Firedoor - Surry Hills

We absolutely loved this place. What a unique dining experience! We tried a selection of dishes and I can honestly say everything was not Only delicious, but impressive. There are no electrical cooking appliances in this kitchen, so I'm told, everything runs on wood fire or coal, from the grill to the oven. Different woods are chosen for different dishes, depending on what compliments them. Smoked ganache? Yep! Honeycomb? Yep! Pumpkin? Yep! Meats? Yep! Do yourself a favour people, try this place.

I have been to Firedoor once before about a year ago. I was really impressed by the tasty food and fresh ingredients, especially the fact that all things were grilled with different kind of woods to give the food subtle differences in flavour, even for the desert! The experience was truly unique. We tried to go back to Firedoor with friends but we were really annoyed by their booking system. At first I thought they have only two seatings if we book in advance, which is inevitable because they are popular. We were shown by their online booking system for dates which was 3-4 weeks ahead only 2 slot of times available. 6pm was too early for dinner and 9pm too late. We only found out much later that if we booked for months ahead then we would get a more flexible time slots to choose from. We are not ones to plan dinner so far ahead as we believe long anticipation generates high expectations and often lead to disappointments. So we eventually gave up the idea of going back. However, we knew that it would be easier to get a seat if you don't mind to sit at the counter. You could try to walk in or phone ahead. As we had a late lunch and felt like a revisit today, so called up to check availability. We were told that they have counter seats available at 8:30pm. When we were there we found out that the table seats were all full but the counter seats were mostly available for singles or couples. There are two counters, one the normal bar counter and the other look into the open kitchen with all kinds of grills and fire where the masters are at work. Between the counters, the waiters walking in and out serving drinks and food. The Asian waitress with blue dyed hair was friendly but not very professional. As the noise was loud, instead of standing between my partner and me to explain the details or saying anything. She just stand where was the most convenient for her, spoke and explained only to my partner. He was on the first seat between the two counters. She walked up and down and stop occasionally to chat with my partner. So I was left out during our entire stay and could not hear what she was talking about. It become annoying as she did that every time she served us food. Bread, Smoked Butter, Sprouted Rye $8 Very fresh and tasty bread but not as impressive as the ones served at Bishop Sessa or Fred's, or the one we just had at The Paddo Inn the night before. The smoked butter was truly amazing, it was smooth, soft and tasted heavenly! Highly recommend! The sprouted rye was a small amount of roasted nuts, they added a nice layer of nutty flavour, don't forget to add them to your bread. 4/5 Live Marron, Finger Lime, Native Herbs $53 We were presented a live Marron a few minutes after our orders and saw it cut into half. Nothing can be fresher than that. It was juicy and perfectly grilled. However the taste was not as sweet as I expected. The finger lime and native herbs dressing was subtly sweet and tangy, it was nice but not mind blowing. For a $53 dish it lacks WOW factor and the size of the Marron is on the small side (see picture). I have definitely had better tasting Marron somewhere else. I find Marrons and Yabbies such an overrated and overpriced crustaceans. I have never been impressed by Marron in restaurants but I have often been surprised by how good prawns, pipis, muscles and crabs taste in more masterful hands. You can tell this is my least favourite dish of the night. 3/5 Pumpkin, Seeds, Toasted Spelts $19 The small wedge of pumpkin has a wonderful smokey/grilled flavour but slightly under seasoned. The toasted spelts tasted like tougher, more chewy brown rice. Pumpkin seeds were surprisingly not as plentiful. After all a really nice dish with an extra little pinch of salt. 3.5/5 Cauliflower, Alpine Cheese, Grape Musk $17 Again, the cauliflower has a wonderful smokey/grilled taste. Although the serving is surprisingly small it is quite a filling dish with the melted cheese. This is probably the dish of the night packed with flavours and surprises. I will certainly order again if this is on the menu in our future visits. 5/5 Mirror Dory, Broccolini, Lemon Confit $43 After all the small servings of previous dishes, this come as a big surprise for such a generous portion. In fact we couldn't finish it but it was so good we did. The fish was fresh, juicy and succulent, the flavour was great and I love the subtle sweetness from the sea. The lemon confit was not overpowering and a perfect companion. The broccolini nicely charred. 4.5/5 It was a great experience after all during our second visit but the wait between dishes was too long especially for the first few dishes as they were smaller servings. Although the kitchen dramas were fun to watch, the wait could be slightly testing if you were a lone dinner or your dining partner not a chatty one.

I have been to Firedoor once before about a year ago. I was really impressed by the tasty food and fresh ingredients, especially the fact that all things were grilled with different kind of woods to give the food subtle differences in flavour, even for the desert! The experience was truly unique. We tried to go back to Firedoor with friends but we were really annoyed by their booking system. At first I thought they have only two seatings if we book in advance, which is inevitable because they are popular. We were shown by their online booking system for dates which was 3-4 weeks ahead only 2 slot of times available. 6pm was too early for dinner and 9pm too late. We only found out much later that if we booked for months ahead then we would get a more flexible time slots to choose from. We are not ones to plan dinner so far ahead as we believe long anticipation generates high expectations and often lead to disappointments. So we eventually gave up the idea of... read more

After hearing MANY good reviews about this restaurant, I was excited to finally try this place out for myself. According to their website, the menu changes daily based on available local produce so I wasn't sure what was going to be on the menu upon arrival. I was most keen to try their 227 day dry aged rib of beef which is probably what they're most known for.. let me just say right off the bat, one of THE BEST pieces of steak I've ever eaten in my life. Cooked perfectly and just melts in your mouth. I generally don't eat meat all that much because it tends to taste dry and overcooked, but the guys at Firedoor was bang on and the meat was so tender and delicious. We got the chefs menu of the night but the highlight and standout dish is the rib of beef. Everything else was nice as well but I'd personally recommend ordering the 500g rib of beef and probably about 2 sides to share and a dessert and you'll be good. The rib of beef was the last dish before dessert on the chefs menu and we were pretty stuffed by the end of it. All in all a great dining experience and would come back just for that rib of beef!

After hearing MANY good reviews about this restaurant, I was excited to finally try this place out for myself. According to their website, the menu changes daily based on available local produce so I wasn't sure what was going to be on the menu upon arrival. I was most keen to try their 227 day dry aged rib of beef which is probably what they're most known for.. let me just say right off the bat, one of THE BEST pieces of steak I've ever eaten in my life. Cooked perfectly and just melts in your mouth. I generally don't eat meat all that much because it tends to taste dry and overcooked, but the guys at Firedoor was bang on and the meat was so tender and delicious. We got the chefs menu of the night but the highlight and standout dish is the rib of beef. Everything else was nice as well but I'd personally recommend ordering the 500g rib of beef and probably about 2 sides to share and a dessert and you'll be good. The rib of beef was the last dish before dessert on... read more