Bed Bar and Restaurant

There might be a gimmick to Adam Arbib’s restaurant, but it’s not there to cover up less than stellar food. Get into ‘bed’ – a soft burnished gold padded booth with a low central table – with your fellow diners. If you don’t like removing your shoes (to place in a clever receptacle under your bed), there are ordinary tables too. Chef Patrick Kielty’s cuisine shows his Irish roots with dishes like the Crispy Whiskey Quail ($16) on fried colcannon potato. Kielty over-delivers compared to the menu descriptions – the superb Crispy Pork Belly ($16) with rillettes, pumpkin and cinnamon had an unmentioned mound of coarsely chopped pork and fresh herbs with a crisp pancetta garnish. Vegetarians get a decent list of dishes like Pumpkin Risotto Cakes ($13) with blue cheese crème and carrot jam. Seafood fans should try the Vodka Cured Ocean Trout ($16) served substantially (in fact all dishes are a decent size) with a salmon fritter. Arbib also manages the bar, and makes a mean cocktail. I adored his smoother update to the humble Cosmo – the Sex-Cosmo In The City ($15) – with vanilla vodka and caramelised lime. His Sour Apple Martini ($13.50) with added Absinthe had a refined complexity that made me ache for another! Bed anyone’

Bed Bar and Restaurant
6-8/ 431 Bourke Street, Surry Hills
Ph: (02) 9332 2883
Modern Australian Tapas $$$-$$$$