Hartsyard, Newtown

After waking up early in the morning when I had another extremely late night trying to catch up on uni work, and then spending a good few hours down in the wood workshop at uni, I was definitely looking forward to the architecture revue of 2012 - "Games of Homes". But obviously that doesn't come before going out for dinner first!

I have been very keen for Hartsyard after reading many reviews circling around the blogging sphere. A wanted to get there super early so that we wouldn't be late the for 7:30 start for the revue - but perhaps we got there a little too early... The staff were still eating dinner when we entered! They apologised that they weren't open until 5:30 so we went looking around in a nearby poster shop before going back. One of the staff ladies was super nice and apologised again for having to shoo us out earlier on but we were unfazed because even we knew it was much too early for dinner! We were promptly seated and I was immediately enraptured by the cute mismatched vintage napkins that adorned the tables!

I already had my heart set on the fried chicken so it was then a choice of another dish. We were all intrigued by the dandelion and chicory salad so that was ordered to sate our curiosity.

Dandelion and chicory salad, $17.00

The salad itself came with wonderful pieces of pork crackling that were intensely crunchy. There were dandelion and chicory leaves which have a slight bitter taste upon first bite but then a subtle sweetness comes out the more you chew which paired wonderfully with the mustard dressing and the salty French cheese. The oozy yolk of the soft-poached egg added creaminess and a squeeze of grilled lemon added that extra zing to complete the dish.

Cold-smoked fried chicken, $28.00

House made hot sauce to pair with the chicken

Oh my, look at that crispy batter on that chicken. It was glorious I tell you, glorious! The chicken tasted so good without the hot sauce that I was almost tempted not to use it but then boy am I glad I did! It had great flavour, but don't worry for those of you who cannot handle chilli - it wasn't spicy at all. But the unexpected surprise of the dish was the sausage gravy which I definitely did not expect to love as much as I did! It was so creamy and flavoursome and together with the fluffy biscuit/scone? My mouth was in heaven. This gravy had me coming back for more!

When it came to desserts, all three of us zoomed in on different things and finally cut it down to two. We had such a hard time choosing and when we asked the waiter which one he'd recommend, he said that both of them were excellent so what choice did we have but to order both? ;) Our inner gluttons coming out despite already being content from the salad and fried chicken (which was definitely deceptively filling because of the oil, especially with the creamy gravy!).

Deep-fried cheesecake + popcorn icecream, $16.00

When I saw deep-fried cheesecake, I expected a big fat slice of blueberry cheesecake coated with a batter and then deep-fried. So expect my surprise when this high-class restaurant quality dish came to our table! It definitely was beautifully presented. The popcorn icecream and cheesecake sat on top of a lemon curd with some yuzu jam next to it. There was caramelised popcorn pieces, blueberry powder and frozen blueberries! The popcorn icecream was amazing. It was salty and sweet and creamy and hit all the right places. The deep-fried cheesecake was also enjoyable with a nice batter and cheesy innards. So good!

Peanut butter + banana sundae, $16.00

This dessert was very sweet and heavy! Yet it was devilishy decadent at the same time. The pretzel icecream with a peanut butter crumble and salted fudge? Yes please. It also paired excellently with the banana donuts that were hidden amongst the overflowing fudge - it spilled out all over the sides as you can see in the picture! Despite feeling full, we devoured both desserts in no time at all.

When we entered Hartsyard, it was completely empty and we were the first patrons of the night! However, as we were leaving at 7, the place was jam packed full and buzzing with people so I'd say if you wanted dinner, booking seems like the way to go. The food definitely did not tick any health boxes here, but it was a treat all the same. Highly recommend this place!

Clutching our stomachs, we made our way to watch the Revue where I proceeded to laugh all night to the point where my cheeks hurt! Definitely a winner and worth every cent of the $15 I paid for a ticket! Can't wait to see next year's production (:

Hartsyard
31 Enmore Rd
Newtown, NSW, 2042
8068 1473
http://hartsyard.com.au

Opening Hours
Wednesday - Sunday: 5:30pm until late