Gastronomous Anonymous

4Fourteen is the new venture by Colin Fassnidge who also owns Four in Hand and the Paddington Arms. I have been waiting patiently for this new restaurant to open and finally on opening night, I ‘dragged’ my eating partner in crime, S to dinner.

4Fourteen is located on the corner of Bourke and Fitzroy, where the old Le Pain Quotidien used to be. It has been ‘a long time in the making’ says Colin and the fit out is absolutely fantastic – a cross between Four in Hand and Paddington Arms. Its spacious, lots of seats and also bar seats near the kitchen where you can see the chef in action – where S and I sat.

We weren’t sure what to expect in terms of food, it was opening night after all and no one has seen a menu. But I knew food will be fantastic and Four in Hand is one of my favourite restaurants in Sydney. The menu vast, I’m sure there will be something for everyone, it ranged from seafood, meat, salads and dessert.

Both our eyes were drawn to ‘suckling pig’ and knew we had to get it! No doubt about it. Another one that caught our eye was ‘Irish Breakfast’ – we weren’t sure what that was, so asked Richie, one of the Chef and as soon as he described it, we both said yes!

We started with complimentary chicken wings, parfait, crispy tortilla and quince chutney (usually $7.50 for 4) and they were delicious. Crispy tortilla, the chicken wings were cooked to perfection, crispy and tender and the sweet quince chutney was a wonderful addition!

The Irish Breakfast ($22), consisted of duck egg with prosciutto, chorizo and black pudding. The duck egg was creamy and incredible, the black pudding was tasty and the prosciutto and chorizo was a wonderful complement. S and I were in awe at how creamy the duck egg yolk was – it was so good I wanted more!

Our favourite dish, suckling pig with prunes, sage, pistachio pesto and cabbage salad ($32) topped with pork crackle was seriously incredible! The tender pork, the crispy skin, the generous serving of prunes and dollops of pistachio pesto – Oh em geeee – I was in pork heaven! I could eat it every day, marry it perhaps?

Colin is famous for his colcannon ($9) – by far ONE OF THE BEST I have eaten in Sydney. It was deliciously creamy and deliciously orgasmic!

We were getting full by this stage but couldn’t go past dessert. We would usually order one between two but our stomach were definitely bigger than our eyes and we ordered TWO desserts to share. Firstly, the deconstruction bounty ($16), a popular dessert, and quite similar to the deconstruction snickers at Four in Hand was absolutely marvelous! Chocolate coated vanilla ice cream, with jelly, and white chocolate. I don’t know what kind of jelly it was but it was SO good that we both polished it off.

Donut and apple ($16) sounded different and a popular one as we were told. Three small round donuts which were light and fluffy and a jar which consisted of creamy panna cotta, and apple was good but I think the bounty won both of us over.

Everything on the menu looked good, I am definitely keen to go back to try the crumbed pigs tail, and some of the other fish dish and of course to try the chilled ginger rice pudding with warm stewed rhubarb – such a hearty and warm winter dessert!

Service was excellent, there were so many wait staff and kitchen staff. Food was beyond expectation but then again, I expected nothing less! I am a tad bias though, I have always been a fan of Four in Hand, so will definitely be back. 4Fourteen is a WONDERFUL addition to the Surry Hills restaurant community, so dangerous that it is only 15 minutes walk from where we live! YIKES! I would definitely recommend making a reservation, it was a full house on opening night!

GA’s ratings: 9 / 10

4Fourteen

414 Bourke Street

Surry Hills 2010

Ph: +61 2 9331 5399