Hartsyard, Newtown
OH HAI! So like, if you follow me on Instagram you’d have seen the epic eats from over the weekend to celebrate my day of birth 😛 It started with amazing eats from Bentley Restaurant at their new digs in Radisson Blu Hotel and a crazy meat fest at Papi Chulos in Manly. And sandwiched in between these 2 incredible meals there was dinner with Helen and Richard at Hartsyard (33 Enmore Rd, Newtown) which just about blew my mind.
But first! A beverage to kick off the night! The Smoked Caesar ($18) is pretty full on with a shot of Finlandia vodka, clamato juice, smoked tomato and just the right amount of HY hot sauce to set my mouth a tingling but not on fire.
The Crispy Pig Tails ($21) are generous sized croquettes where each bite is mostly a blast of porcine fat which basically equals happiness in my mind. There was also a river of creamy buttermilk dressing that had me scraping the plate for more and wishing I could just drink it with a straw…
The Fried Chicken ($29) is a must order. There was a drumstick, thigh and a mega sized piece of breast meat with shatteringly crisp, golden batter encasing super juicy innards. I loved the sausage gravy which reminded me of good ol Texas but the buttermilk biscuit was a tad dense and I wished it was fluffier. There’s a bottle of house made hot sauce on each table which was pretty darn tasty and not overly spicy and we ended up swiping bits of food with the hot sauce all night.
When the Short Rib ($35) arrived we all cooed at the sight of the puffed beef tendon covered in an addictive Pyengana cheddar powder, cos I mean, hey, puff! The puff was so light and airy but it did have a bit of resilience in it so when I pulled off a piece of the puff, the cheese powder flew everywhere because it’s me and I’m special like that. The short rib was meltingly tender and conveniently pre sliced! Oh and the side of cauliflower helped delude me into thinking I wasn’t eating something terribly unhealthy.
Our lovely waitress suggested we order the Roast Carrots ($18) or Broccoli ($23) but the mention of vegetables made our eyes glaze over and instead we ordered the Lamb Ribs ($29) because of the promise of cornbread which luckily tasted like buttery awesomeness. There was a fairly large amount of meat on them bones and a thin creamy layer of delectable fat, all covered in a lip smackingly tasty bbq sauce.
The Poutine ($29) pushed us over the edge into food coma territory with batons of golden fried potatoes, a mountain of braised beef shin and the whole shebang covered in a decadently rich beer and cheese sauce.
And then it was onto the famed Hartsyard desserts! I stalk pastry chef genius Andy Bowdy on Instagram and lust over his creations each week. The Peanut Butter + Banana Sundae ($18) tasted like the power of a thousand rainbow unicorns! It was truly glorious and set my heart aflutter with each spoonful of peanut butter ice cream, banana donut, fresh slices of banana and lashings of salted fudge.
Behold, the Hartsyard Soft Serve of the day ($14)! Cookie dough soft serve, raw cookie dough chunks, milk chocolate dip, crushed M&Ms, salty chocolate fudge and whipped cream. How can your soul not smile at this childhood flashback?!
While our booking came with a 2 hour window we didn’t feel rushed at all and I really appreciated the staff taking the time to explain all our dishes to us. I really love Hartsyard and want to go back and eat everything on their menu!
