Surry Hills meets Palermo Soho – the twin neighbourhoods of Sydney and Buenos Aires – over steak and malbec at the long marble bar at Porteño. The soundtrack steers clear of tango but there’s a retro, sepia-toned glow over parquetry and chequerboard tiles, and charming waitstaff in black waistcoats, bow ties and white muscle shirts channel a Porteño vibe. There’s theatre, too, in the holy trinity of kitchen heat positioned centrestage – whole cauliflower smouldering in the wood-fired oven, short ribs smoking on the parilla, a suckling pig on the asador. Plates are shared and flavours robust, the likes of pickled daikon spicing charred octopus; aged rib-eye sliced atop salty, garlicky rice; sirloin with house-made chimichurri, jalapeño mayo and mustard. The stand-out dishes, though, are just as likely to feature vegetables: wood-fired zucchini with ricotta, eggplant cooked over embers until molten, and moreish deep-fried Brussels sprouts doused in vincotto and mustard. The savoury-leaning wine list follows suit, featuring a cracking malbec collection, though too few by the glass. Finish with the dulce de leche flan, a sweet, simple taste of BA.
This review was made independently for the Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide. The guide’s reviewers visit unannounced and pay their way.
Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide
Our guide gives a yearly snapshot at the best restaurants to eat at right now. The best-rated restaurants, as judged by the reviewers’ first-hand experience, form our national Top 50.
