Porteño - Definately worth the "wait" !

Restaurant: Porteño

Location: 358 Cleveland Street  Surry Hills NSW 2010

After driving past Porteño countless times, finally I’m here to taste their food! My interest in Porteño grew when the boys, Ben Milgate and Elvis Abrahanowicz, appeared in Masterchef with their hot tattoos. And needless to say, my curiosity towards their food went through the roof when they were announced as Young Chefs of the Year 2012 by SMH – a bit late but CONGRATS BOYS!

Cassie and I went with Eunice, our high school friend who went back to Hong Kong and came back for a visit. Porteño only takes booking for groups of 4 or more but that it not deter us as we decided that we can do some catch up while waiting for a seat in the restaurant.

Unsurprisingly, the restaurant was packed so we were led upstairs to their Gardel’s Bar, which was a cosy place to sit and have a drink (or two) with tasty bar food.

 Pork & Fennel Meatballs with Pecorino Cheese $10

Pork and fennel are really a match in heaven! The tomato sauce was delicious and the cheese completes the dish.

Grilled Octopus with Chorizo, Potato & Sofrito $14

At first when this dish arrived, we don’t know what it is as we did not envision it to be plated like this! Every element was beautifully cooked, but the potato was a stand-out – it was crispy outside but soft inside. 

Croquettes of Eggplant & Potato with Tahini $10

Comparing to the other two dishes, the croquette’s flavour was average, but it was nicely fried.  After an hour in Gardel’s Bar and 1 bottle of wine, we were seated in Porteño. The good food and wine made that hour fly by! And of course I had great company too :)

PAN DE CASA $2 per person
House Baked Bread with Olive Oil & Pork Pate

YES! All this is for $6, totally worth the price. The chimichurri was so appetizingly mouth-watering, it was everyone’s favourite, the Porteño boys posted their recipe online, will definitely try making it soon! The pate was flavorsome, but after having too much, it became a bit too strong for me but that was partly because I was putting too much on the bread (greedy much?).

LENGUA EN ESCABECHE $8 
Pickled Veal Tongue

The veal tongue stimulated my appetite and I am craving for it now! I will definitely order this dish when I come here again.

CHANCHITO A LA CRUZ $44
8 hour Woodfired Pig

Then came the famous pig!!! The succulence of the meat and the crispiness of the skin made me understand why everyone raves on about it. I absolutely LOVE the sound of crispy skin! This dish is summoning Cassie and I for another Porteño visit.

Cauliflower with fried garlic and pine nuts

 The flavours of the cauliflower and spinach were wonderful and the fried garlic takes it to another level. Being a vegetable lover, I happily finished the dish including the garlic.

LECHE QUEMADA $16
Burnt Milk Custard with Cumquat Marmalade & Chocolate Ice Cream

 Even though we were quite full, being girls, a dessert is a must! The custard and chocolate ice cream was smooth and not too sweet. Also, the smashed pavlova adds a “crunchy” texture, which is one thing I really like about good desserts!

POSTRE CHAJÁ $16
South American Style Pavlova with Peanuts

The pavlova was light which was good for our tummies. One thing that wasn’t mentioned in the menu was that there’s sliced bananas inside the pavlova which Cassie and Eunice liked.

In conclusion, our dinner experience was great and it certainly lived up to my built up expectation from the media! The staffs were attentive and of course the quality of the food was exceptional. We can’t wait to come again!

Does everyone like crispy skin like us?

Xx

Feli