Buffalo Dining Club

Darlinghurst's new bar is dedicated to the cheese of that noble beast of burden: the buffalo

First published on 13 Feb 2012. Updated on 24 Feb 2012.

This is the latest project from Michael Fantuz – the man behind Sticky Bar and Table for 20 (the communal dining experience where you pay $70 and they feed you, along with 20 other random citizens). This time, it's all about buffalo mozzarella. It’s the air-freight gear, too. We know we’re going to that special hell reserved for air miles wastrels where we’ll suffer an eternity of gout but goddamn, the Italian stuff just tastes so much better.

You’ll find Buffalo Dining Club on the old Burgerman site. That means no more double chocolate milkshakes, sadly. But on the bright side, the Dining Club feature a burger on their menu. The patty is veal and pork topped with a big wodge of buffalo mozzarella on a slightly chewy roll accompanied by a tangle of sweet potato and potato fries and a big blob of aioli. It’s not bad. Caccio e pepe is probably the crowning glory of the night – a simple spaghetti dish of olive oil, parmesan and pepper served at the table out of a giant hollowed-out parmesan wheel. Wowsers!

It’s a two-level eating and drinking deal at Buffalo. The bottom level is more bar-like with tiny stools (beware if you’re not Kate Moss. Actually, beware if you are. They’re uncomfortable for the leggy and padded alike). Upstairs is a dining room proper. The whole place is a smart design. Incandescent globes hang down from the ceiling and the walls are a mix of distressed treated concrete and big blackboards scrawled with food and drink specials.

Take a seat at the three-person bar or the communal table and order up Trumer Pils on tap (yay!) or maybe the super-cheap house red for $20 per 500ml carafe. Splash a little more cash around with the likes of the Allegrini valpolicella or Poderi Aldo Conterno dolcetto for $55-$60 a bottle. In fact, barring the sparkling and Champagne, none of the wines on the list are over $65.

It’s great to see this little bar and restaurant filling the gap left by Omerta, which sadly closed its doors last year. Service is friendly and personable offering drinks and snacks at reasonable prices. See you in hell, buffalo fans. The journey's sure to be delicious.

Words by Myffy Rigby |

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