The Surry Hills Shuffle in Sydney
It’s cold in Los Angeles (by our standards), and it’s been wet (by anyone’s, almost). So I’ve been dreaming of the Southern Hemisphere lately. Knowing that it’s warm and sunny somewhere makes me, well, it makes me seethe with jealousy, mostly.
Surry Hills NSW 2010
www.cafelounge.com.au
So in honor of envious thoughts of the sun, here’s an afternoon walking itinerary for foodies in Sydney that wasn’t featured in the Australian episodes of TPD. But it was tried and tested by yours truly.
The Surry Hills Shuffle
Surry Hills is an eclectic, alternative, hipster mish-mash of a neighborhood nestled against the west side of Moore Park on the south end of the city center of Sydney. It’s within walking distance of the perfectly priced Y Hotel that I stayed in while shooting. Its closest subway stop is Central, if you’re on public transit.
Make your way to Crown Street, and start with lunch at the Clock Hotel (it’s not actually a hotel anymore).
With a menu that would make most head chefs at American gastro pubs sprint back to their drawing boards – try the Moroccan lamb, roast onion, pumpkin & tzatziki pizza on for size if you don’t believe me - The Clock is a sleek, but unpretentious locals' hang out that still attracts customers from all over Sydney for its inventive food and laid back vibe.
The staff is attentive and friendly and the almost exclusively Australian wine list is ample if you’re not going to get to wine country in person.
If you’re back in the area at night, the place jumps with three bars to choose from: the pool bar, the balcony bar, or the pub’s nighttime alter ego, the street bar.
The Clock Hotel
470 Crown Street
Surry Hills NSW 2010
A block north of The Clock is Sparkle Cupcakery. Although I know that the gourmet cupcake fad is several years past its due date, I still love cake. And the crew at Sparkle knows their stuff.
They offer a dozen flavors daily, from the exotic Oriental Flower which is lychee and rose cake with sweet rose petal topping to the mundane but perfect Milk Chocolate. And with names like Afternoon Delight, who wouldn’t want a taste?
Sparkle Cupcakery
132A Foveaux Street
Surry Hills NSW 2010
If you need a chance to fight off the diabetic coma your cupcake is trying to send you into walk a couple of blocks to the east on Foveaux Street and enter Moore Park for a rest in the sun and a chance to recharge. Whether you have anymore afternoon delight is up to you.
Newly refreshed, head back to Crown Street and wander north from Sparkle to the corner of Crown and Golburn Streets. You’ll find Café Lounge there to finish out your day.
A cocktail bar, restaurant, live music venue and performance space all wrapped up into one, you can find nearly anything to watch or listen to here. There’s a space for live comedy, one for live music and one for DJs.
Simply flop on a squishy couch and get to know the stranger beside you, or dance your tuchas off (or both). Either way, you win. The crowd looks like Mardi Gras, an LGBT convention and the entire decade of the 1950s got thrown into a blender, and it’s one of the best times in the neighborhood.
Café Lounge
277 Goulburn StreetSurry Hills NSW 2010
www.cafelounge.com.au
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