Naked For Satan - Fitzroy, Melbourne

Since my trip to Spain in 2012, I became a huge fan of pintxos (or Spanish finger food on a stick). So I was sad to hear that The Carrington, one of the very few places in Sydney that serves pintxos, has ceased serving these bite sized snacks for good and has now altered the menu to Latin American dishes. But that's for another review. When I heard that Melbourne has a pintxos and vodka bar known as Naked for Satan, I knew I had to include it in my list of places to eat for my trip. Though it was a bit hard trying to convince some of my friends that it was not a venue involving naked people and Satanism.

The venue does not do bookings and it was a Saturday night so the best thing to do is rock up. Once we were inside, the atmosphere was crazy but there was no front of house staff to put you on a waiting list. So we had to wait or look around for a table and luckily there was a group about to leave. There was a hip, casual and buzzing vibe inside the bar with lots of cool kids mingling around and posters of naked people lingering around the walls to keep up with the name. Oh and dim lighting. Sorry about the pics. 

The pintxos bar is similar to a buffet, only much more delicious! Very cheap too at only $2 per pintxos and if you show up during weekday lunch or have dinner on the less busy nights, then it's only $1! Great place if you are on a budget though if you like chowing down pintxo after pintxo like me then it's easy to get carried away. Basically, you get whichever dish you want with the provided tongs onto your plate and make sure you keep the toothpicks which will be used to pay later on when you are done. We weren't sure if this was an effective method since it's easy to lose more than a few toothpicks and pay less for your feed (especially if you are drunk or a tightarse) but apparently it seems to work. 

Seafood with Prawn and Capsicum 

The Imaya - Garlic, Cherry Tomato, White Anchovy, Parsley - FAVE

Wagyu Bresaola - FAVE

Tortilla (Egg, Potato and Onions) with Aioli

Smoked Chilli Mussels and Chickpea

Sundried Tomato with Cispy Pancetta and Peas- FAVE

Smoked Salmon with Pickled Onion - FAVE

Pissaladiere - Onions, Anchovy and Olive

Smoked Duck with Relish - quite sweet actually

Black eyed Bean Salad with Carrot

As you can see, I definitely got carried away with the pintxos because they were so tasty and addictive. While there were so many with generous and perhaps unusual toppings, my pick of the bunch was actually the fresh and simple smoked salmon and the plain-looking wagyu bresola. Seriously, I could eat cured meat on a slice bread all day and never get sick of it. Even got seconds! Another top pick of mine was the sun-dried tomato with pancetta and peas because the overall flavours worked so well together...and of course the pancetta! Everything else were just as delicious though my least fave would have to be the Pissaladiere because of its strong and salty flavours and the grainy texture. There was also a few that were tasty but I reckon woul be even better if they were delivered hot to our table such as the Tortilla with Aioli. 

Croquette

Empanada

Speaking of which, you often get waiters carrying plates of hot pintxos delivered to your table where you get the option of grabbing that bite or not. Very similar to what you see at yum cha but with a Spanish touch. Really enjoyed the creamy and cheesy croquette and the empanada. Wished I had the stomach to try more of the hot pintxos.

Chorizo, Cream Cheese and Green Chilli

I didn't end up trying the above dish but most of my friends did and reckon this deserves a shoutout. This was one of their faves out of the pintxos for them even though they thought it was slightly spicy. A couple of them even got seconds for this plate. 

Rich Chocolate Rum Ball with Pistachio

Within the platter of savoury dishes, you can even find a few sweet pintxos when you are feel like having dessert. The rich chocolate rum ball had an intense, bitter but sweet flavour that you would usually expect from truffles. Very nice to have after eating so many savoury pintxos.

We didn't end up checking out their rooftop area 'Naked in the Sky' because of the long queues to get to that space nor did we end up trying out the signature vodka (we ended up having sangria as usual). While the service was friendly, we wished that there was a person at the front taking names down and call us back later since it was incredibly packed and messy. Other than that, this bar reminded me of the restaurants in my Barcelona trip  eating up all the pintxos. It's a great place to chill and mingle with your friends while nibbling on these snacks. And it's super cheap which will make your wallet happy. If I lived in Melbourne or have more trips in the near future, I will definitely be returning to try more pintxos and to make a visit to Naked in the Sky. I do love a good rooftop bar.

Naked for Satan
285 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy VIC 3065
(03) 9416 2238
http://www.nakedforsatan.com.au/
Sun-Thurs: 12:00pm - 12:00am
Fri-Sat: 12:00pm - 1:00am

Barrafina Tapas Bar, Sydney CBD

I have mentioned in the past that I am a big fan of tapas and pintxos. So when I spotted this bright yellow cafe one day after a job interview last year, it has been on my mind to check it out ever since. While it's in the CBD, its location on Bligh Street is fairly low key compared to the many other streets of Sydney so it was easy for me to forget where it was. Fast forward many months later and I spotted the cafe during my lunch break and keen to give it a go after spotting the menu. It also has the same name as another Spanish restaurant, Barrafina in London, which has its own cookbook so this convinced me to check it out.

While most restaurants operate for lunch and dinner, Barrafina Tapas operates all day for breakfast, lunch and dinner (depending on the days). When I arrived here for lunch, you can see the breakfast menu listed on the blackboard near the kitchen. This is available until 11am though.

When entering inside, the first thing I notice was the colour scheme and the contemporary modern decor of the restaurant. Everything screamed 'yellow, black and white' as you look at the layout from the sign outside to the yellow bar stools. At first it was fairly quiet but as it reaches peak hour for lunches, the atmosphere was vibrant and noisy with colleagues from workplaces nearby gathering together for a work lunch or a casual meeting. With the atmosphere of the place and the simple yet funky decor, it feels like stepping into a cafe in Barcelona especially in the La Rambla strip.

When I spotted the pan co tomate baguette rubbed with vine tomatoes, garlic and olive oil, I knew I had to order this as I loved the ones I had in Spain. It was similar to a bruschetta but with the tomato rubbed into the bread rather than piling on top. The flavours worked so well together though the bread was very crunchy. Perfect to have as pintxos!

Pan con tomate ($4.30)

This dish had the rustic feel that we love from Spanish plates especially with the chunky romesco salsa, grilled chorizo sausages and the tangy caremelised onions cooked with pedro ximenez (aka sherry) wine. While I did not spot much onions on this plate, the sherry wine was pretty strong in the dish. Dipping the sausages into the romesco sauce was my highlight. They all tasted so good together. 

Chorizo ala Plancha ($14.00)

Fried chicken isn't something I would usually see on a Spanish tapas menu but I was craving for buttermilk fried chicken so I didn't care. It was lightly crumbled and not too crispy like Hartsyard or Arisun but they were still freaking delicious and crunchy enough to satisfy me. At $13.00 for around 5 pieces, this is a good cheap eat compared to many other restaurants and bars serving fried chicken these days. While I won't call it the best fried chicken in Sydney, it was delicious enough to enjoy with your mates especially on a cold day.

Crisp buttermilk chicken, chilli salt, alioli, lemon ($13.00)

Went back for another lunch recently for a few more dishes. This dish reminded me of the sliders at The Carrington (now that I thought about it, the whole menu is fairly similar). Really enjoyed the crispy and juicy soft shell crab. The avocado mousse was a nice creamy yet zesty touch while the bun was a tad chewy but still soft and fluffy.

 Soft shell chilli crab slider, avocado mousse, smoked paprika mayo ($8.60)

Thought this was a somewhat heavy dish but again quite delicious. I loved the crumbly and crispy batter a well as the scattering of paprika for a bit of variety in the overall flavour. Will recommend this dish either on your own (if you only order one dish for yourself) or sharing with mates. 

Lightly floured calamares, aioli, lemon ($13.00)

Considering some of the battered food available, a ceviche is a welcoming relief for the palate and the health conscious mind. The servings was smaller than I expected considering the price compared to the other dishes on the menu. Still, I thought this was one of my favourites with its light and fresh ingredients. On this occasion, this meal reminded me of the dishes I spotted at local restaurants near my hotel in the Eixample district on my first day of Barcelona. So good to try! Just wish that the size of this dish was bigger.

Ceviche of yellow fin tuna, lime, mint, tomato, avocado creme, chilli, eschallots ($22.00)

I'd recommend this place for their mostly authentic food. The atmosphere was buzzing and the prices for most of the food were fairly reasonable, if not, a bit more cheaper than what you would get at many tapas restaurants across Sydney. While service can be friendly at times, the speed of the service may vary. Most of the time, the food was delivered fairly quickly but it can also take a while as well. Also when I requested an extra dish after initially ordering two dishes at first, the front at house person I told this to clearly looked annoyed that I decided to order more. Very keen on heading back to try some of their other dishes including the jamon iberico, the braised beef cheeks, scallops with chorizos, and the fried whitebait.

Barrafina Tapas Bar

2 Bligh Street, Sydney NSW 2000

(02) 9231 2551

The Carrington: Beba Y Cene, Surry Hills

Firstly, I would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas from The Random Foodie! :D. Time to pig out and have fun! Hope you all are having the best time celebrating this holidays! 

One of my favourites from Spanish cuisine is pintxos (smaller individual-sized snacks that are skewed). Along the streets of Barcelona, you come across a good number of pintxos bars and heaps of general Spanish restaurants filled with these snacks. While Sydney is having a growing number of tapas restaurants, there hasn't been many that offers this kind of Spanish delicacy (if there are, please let me know :P). Thankfully, the Carrington has a reasonable amount of these bite-sized snacks on their menu along with even more pintxos specials on Tuesdays for $3!

It may look plain but it packs a lot of good amount of zesty and sweet flavour from the honey and the savoury and slightly peppery soprasada (paste made from minced cured pork, paprika, salt and various spices) to make you want more.

Sobrasada and honey

This treat is certainly luscious with the soft kingfish on a bed of creamy, tangy coleslaw. This morsel is quite moist, fresh and peppery which I enjoyed. Even thought that the tiny gherkins were useful to have whenever your taste buds need a kick.

Kingfish Pastrimi On Rye

Found this too creamy for my liking but it's just a personal preference. Surprised at how much I enjoyed the anchovy (lol) as it didn't overpower the lightly seasoned dish. The bread for this and the past two pintxos I have just mentioned is grilled and toasted to perfection though it is tough to cut so eventually I gave up and held it by the hand instead.

Smoked eggplant & White Anchovy Tostada

I was gob-smacked when I saw this item on the $3 menu. Sure it may not be as authentic as many other Spanish pintxos but I love my lamb so why not? Wouldn't mind trying this as it was not dry and tasted as nice as the ones at Bourke Street Bakery but much smaller.

Mini lamb sausage roll

Not a huge fan of this. Probably because by this point, the other pintxos were filling me up and this one certainly is full of carbs! I like the neatness of its presentation with the slices of potato and cheese stacked on each other so you can check out the layers. The pickles from the smoked kingfish dish was very useful after the starchy flavours were too much to handle though the yellow sauce on top did help a lot.

Potato, Manchego and Rosemary Tortilla

Very similar to the Grilled Paella Onigiri on the regular menu but instead the squid ink paella rice is shaped into a ball instead of a triangle and is coated with breadcrumbs with deep fried tentacles skewed on top. Not as dense so it was easier to chew down than the much denser triangular paella onigiri would have. In fact I enjoyed this variation because it is very flavoursome from the squid ink rice to the sauce and the crumb coated texture.

Paella Ball with Calamari

I was even more amazed when I saw the slider on the pintxos menu. I cannot remember if it was pork belly or pulled pork but it did not disappoint at all. While I was getting so full, it is surely very satisfying to try and the meat is reasonably tender enough to enjoy.

 Pork Slider

The place itself has a very social vibe complemented with a very tasty menu like many other restaurant pubs under the Drink and Dine Group. Also a great place to buy a reasonably priced drink while you wait for your meal. The service can be good but the speed to deliver the meals varies based on my past visits. Some of the pintxos reminded me of the ones served in Spain so I'd say that The Carrington has done a great job at making these accessible for the Sydney dining market. If only these options are available every night instead of just Tuesday but the regular daily menu is very delicious as well. Will definitely come back as they frequently change their $3 pintxos menu every week so expect some nourishing surprises.

The Carrington Specialite - Beba Y Cene
565 Bourke Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010
(02) 9360 4714
http://the-carrington.com.au/