I recommend this...

Longrain Restaurant & Bar

Editorial Review

Editorial Review

We slink into Longrain early on a Thursday evening, not only because we're dying to get stuck into some resplendent cocktails and Martin Boetz's food, but because we're wise to the no-bookings policy here. And as happy as we'd be sitting in the bar, waiting for our share of the communal table and working our way through Sam Christie's immaculate wine list, the point of arriving early is to get seated at the bench that dominates the side of Longrain reserved for dining. But even at this early hour Longrain is quickly filling up with like-minded people, all hungry to experience what is arguably the finest Thai this city has seen.

The converted warehouse in Surry Hills that houses Longrain may be cavernous in size, yet it's always buzzing with people. Several communal tables and stylish no-frills decor give Longrain an almost canteen like feel, but this certainly isn't the slapped up food you'd find in a dining hall. Boetz's menu of Thai and Asian dishes are sublime. How they ever managed to identify the signature dishes on this menu is beyond me, because every dish that we try is better than the next. The visually impressive eggnet with pork, prawns and bean shoots is equally impressive in its refreshing balance of flavour. Braised beef shin with a mint and coriander salad is so amazingly tender and delicately flavoured that my jaw drops - which kind of throws a spanner in the works when you're trying to eat. Casual, cool and supremely satisfying, it is little wonder that Longrain is a must do on the Sydney dining scene.

Amy Looker, May 2008
Photo credit: Jeremy Simons