Buffalo Dining Club, Darlinghurst

If the idea of a mozzarella bar doesn't tempt you, then I don' know what will. It was the promise of pasta being spun in a giant cheese wheel that tempted a group of us hungry food bloggers to venture to the Cross on Halloween. Pasta, cheese and ghouls, could there be a better combination?

Upstairs dining

The Buffalo Dining Club is a tiny restaurant. And when I say tiny, I mean tiny. They don't take reservations nor will they seat you until your entire group is present, so going there early would be your best bet. By the time we entered at around 6:30/7, the restaurant was pretty much packed out and we managed to snag one of the last few free seats.

The menu

Short and concise, the menu gets straight to the good stuff - the cheese, the cured meat, the pastas and some salads for those of you who need some veggies on the side of the mighty load of carbs you are about to consume! For groups 6 or larger, the restaurant orders for you and we were happy to be taken under the wings of the staff at Buffalo Dining Club. Show us the food :D

A little bit of an issue where there was too much to fit on the table :P

Fresh burrata (100g) with marinated olives and tempura cauliflower, $20

I don't know what constitutes as a good burrata as this was my first time eating it but this was damned good. A bouncy outer shell of solid mozzarella gives way to the mozarrella and cream filled centre that flows out. It was very light to eat because of its freshness, and had a wonderful creaminess that lingers on the palette. The tempura cauliflower were also a win. Super crunchy and well seasoned.

Caprino with artichoke hearts and honey baby carrots, $20.00

This goats cheese was also another winner. Salty and tangy, it was wonderful lathered on the bread. The carrots are quite ordinary but sides are sides. Would've preferred an extra serving of the cauliflower though :P

Buffalo Mozzarella (125g) with grilled baby broccolini and cherry tomatoes, $20.00

The delicate flavour of fresh  milk that the buffalo mozzarella another great cheese to eat, although I think we were all a little bit more enamoured by the fancier burrata in comparison. Soft and moist, I could definitely easily eat this and the tomatoes and still be one happy camper.

Pumpkin and potato croquettes, $8.00

And who doesn't love a good croquette that's deep-fried to a wonderful crisp? The innards for both were deliciously creamy and smooth and loved that dip that it came with! Not quite sure what it was but definitely quite tart.

Bresaola, $16.00

Onto the good old cured meats! Look at those glorious ribbons of fat running through the bresaola. The beef flavour is strong due to the aging process but that's exactly what we were looking for.

Prosciutto San Dan, $10.00 for 60g

And of course prosciutto, the perfect accompaniment to all those cheeses we had on the table.

Chilli accompaniment

If you're a chilli fanatic, this will be THE sauce for you. Let me tell you, it's hella spicy. We each tried a tiny bit and the level of spicy is PHUOR spicy. And it just gets spicier in your mouth after the initial kick. So be warned before spooning this baby on top of all your pasta! Unless of course, it is your intention.

Buffalo ricotta gnocchi, $20.00

Gnocchi is one of those things that could go terribly wrong and stodgy a lot of the time but these were soft pillowy, cheesy balls of goodness. Tossed in that gloriously rich tomato sauce, I have nothing but good things to say about this dish.

Lamb ragu, $20.00

The ragu was a tad lacklustre after the gnocchi. Whilst not bad, it really could've wowed with an extra hit of seasoning.

Food bloggers frantically trying to capture the action

And for the dish that Buffalo Dining Club is infamous for. It probably doesn't need to be tossed at the table, but for theatrics and for us to see the giant wheel, I sure as hell ain't complaining :P We get to feel involved with our food!

Caccio e Pepe, $20.00

If you're after that huge pepper kick like I am all the time, you will definitely be pleased with this one. Lots of parsley, pepper and of course, pecorino is distributed evenly through the pasta because of the wheel tossing for pieces of cheesy goodness in each bite.

Full to the brim, this feast was very reasonable and the bill was under $30 each. Considering all the food that was brought to us, it was more than good value. And a good visit to make for all of you who are mozzarella lovers! It is a mozzarella bar after all :P And a big thanks to Charn for organising this dinner :)

Buffalo Dining Club
116 Surrey St
Darlinghurts, NSW, 2010

Opening Hours
Wednesday - Saturday: 12:00 noon - 11:00pm

GPO Cheese & Wine Room, Martin Place

Winter is here! The onset of the cold, cold weather means heart warming foods that give us a glow from the inside out. And what better way than to indulge in a little cheese and cured meats on a week night? Armed with a band of girlfriends to chat over a nice bottle of red before M flies out to Europe, we were lured to GPO Cheese and Wine room where the promise of cheese fondue awaited us.

Ciao Vino Sangiovese IGT Vino Rosso Toscano, $54

The staff were extremely knowledgeable about all things cheese and wine and recommended us the Sangiovese from Italy. His heavy French accent definitely made him sound like he knew exactly what he was talking about! I'm no wine connoisseur as I have only recently started appreciating wine but this was probably the first wine I have had that is savoury on the palette, not to mention my first wine from Italy. Earthy and aromatic, it paired well with our cheese feast.

Charcuterie, $35.00

The charcuterie board consisted of chicken and armagnac pate, parma prosciutto, kurobuta cantipalo salami, wagyu beef pastrami, chorizo slices and pickles for that acidic kick. We were in cured meats heaven. Not to mention that we were completely smothering the slices of bread with a thick layer of pate because it was all sorts of delicious.

Four cheese with accompaniments, $34.40

The cheese portions were quite generous at 50g each and our board also came with grapes, apple slices, lavosh, half baguette and a saffron and pear chutney to accompany our cheese selection. Soft cheeses always feel so luxurious to eat and I think we all felt like we were indulging with the triple cream Locheilan. The soft fluffy rind gave way to a rich, tangy centre. Brie is one of my favourite cheeses and this one, hailing from the French providence, had a mild smokey aroma with notes of truffles, almonds and hazelnuts. Perfect when eaten with the grapes! The hard cheeses of the day were the Cantal and Gruyere which both melted wonderfully on the palate and was really enjoyable with the chutney. The whole sweet and salty thing really works for me.

L to R: Truffle cheese fondue, $43.00 / Goats cheese fondue, $39.00

And what we were waiting for - the fondue! Is it just me or is it hard to find places that do cheese fondue in Sydney? Somehow we ended up ordering two when we had original plans to go for one so we had waaay too much food on the table. The goats cheese was smooth and had a lovely tang that I thought worked super well with the figs and cured meats - basically the items stronger in flavour. Since the truffle cheese was much stronger in flavour, I loved it with the bread.

We ordered way too much food that we couldn't finish. We did make a considerable effort though! The ambiance was very relaxing with the nice candles set up and the large artwork at the end of the room to frame it all. I think we've discovered a new place for our relaxing nights over wine.

GPO Cheese & Wine Room
GPO Sydney

Lower Ground Floor, 1 Martin Place  

Sydney, NSW, 2000

Opening Hours

Monday: 12:00pm-3:00pm

Tuesday - Friday: 12:00pm-3:00pm, 6:00pm-10:00pm

Saturday - Sunday: Closed