Bodega Tapas Restaurant & Bar

Bodega, if you haven’t had the joy of visiting it before, is a little restaurant on Commonwealth Street in Surry Hills that plays the rock so loud you’ll be tapping along to the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies and Royal Crown Revue faster than you can say chimichurri. Chefs/owners Ben Millgate and Elvis Abrahanowicz also have Porteno - South American grillhouse to the stars. So while they may no longer be rocking the kitchen, chefs Nic Wong and Joel Humphreys have taken the reins rocking out with the likes of mini-muffins stuffed with deep-fried quail's eggs and slathered in sage butter, or pulled pork with pickles on a steamed bun. When Bodega first opened it was impossible to get a table – it’d be a case of leaving your number and waiting at nearby pub, the KB. Not much has changed except that these days you can sit in their bar next door, drink a cocktail and eat some empanadas while you wait. There are a few dishes on the menu that don’t often vary, such as the raw fish on toast (fish fingers) and the empanadas (both beef and pumpkin). Eggplant escabeche is excellent spooned onto slices of sourdough, and if they’re their housemade chorizo, you’re in luck. Don’t try turning up past 7.30pm on a Friday or Saturday night – you’d be more likely to get a walk-in table at Tetsuya’s – and don’t try bribing them (we have it on good authority it doesn’t work). Instead, turn up early, have a drink in their bar and wait your damn turn

BAR REVIEW:

The bar is only available to patrons who intend to dine in Bodega next door, which makes it more of a restaurant warm-up area than a stand-alone bar. The walls of Bodega Bar are adorned with a tripped out graffiti-cum-pop art mural of the sexiest bullfighter you'll ever see. And the staff! The boys in the kitchen are channelling modern rockabilly and the girls on the floor are all red lips and pin-up girl hair. The cocktail list is equally innovative. All the classics are available but on the other side of the menu, you'll find a ones that have been tweaked with that Spanish rock'n'roll streak. If cocktails aren't your bag, Bodega has an impressive wine menu with page upon page of carefully selected Spanish and Argentinean drops. Or, if thirst quenching is more your aim, the Spanish beer selection is the perfect partner for the small salty treats on the tapas menu.