Hidden Gem: Social Dining, Sydney

With no street signage and little social media presence, Social Dining restaurant is a leafy oasis tucked away in a building on Sydney's Elizabeth Street near Martin Place. Open for weekday lunch only, they can have diners in and out within 1 hour or for a long lunch. Find out why this hidden away gem has so many repeat customers.

It's a Wednesday lunchtime when Mr NQN and I make our way to Social Dining. It's one of those glorious Autumn days when the sun shines and a light layer is all you need. There's little to no street signage for Social Dining and this restaurant hasn't updated their social media for 3 years but it occupies an enviable space where most of their clientele are repeat customers.

Located on the ground floor of the BNP Paribas building in the Verandah precinct, we are firmly in corporate territory. Apparently this is a restaurant where a lot of deals go down accompanied by good food and wine. Former Prime Minister John Howard was a regular (his order: corned beef). The restaurant is decked out in lush plants and a Cuban theme with booths and a verandah seating that belies the concrete and metal jungle outside.

The Head Chef here is Anthony Musa who also worked at Reuben Hills and District Dining. The menu is full of classic crowd pleasers like oysters natural or kilpatrick, steak tartare, lasagna and steaks. Service is attentive and lovely and they can have people in and out quickly. Ever since COVID, the trend has been for shorter lunches within an hour as people work from home and need to make the most of their time in the office.

Speaking of oysters we start with some martiny-aka a tiny martini. For just $20 you get a half martini with an oyster (with lemon or mignonette). The martini is made with a Never Never Oyster Shell gin and the Pambula oyster is briney and fresh and enhanced with the mignonette. I make a mental note that there are also $2 oysters on Fridays. Mr NQN has the Virgin Tilley Wills with Seadrift Marine, elderflower syrup, passionfruit, lime and aquafaba decorated with pretty edible flowers.

Complimentary warm focaccia hits the table and it comes with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. But we aren't waiting for our food as they are known for their speedy service here with most meals arriving within 10-15 minutes after they're ordered.

I have to admit now that I'm not normally an Oysters Kilpatrick fan. Give me natural any day but I'm persuaded to try these because they make their own bacon in house. The pork belly is cured for 6 days and cooked on the 7th day and it is cooked until incredibly crunchy and crispy so that the fat is rendered out and comes with a spicy tomato dressing. And damn if these Oysters Kilpatrick haven't changed my mind completely about Oysters Kilpatrick. They're so moreish especially because of that perfectly crunchy bacon and these are a must order.

Another light seafood starter is the citrus cured salmon with a quennelle of creme fraiche with chives, red onion, pickled cucumber, baby capers and super thin dark rye bread. Everything is so well balanced and has its plaace on the plate so that you get a delicious mouthful every time.

Mr NQN loves steak tartare and we have to give this a try. It's made with flank steak already mixed together with eschallots, cornichons and a little spice with a raw egg yolk in the centre. It also comes with housemade potato chips that gives it a step above other steak tartare.

I'm going to insist on a couple of things if you go here: you have to order the Oysters Kilpatrick, the Wagyu Bresaola and the dessert (coming up). The Wagyu bresaola is cured in house by chef Anthony using a 9+ wagyu. Sliced thinly it melts in the mouth but the key is also in its pairing with a crunchy parmesan disc, truffle mayo, micro salad and a crumbed soft yolked egg. And I would not normally have ordered this because you see wagyu bresaola on so many menus but like the Oysters Kilpatrick, I can still remember every bite of this.

The gnocchi is paired with blistered soft cherry tomatoes, garlic and parsley and poached snapper with a pangrattato crunch. The gnocchi is soft and melting and the sauce has a good amount of chilli spice to it. If you love fish forward sauces and you will like this.

I love a crumbed pork cutlet in the same way that people love a chicken parm. The pork cutlet Milanese is a thick, juicy cutlet of pork on the bone with a golden crumb coating and served with an incredibly buttery potato puree, crispy sage leaves and Grana Padano. I'm really quite full at this stage but it's more greed than need that has me going back for more of this delicious Milanese.

There is also a Fine Dine menu on offer with a plat du jour and a glass of wine for $49 a person and choices rotate every fortnight. We try this week's choice which is a Black Angus short rib with duchess potatoes, rainbow carrots and a smooth celeriac cream. The short rib is luscious and we love having the crispy edged duchess potatoes and the smooth celeriac puree too with a glass of Shiraz.

Dessert-wise there's affogato and a cheese plate as well as a daily dessert that changes regularly. There is one dessert that has appeared on the menu since they opened and that is their bread and butter pudding with vanilla ice cream. It is made with sourdough bread and once you try this you'll see why it is so beloved. They've bruleed and toasted the square of butter pudding and despite how full we it's buttery moreishness begs you to take another mouthful after another. No notes, 10 out of 10.

So tell me Dear Reader, do you have less time for long lunches nowadays? And do you prefer natural oysters or Kilpatrick?

NQN and Mr NQN were guests of Social Dining but all opinions remain her own.

Social Dining

55-65 Elizabeth St, Sydney NSW 2000

Open Monday to Friday 12pm-3pm

Phone: (02) 9239 5888

Menu: verandah.com.au