During the course of our meal, we saw quite a few affogatos being served with Dat and Ier eyeing them covetously. As soon as we received the dessert menu, they looked for it but it wasn’t on the menu. According to our waiter, it’s something that’s a little hush-hush. Interesting…

The affogato’s served with vanilla ice cream, as well as an 8-year old sherry or brandy (sorry, I can’t remember which), and I presumed it went down well as the next thing I know, they were all gone.

Chocolate Ice Cream with Coffee Custard, Mango and Passionfruit ($14)

I was surprised to see the chocolate ice cream between two sugared pastry pieces, but they were certainly welcomed – so wonderfully flaky! The caramelised pistachios were a delicious, crunchy addition to the dessert, along with the fresh, juicy and sweet mango slices and the hint of sourness from the passionfruit. The chocolate ice cream was pretty decent while the coffee custard was silky smooth and well liked by Dat and Ier.

Banana Split: Cream Flan, Dulce de Leche Ice Cream, Ginger Biscuit and Banana ($14)

For some reason, Tien and I latched onto this dessert and was adamant that we had to order it. I don’t know why as considering that besides this and the coffee custard dessert, there was nothing else anyway but the cheese plate (which we all didn’t really classify as “dessert”).

When the dish came out, we wondered where the banana was. On some tentative tastings of a couple of the components of the dessert, we realised that the “split” was basically the two forms the banana was in: as a dense foam and as a puree. I was so impressed with the cleverness. The flan was pretty nice as well with its syrupy, sweet caramel sauce and a very crunchy ginger biscuit.

I loved the service here: the wait staff were so friendly, informative and very attentive. I also loved how they were dressed: vintage style, complete with elegantly vintage-styled hair. The food came out quite quick and we didn’t have to wait for long for a dish to arrive once an empty one was taken away. There was almost an issue of not having enough table space with about 3-4 dishes still not quite finished, but was saved when Tien quickly finished off one of the dishes to be replaced with another.

Bodega does not take bookings, so be sure you get there early, as it gets pretty packed by about 7pm. Also ensure your entire party is present, as they will not seat you until everyone is there.

Bodega
216 Commonwealth Street
Surry Hills, NSW, 2010
Ph: (02) 9212 7766
Web: http://www.bodegatapas.com/