Swine & Co, Sydney – Closed

Edit: CLOSED

There’s been rumblings that newly opened Swine & Co (16 O’Connell St, Sydney) serves up an awesome suckling pig and whenever suckling pig is mentioned my ears just automatically perk up for there is nothing more glorious than a slow roasted pig with tender innards and golden crackle. I’ve rolled my 3 visits into this one post so don’t freak out about the amount of foods I consumed!

Swine & Co opened up on the site of the old Bavarian Bier Café and kept the massive bar which pumps out the most incredible cocktails. For takeaway orders of sandwiches and baked goods you can order at the deli counter from 11am-3pm, but Raff and I had a bit of time so we sat on the comfy couches and the worlds friendliest waiter took our order. Seriously the service is here is pretty bang on, knowledgeable, friendly and not at all pretentious.

We couldn’t help but order the Swine Smash ($14), a fruity mojito-like cocktail with CANDIED PANCETTA!!! That pancetta was so damn tasty! I really wanted to order it by itself. Like, 10 strips of it. For a snack y’know?

The Reuben ($14) was a monster. The amount of sauerkraut was like woah, how do I wrap my jaws around this sauerkraut mountain? I would much rather have the same ratio for the 5 day cured Wagyu brisket which was meltingly tender and happily hugging its Swiss cheese soul mate. Oh and there was paper thin slices of pickles in there but you all know how I feel about pickles that aren’t whole.. The innards do make the soft rye bread soggy so eat quickly!

We had to get the Pork Belly Roll ($12) because well, pork belly! The slices of tender pork belly with golden crackle edges are stuffed into a soft brioche roll with slaw and refreshing slices of Granny Smith apple.

For dessert we shared the Nutella Cronut ($3.50) and it was a perfectly delicious donut just not so much a cronut… Apparently they do use the same dough as their croissants but it just didn’t have the many layers that a cronut is supposed to have. But it was tasty and the Nutella filling was a winner with my sweet tooth.

For dinner head down the stairs to the black tiled dining room with charcoal seats, marble tabletops and this:

A rotating piggy on the spit! He was just so captivating we couldn’t help but stare at him all night!

I’m nicking this photo from my mums IG @alwayseating because I somehow forgot to take a photo of the bread on my camera but woo! I love places that give free bread and such a generous portion! There was white, rye, flatbread and breadsticks in case you couldn’t decide what you wanted. Which is kinda bad for me because I’m super indecisive and ended up eating 1 of everything… Oh and there were complimentary appetisers! Which uh, I’m ashamed to admit that I have nfi what it was because I may have shoved the whole thing in my mouth. I vaguely remember there was smokey tomato and acidic vinegar pearls on a thin crisp and that it was tasty. Yep.

We start with the Tuna Crudo ($17), gorgeously presented on a slab of pink salt. The cubes of tuna are fresh and the saltiness of the white anchovies, fried capers and white balsamic dressing is cut through with the refreshingly juicy watermelon cubes.

Noods had to get the Steak Tartare ($19), it’s his weakness and the one item on a menu that will guarantee him going to a restaurant. The meat was hand cut, topped with a gooey softly poached quail egg and had the perfect balance of seasoning with just the faintest scent of truffle oil.

Noods was also curious about the Spiced Fried Lamb’s Brains ($15) which were golden nuggets flecked with cumin (and I believe fennel and cardamom but don’t hold me to that) and with innards that were creamy and thankfully didn’t have a squishy or bouncy texture. The pickled carrots provided a welcome crunch and ended up being addictive that we scissor, paper, rock’d for the last bite.

Our waiter recommended the Crisp Pig’s Tail ($19), saying it was just like crackle and well, crackle is the magical word! The tail had been deboned, flattened and fried to a crisp and omg it was awesome! Yes, just like crackle! There was a pinenut purée hiding underneath with shiitake and oyster mushrooms that had been pickled and smoked, a couple of red grapes for some sweetness, a swirl of red wine and mustard vinaigrette with dandelion and red oak leaf.

While I loved the richness of the Chicken Liver Pâté ($16) I found the layer of port jelly a tad overpowering so I just ate around it and slathered the pate inch thick on the super cute buttery brioche. And teehee I heart cornichons!

But now the moment you/we/I have been waiting for: the Suckling Pig ($40)! The milk fed suckling pig is sourced from Macleay Valley and it is freaking incredible! There was a whole sheet of glorious crackle and oh my stars! The meat! Ridiculously tender and unctuous! But that crackle? It’s where the party is at yo! Absolutely mind blowing! The serving size for the suckling pig was pretty generous so I’d recommend ordering an entree, getting some sides and sharing this.

When I went for dinner with my parents we had ordered the suckling pig and hesitated for a split second on what to get for another main. Of course how could we resist the Pork Belly ($34)? That’s right why resist? Resistance is futile! The pork belly had the perfect striated fat to juicy meat ratio and I loved swiping the pumpkin puree and wished for a bucket more. There was also a pile of sautéed Tuscan cabbage and a cute nugget of Suckling Pig Croquette that’s available on the bar menu after 3pm.

I’m a sucker for Brussel Sprouts ($12), I’m not entirely sure why. I was never forced to eat them (or spinach for that matter) when I was growing up which is probably why I like them? And especially if it comes with speck heh

The Potato Puree ($10) is also pretty damn good, ethereally light and smooth.

For dessert there’s an incredibly silky creme brulee with toffee shards, a decadant chocolate mousse with home made earl grey marshmallows and honeycomb and a lime cheesecake but it is the Donuts ($14) that I have my heart set on. Three fat, sugar dusted donuts are filled with a creamy custard filling and plump raisins are scattered throughout. The scoop of apple sorbet oddly reminds me of the Hi Chew apple candy which I love but probably could have done without but the apple crisp is awesome and I would love a bag of them to munch on while watching teevee.

It looks like Swine & Co is a hit with all the suits in the area so make a booking (hooray a restaurant that takes bookings!) or try your luck and come super early. And get the suckling pig. You won’t regret it.