The American comedian named this Surry Hills BYO restaurant as one of his favourites. Here is our verdict.
Updated ,first published
Alchemy, Surry Hills
Polish$$
Alchemy Polish Cafe is the kind of place you look forward to visiting when the weather starts to get colder, coats come out of storage, and there’s a bottle of red wine you’ve been waiting to open. It’s one of the few remaining Polish restaurants outside of a community club in Sydney, and their karpatka (like a vanilla bean except lighter, creamier and made with choux pastry) alone makes it an immediate must-visit.
Polish-born couple Halina and Janusz Pawlak have been serving pierogi (dumplings), goulash, and beer-braised pork shank at Alchemy for nearly 20 years. Aside from the occasional seasonal special, the menu hasn’t changed. So, too, do the interior.
The restaurant has the warmth of “a big hug from your grandmother”, says Janusz. It has that đť„’80s Eastern European aesthetic: a little romantic, a little kitsch. The tables are carefully set with white woven tablecloths and fresh cut red roses, pictures painted in gold frames by a Polish artist. Chris Kos hangs on each wall and there is a glass chandelier above the counter.
The restaurant is BYO ($3 corkage), but there’s also a small list of Polish-inspired drinks and cocktails (including “szarlotka”, inspired by the apple pie of the same name., made with vodka, lime and apple juice). The highlight of the drinks list is the “medicine”, as Janusz calls it: 13 flavors of homemade “tinctures” infused with fruits, herbs and spices, and poured from crystal decanters. They’re easy to swallow (“Like a kiss,” says Janusz), and they go down very easily.
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Most of Alchemy’s customers are regulars, he says. Maybe he’s referring to the buff-looking men in polo shirts, downing ice-cold vodka with their pickled herring (served with half a hard-boiled egg and a generous squirt of mayonnaise on a pumpernickel). Or maybe an older couple cornered, sharing a veal schnitzel the size of a purse.
But, increasingly, there is a new face in the crowd, following a public endorsement from Hong Kong-American stand-up comedian Jimmy O. Yang in December. “It’s one of my favorite restaurants in the world,” Yang said viral TikTok videos. “It’s lovely, lovely, and reminds me of my childhood in Poland.”
Janusz works in front of the house, occasionally wandering thumbs out one line and advice. Halina is the chef, making everything from pickled cucumbers (with a unique, audible crunch), to bitki wolowe (slow-cooked, minced meat), to Bara cakes.
“They look a little wobbly, but that’s how you know they’re not factory-made,” Janusz says.
Karpatka carefully layers thick waves of vanilla budyn (a creamy, preserved Polish pudding) on ​​top of flaky sheets of light choux pastry.
The menu, covered in plastic, has a few dishes you don’t often see in Sydney restaurants. The young waiter is eager to help, quick to make suggestions, and just a little judgmental (jokingly) when not everyone at the table wants another round of drinks.
Main courses can push up to $45, but the food is generously portioned from a bygone era. There are certain dishes that you know are going to be good – a trio of pierogies, cooked to order with creamy potatoes and cheese filling, topped with fried bacon bits and a dollop of cold sour cream; pork chops fall off the bone, served with mustard, horseradish and satisfying fingers of fried potato dumplings; and cabbage rolls, chubby with rice and ground pork, swimming in a light, tart tomato sauce.
Then there are those dishes that exceed expectations. When barszcz is a favorite Polish dish, I will admit that the idea of ​​beetroot soup did not immediately appeal to me. Please learn from my mistake – the warm, ruby ​​red soup, along with its uszka of beef tortellini, was a beautiful and delicious highlight. So, too, was the pork goulash. It is served in the traditional Polish style, placed inside a thick potato pancake and fried until the edges are cooked and turn golden.
Our thoughts turn to a tall glass display case with sernik (cheese cake), szarlotka (apple cake, like a cocktail) and the “Polish mix” – an old mix, with an added layer of poppy cake. As Janusz says, it’s not as sweet as the cakes we’re used to in Sydney, but it doesn’t need to be.
A “slice of vanilla polish” is a must. Halina carefully spoons thick waves of vanilla budyn (a light, preserved Polish pudding) over flaky sheets of light pastry to create karpatka, so named for its resemblance to the snowy peaks of the Carpathian Mountains. It is elegant in its simplicity and gentle sweetness. As my Good Food colleague Dion Georgopoulos said: “It really is the best thing ever.”
Janusz says it can be difficult to explain Polish cuisine to new customers, but it doesn’t take more than one meal to convince them they’ve been missing out.
“You know, sometimes I see people who have passed us on the street for years on the footpath, and when they decide to take a step and go in, they say to me, ‘Oh, I’ve wasted 10 years’,” he says.
Three more restaurants to try when the temperature drops
Or, the Surry Hills
The Chinese-Thai Beef Noodle Soup at Ama is really good, spawned an entire restaurant. Sisters Rowena and Kate Chansiri began offering their grandmother’s recipes as special pop-up dinners at their popular Kingsgrove restaurant. Ickle. Soon, it became so popular that they decided to give it a permanent home. The soup is a hearty combination of beef broth, noodles (egg or rice), slow-cooked beef brisket, beef short rib, spices and pickled mustard greens.
1/47 Cooper Street, Surry Hills, amasurryhills.com
More, Darlinghurst
Most of the time, you just want something simple, tasty and solid value for money. That’s it More than pumpkin soup enters. Owner-chef Mika Kazato may be best known for onigiri, but his delicious Japanese pumpkin soup, made with milk and onion, is the way to go for a comforting lunch.
101/21 Alberta Street, Sydney, parami.com.au
Mami’s, Bondi
There’s something comforting about a big bowl of cheese-laden soup that looks like your mom made it, especially if you’re eating at a communal table. Mami’s Mexican Restaurant. Beef tortilla soup is made with beef and cabbage, and topped with crispy tortilla strips, fresh onions, coriander and melted cheese.
286 Bondi Road, Bondi, instagram.com/mamis.food.bondi
Good Food reviews are kept anonymous and are independently paid. The restaurant may not pay for the review or be included in the review Healthy Food Guide.
Bianca Hrovat – Bianca is Good Food’s Sydney dining and restaurant editor.
