Dragoncello, Surry Hills
Surry Hills has always been host to numerous great restaurants, Dragoncello on Cleveland St is one of the latest promising restaurants to open in the area. The owner Roy McVeigh has an impressive list of credentials under his belt including experience working at both chef hatted Berowra Waters Inn and Bathers Pavilion. The dishes here all use various herbs sourced from Roy’s urban gardens.
Signature duck terrine with mustard pickled kumquats and burnt onion puree
I love duck terrine and this dish was no exception, the burnt onion puree was a bit powerful on it’s own but when eaten in a mouthful with the crisps and duck terrine it mellows out quite well and tastes really good.
Salt-baked jacket sweet potato with powdered almond, orange foam and dandelion leaves
I have to agree with Bob that the entrees are a steal – the mains are a little pricier but $9 for an entree is amazing. This little morsel of sweet potato served in a delicious creamy sauce was a great starter.
Pumpkin pot stickers on crispy puffed grains with nasturtium flower gel
These interesting little pot sticker dumplings were filled with a flavoursome pumpkin paste but my favourite part was easily the mix of puffed grains and rice served with the nasturtium flower gel. The grains were actually surprisingly addictive and had a zesty and tangy taste.
Smoked eel croquettes with zesty chimi churri
The others decided to order the smoked eel croquettes which were apparently good… but not for me 🙂
Slow roast chicken Ballantine with confit onion, shiitake mushrooms and valrhona scented merlot sauce
Once the mains arrived we realised we were in for a really good feast because the chicken smelled absolutely delicious. The tender pieces of slow roast chicken tasted great with the merlot sauce and side of shiitake mushrooms and deliciously tender confit onions.
Crispy skin barramundi with cauliflower puree, beurre noisette and vadouvan spice
The crispy skin barramundi actually turned out to be the unanimous favourite dish of the night. Under any normal circumstances I would not pick fish over beef or chicken but this dish was absolutely divine, I loved the fried cauliflower and the tender and flavoursome fish went just perfectly with the puree and spices.
48-Hour BBQ beef flank with caramalised nori, mushroom preserve and sauce bordelaise
This dish was an interesting one as it’s relatively rare to see beef flank on the menu – we were advised that it’s quite hard to cook compared to other cuts. No doubt the meat was deliciously tender after being cooked for two days and I absolutely loved the mushroom preserve.
Dressed weeds and garden leaves
Salty fat potato’s with fenugreek leaves
As sides we decided to go with the salty fat potato’s (the salad came out as an extra) which were really delicious. The potato’s were cooked to a crisp and served with plenty of herbs and salt.
Potato chip cake with salted caramel
Chocolate cake with sorrel ice cream
The desserts were quite unique. The potato chip cake was quite nice with hints of actual potato chips and a mouth watering salted caramel sauce underneath. My personal favourite would definitely be the chocolate cake and sorrel ice cream, the refreshing sorrel ice cream actually turned out to be really nice and a great counter balance to the very sweet chocolate cake.
We had a mix of drinks both alcoholic and non alcoholic, since this was only a few days in the bar was not yet fully stocked however the bartender managed to whip up some great surprise cocktails with what he had available. Check out the cover by Bob for more on the drinks.
Overall we were quite impressed by the restaurant and the food. The lighting was a bit of a challenge for all the food photography but made for a nice intimate dining experience.
The restaurant is a little small right now but once the upstairs section opens up the restaurant will be much larger and no doubt be an even more popular eatery in the area, expect the great value prices to go up!
Mr C dined as a guest of Dragoncello and Evil Twin PR.
All views and opinions expressed in this post are my own.
Having read this I thought it was extremely informative. I appreciate you spending some time and energy to put this informative article together. I once again find myself personally spending a significant amount of time both reading and leaving comments. But so what, it was still worth it!
Hi there, I think your blog may be having web browser compatibility problems. When I look at your site in Safari, it looks fine but when opening in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping issues. I just wanted to give you a quick heads up! Apart from that, excellent website!
This website was… how do I say it? Relevant!! Finally I’ve found something which helped me. Many thanks!
That is a good tip particularly to those new to the blogosphere. Brief but very precise info… Many thanks for sharing this one. A must read post!
Everything is very open with a precise clarification of the issues. It was definitely informative. Your site is very useful. Thank you for sharing!
Hello there! I could have sworn I’ve been to this website before but after looking at some of the articles I realized it’s new to me. Anyhow, I’m definitely delighted I found it and I’ll be bookmarking it and checking back often!
This is a really good tip especially to those new to the blogosphere. Simple but very precise information… Many thanks for sharing this one. A must read post!
This is a topic which is near to my heart… Many thanks! Exactly where are your contact details though?
Good post. I learn something new and challenging on websites I stumbleupon everyday. It will always be useful to read content from other writers and practice something from other web sites.
Your style is really unique in comparison to other people I’ve read stuff from. Thank you for posting when you’ve got the opportunity, Guess I will just book mark this blog.
The next time I read a blog, I hope that it does not disappoint me as much as this particular one. I mean, Yes, it was my choice to read, however I truly believed you’d have something useful to talk about. All I hear is a bunch of crying about something that you can fix if you were not too busy seeking attention.
I used to be able to find good information from your articles.
I like looking through a post that will make people think. Also, thank you for permitting me to comment!
Great article! We are linking to this particularly great article on our website. Keep up the good writing.
Having read this I believed it was extremely informative. I appreciate you finding the time and effort to put this short article together. I once again find myself personally spending way too much time both reading and commenting. But so what, it was still worth it!
Very good post. I will be experiencing many of these issues as well..
Greetings! Very useful advice within this post! It’s the little changes that make the largest changes. Thanks for sharing!
That is a really good tip particularly to those fresh to the blogosphere. Short but very accurate info… Appreciate your sharing this one. A must read article!
I used to be able to find good information from your content.
Your style is unique in comparison to other people I have read stuff from. Thanks for posting when you’ve got the opportunity, Guess I will just book mark this page.