James O'Brien

Having enjoyed a really yummy meal at Porteño a few months ago, I’ve attempted to go back twice since.

With a friend who I thought would really enjoy it, we headed down to line up a few weeks ago, only to discover it was closed due to a fire. Noticing the other day it had re-opened I suggested to a friend we should try again. Significantly, they don’t take bookings, and so you need to line up at 6 pm and “join the queue”. Thinking the heavy rain would force most people to stay at home, we headed down there at about 7pm. Walking in absolutely soaked, the waiter was very nice but told us the earliest they could squeeze us in would be 10 pm. Our strategy for next time is that I’ll head down, join the queue, and call my friend.

So I suggested we try Pork’d, a new venue which has opened in what was Red Lantern on Crown Street, Surry Hills.  

The idea around Pork’d, as you’ll see from the plate is a bain-marie full of all different types of pork. They also have a nice range of craft beers and wine. We thought the meal was okay, though not exceptional.

It was more like a bar, a pub beer garden, than a restaurant. It was definitely a young person’s vibey place, though where we sat (in a corridor) it was still possible to have a good conversation without needing to scream at each other to be heard. We thought it was okay.

Who would have thought restaurants in Surry Hills would be so busy when the weather was so crap?