It was finally one of those days. A day that happens rarely but when they do you feel a bit less frazzled and hectic. It was one of those days where I seemed to arrive early everywhere rather than being late and rushing. I was even ahead of friend usually very on time Buxom Wench and Silver Fox and we were meeting at Youeni in Surry Hills.
One of the reasons why I like hanging out with Buxom Wench is that she is unfailingly honest and has no airs or pretensions. She told me point blank that she thought that Youeni was pronounced “you-enny” and that it was a Greek restaurant. It is in fact a play on “you and I.” There are two branches of Youeni, one in Darlinghurst and one in Surry Hills and we are at the latter one. Well, at least I think so. Buxom Wench had accidentally texted me the address of 9 Hill Street but it is actually 8 Hill Street which is an office and shop complex. However, when you look at the building directory listing, Youeni doesn’t appear on it and there is no sign in front of the cafe with its name. The telltale clue? The boxes of produce on sale outside.
Originally started as a food store in Darlinghurst two years ago, both locations have started serving food and the Surry Hills one, a tiny 15 seater when it rains or 40 seater when it is sunny, has just been discovered by many. The menu is simple and very reasonably priced and changes daily. They make everything from scratch in their Surry Hills production kitchen including the bread and butter. There are no microwaves here. Diners face into the open kitchen where trays of sweet baked goodies sit.
Blankets are provided on the tables for diners and I take a seat underneath the heat lamp. I ask for some recommendations while waiting for Buxom Wench and Silver Fox to arrive. They’re the kind of delightfully easygoing friends that say “just order for us and we’ll eat whatever you order” 
And given the fact that the owner and chef Chris Starke was formerly a pastry chef at Marque, we figure we’re in safe hands. And it has to be said that the service here is wonderfully friendly and genuine.
Soy chai $4.50
I start with a soy chai with honey and it’s already slightly sweetened with honey but a small container of it is also provided. It’s milky and with a good amount of spice, particularly clove and there is plenty of it in the teapot. However as we knew that food was coming, I needed to drink quickly to make room for the food on the tables which are small in size.
Roasted hand cut potato wedges, sweet chilli mayo $8
Hand cut and crispy, these roasted potato wedges come salted and fragranced with baked rosemary needles. The sweet chilli mayonnaise is a good dipping sauce to go with it.
Honey mustard caramelisd ham sandwich, caramelised apple, tarragon mayo, fresh horseradish, salad mix $12
Buxom Wench can be bossy at times, all well meaning mind you. She tells them “you should make sourdough” as they explain that their bread is not a sourdough but a wholegrain loaf. She soon retracts that statement admitting that the house baked bread is very good indeed and that no switch to sourdough is necessary. This sandwich is pure Christmas with a sweet honey mustard caramelised ham which is served hot on their house made grain bread. There’s caramelised apple, tarragon mayo, fresh horseradish and dressed watercress. It takes me straight back to last year’s Christmas where we enjoyed similar sandwiches with our thick slices of Christmas spiced ham and the sweetness of the ham and apple is a nice pairing with the peppery watercress.
House cured King salmon, lemon, goats cheese, beetroot, melba toasts, baby cos $15
Almost too pretty to eat, the house cured king salmon comes in slices on a colourful bed of baby cos, thinly sliced beetroot and red kale salad. There is also herbed goats cheese and three slices of thin melba toasts. The flavour is fresh and well balanced with a satisfying crunch from the toast.
Angus scotch fillet, carrot dauphinoise, rosemary beurre noisette, green salad $22
Our last main was the Angus scotch fillet which was cooked medium rare. It was paired up with a neat rectangle of carrot dauphinoise which gives it a fine dining touch. There is also rosemary beurre noisette (nut butter) and a salad of bitter leaves and kale. The steak is juicy and the carrot dauphinoise is sweet and a nice pairing with it instead of the usual potato dauphinoise. And the last time I made a dauphinoise like this, it took me ages so I appreciate the time that it must have taken.
And when you go to have a look at the sweets display, chef Chris Starke may photobomb your photo!
Dessert time and again Buxom Wench and Silver Fox who are such dream dining companions suggest that we try all three of the three sweets despite the fact that we were very full. We also spy a roasted vegetable salad going to the girl at the table next to us and they even suggest “maybe we should order that now?”
Rhubarb and ginger tart $5
The rhubarb and ginger tart is stopped with a crumble topping. Inside the dark baked pastry case is sweet rhubarb, apple and ginger as well as a layer of creme patissiere or vanilla custard underneath the crunchy crumble top. I can imagine this served hot with some vanilla ice cream.
Chocolate and salted caramel tart $5
The chocolate and salted caramel tart was a bit too dark and a bit too salted for all of us. The filling was a dark chocolate ganache and on top was a glossy layer of salted caramel. It would have been ideal if there was less salt on the caramel.
Caramelised apple muffin $4
I’m usually not much of a muffin person but this one is very moist and fresh with a nice, light crust on the top. In fact I think I ate half of the muffin! But Buxom Wench and Silver Fox are good friends and they either didn’t notice or didn’t mind.
So tell me Dear Reader, how often do you share dishes with others and do you or your friends get particular about dividing shared meals up evenly? Or is everyone easygoing about it? And would you ever let someone else order for you?
Youeni
Ground floor, 8 Hill St, Surry Hills, NSW 2010
Tel: +61 (02) 9368 0220
Mon-Fri 7am-4pm, Sat 7.30am-4pm, open for dinner soon
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35 Comments | Add your own
What a lovely place, and I absolutely love the chef photobombing that shot (mind you, I do find it a bit unnerving when a chef has a beard). I don’t mind sharing, particularly when the portions are large, it really does help minimize over eating.
I love this place! The staff are super friendly and clearly passionate about what they’re doing. Oh, and the food is fantastic too, especially the ham sandwich. Lovely photos!
The sweet chilli dipping sauce caught my eye and makes me wonder what is in it…hmmm…I feel experimentation looming.
I love to share food–I just love tasting many dishes as opposed to eating just one thing. Don’t care how it is divvied up either. And I prefer to order for myself unless someone knows a restaurant better and has suggestions.
This place is the bomb …… I am not good with shared meals and I always find theres that little bit left that nobody wants to finish
Wow, this place looks great
we’re lucky that the friends we share meals with are consistently aware that we’re sharing. The bigger appetites have the manners to wait for the smaller eaters to declare that they’re full before finishing off what is left.
Whether there are just two of us or a whole group, I can only decide what I would like to order once I know what everyone else is ordering
The prices seem awfully good, and the fits looks lovely. I now have a hankering for baked ham…. Maybe tonights dinner?
I love to try most things and will happily let others do the ordering, each dish is like a surprise present then
SHARE?! Never
The food looks delicious, and I particularly love the photo bomb
Wow this place looks amazing! Like my dream home/cafe
Carrot dauphinoise is a brilliant idea. All the food looks fantastic. I’d be keen to try the very salty salted caramel
Hehe I don’t think I’d let anyone order for me. I have a menu-studying habit…
When I read the name of this restaurant I thought it must have been Japanese! Buxom Wench sounds like she’s a lot of fun! I love the photo of ‘Christ’? popping in to the shot. I think this looks like a great place to meet good friends for lunch and gossip xx
Wow – the wedges (and everything, really) look grand – so rustic and tempting!
Oh goodness, that salted caramel tart looks insanely good. I’m usually the one who orders and I’m happy about that. I love menus and I always want more than one thing so sharing works out well if I can be the one who picks!
I must admit I prefer to order my own food, though it can be eye and palate-opening to let the chef – or other foodies – order for me. Don’t always like to share, particularly if something is really yummy. I can be greedy like that!
Wahhh i love this place
So nice ~ definitely one of those cafes I can spend a good couple of hours there 
I want to try all of the dishes and CHOCOLATE CARMEL tart YUM!
LOL i dun think anyone has ordered for me lately because i get really cranky lol unless I’m really unfamilar with that cuisine
if not I like ordering for myself hehe ~
I’m happy to let a pro like you order for me!
I have certain friends who I share the whole meal with and others I know like to have their one main meal to themselves. Is it bad to say that I like to eat with the first type of friends more?!
I’ve got to say that food looks great. I love bog portions but I also love sharing them. I went out to dinner last night and was served the tiniest portions ever – pretty frustrating!
Fun place to know, relaxed place to go, fast, enjoyable food to share
! Yes, have always shared, never mind how much anyone gets: one can order an extra dish if still hungry!! I do like to make some suggestions re the menu, but if the restaurant is someone’s ‘special place’ – by all means let that person order 
!
Next time you go out to eat take me with your: I am the easiest person to dine with. You can order whatever you want, you can have as much as you want of my meals… One request though (of which I never had complains about): no dessert for me, it’s all your’s…:)
Everything is plated so prettily! The house cured salmon looks particularly good.
Lovely food and a relaxing atmosphere, certainly a must-do place for lunch with a group of girlfriends. Love the look of the sweets and savoury dishes,shame the tart was too salty.
I like to share meals because you get to taste a little of everything but if your dish is really, really delicious, it’s hard to part with even a single bite, hehe!
We went to a local restaurant a few weeks ago with friends and shared everything, it was fun, servings were generous so no-one missed out.If you’re ever out Picton way Lorraine, give ’6 months’ a try, you’ll be pleasantly surprised .
@ Matilda – thanks for the tip: I happen to live ‘out Picton way’, but hardly ever eat there, so shall pass the message along too if I may : ) !
Looks like a fun place to be!
And LOVE your photos of each recipe!
I welcome when people order for me, and when out we friends, we all LOVE to share, TRUE!
Adds to the food experience and the enjoyment of getting together sharing laughs and making memories too!
Now that’s a ham sandwich!
Yummm.. Really want to try that caramelised ham sandwich.
And it would be great to have them for dinner as well.
I love the look of that goats cheese salad. And I think the chocolate dessert sounds amazing! I often think there isn’t ENOUGH salt in things that are labeled as “salted caramel” so I bet I’d love that tart. I’m such a salt fiend!
This place looks so clean cut and beautiful – the chef is so much fun!
The food looks fantastic, love the beautiful hand cut wedges!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Man, these dishes all look so good. The salmon dish is as pretty as a picture, and I adore beetroot. Looks like a fun place to visit.
The food at Youeni looks wonderful! Simple, unpretentious but the type that you keep going back to..How good is that scotch fillet with rosemary beurre noissete. i can only imagine it was excellent! I would give anything to try that rhubarb and ginger tart. It looks and sounds awesome! wish I was in Sydney right now so I can head to Youeni! For now, I would have to make do with your lovely photos.
The chocolate and salted caramel tart, yum! salted caramel mm
I love sharing dishes – more muffin or salted caramel tart for me!
That muffin does look super moist! I would’ve understood you eating half (so long as you let me have the other half…)
Sharing dishes is great, but I wouldn’t let just anyone order for me!
This does look like a real fun place to be. The photos look so tempting – going off to hunt for something sweet.
@Eha, glad to oblige , check their website or Facebook page for opening hours . It’s a set degustation menu so go with a group of very hungry friends and pace yourself !
I love sharing food with friends. We’ll be doing that tonight over at our local Thai place. Pals from Victoria are visiting and we’ll share everything. Best way I think.
I thought I liked the wedges best but then I thought I liked everything best as I scrolled down.
All hail Buxom Wench!
So much fun to share food with friends! That rhubarb and ginger tart especially caught my eye!
That food looks really lovely. Sharing food is great – you get to try more things on the menu. I usually want a small bite out of everything on offer. I think I would let “buxom wench” order for me – ordering all the desserts on offer makes her a girl after my own heart!
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