One of my wife’s favourite cook books is my Australian writer Bill Grainger. When I discovered that his first restaurant was in Darlinghurst, the suburb of Sydney I am staying it was clear that, at some point this week, I was going to eat there.
The original plan this morning had been to play golf with Scott at 10am but the course was busy, so we decided to play this afternoon instead. I decided, therefore, that this morning was a great opportunity to wander through Darlinghurst getting a better feel for the area and end up at Bill’s.
Darlinghurst is a lovely suburb of Sydney. Many of the buildings have a bit of age, dating, I guess, from early last century and, since it’s walkable to the CBD, Darlinghurst seems to be populated by mostly young professionals. Scott had recommended Darlinghurst as a place to stay for its cafes and restaurants and slightly edgy feel and that was spot on the money. Coffee shops, bars and restaurants abound but it retains a residential and distinctive feel.
Some typical (and one atypical) Darlinghurst buildings
It is also very green, with many trees lining the streets, which are relatively wide and airy.
Bill’s was in a pleasant but relatively non-descript street corner building, with no great show. Indeed, I walked past before realising I had reached my destination. Inside it was light and airy and, at 10.30 in the morning, reasonably full. I ordered the “Full Aussie” an espresso and a smoothie. On arrival the breakfast (which consisted of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, tomato, mushrooms and toast didn’t look anything out of the ordinary. Except that the scrambled eggs were a uniform shade of pale yellow and formed a firm slurry, reminiscent of polenta. As I ate, however, it became apparent that this was, in fact, a very good breakfast indeed. The tomato had been roasted with a hint of cumin, the mushrooms cooked with miso and dill, the sausage was a pork sausage but with chilli and fennel giving it a hint of spice. The toast was an excellent sourdough and the bacon a tangle of very good lightly smoked middle bacon. The smoothie mixed berries with coconut yoghurt. Oh, and a side of avocado salsa worked perfectly with the bacon. The whole ensemble was simply delicious. Not the cheapest breakfast I’ll ever eat but filling enough (and late enough) to serve as brunch. Highly recommended.
A Golfing Sabbatical in Australia 