Where To Eat in November: Poly, Kiln, Umami Dojo Ramen, and More

After a fire in August, Poly hit the pause button. But the beloved wine bar is now open again – and your access to its signature fried potato dish is no longer denied. Here, the kitchen levels up a hash brown until it’s worthy of art museum placement: four gold squares of crunchy potato, showered with contrasting curls of salted egg yolk and chives and pretty much perfect with any drink you’d want to order. Don’t miss the Swiss brown mushroom salad, smartly jumbled with hazelnuts and dehydrated, flavour-charged shiitakes. The mango and yoghurt sorbet drizzled with vanilla oil tastes like a Weis bar and signals the warm promise of not-so-distant summer days.

Now that guests are well acquainted with the corn-flavoured dishes on Maíz’s dinner menu – from tetela de huitlacoche to uchepo with bottlebrush honey and strawberries – Juan Carlos Negrete and his team are bringing back their ultra-popular Mexican brunches. Yes, the weekend sensation that started all those queues in the first place. Expect chilaquiles and tlacoyos and book ahead unless you’re willing to chance it on the limited balcony spots for walk-ins. They’re also mixing it up on Tostada Tuesdays, which offer a new way to try Maiz’s signature flavours (like the vegan Jamaica al pastor, a throwback to the eatery’s earliest incarnation as a Summer Hill market stall).

Award-winning chef Mitch Orr brings plenty of (literal) firepower to Kiln: his smoky menu is full of well-charred wonders, such as twice-cooked snowflake mushrooms, magnificently caramelised with a soy-maple glaze. Whether you’re ordering the roasted eggplant with macadamia and curry leaf, dry-aged ribeye with ponzu or coconut sorbet with blistered berries, it’s hard not to feel like you’re in Tokyo, thanks to Kiln’s high-rise setting on the 18^th floor of the Ace Hotel.

For reservations, call (02) 8099 8799.

Momofuku’s David Chang recently named Sydney’s Golden Century as the place he’d dined at most in the world. “I think I’d been there more than any other restaurant in my life,” he said on his podcast. He’d often drop by after shifts at Momofuku Seiobo and ask for the XO pipis. “One of the greatest dishes on the planet,” his co-host Chris Ying added. Golden Century closed its Sussex Street site last year, but its spirit lives on at XOPP, the sister restaurant named after its star item. Of course, this dish is a fixture at XOPP – along with the live seafood tanks synonymous with Golden Century, plus offerings that divert from the original restaurant’s traditional Cantonese focus (think pub-evoking potato wedges, served with salted egg yolk.) Check out the Neon Playground revival of Chinatown while you’re in the area, too.

Fratelli Paradiso is such a beloved institution that it’s even justified an outpost in Tokyo. Back at the original Sydney venue, though, Trisha Greentree brings her considered touch to the menu – taking excellent produce (like buffalo mozzarella from Elena Swegen’s award-winning Burraduc dairy) and amplifying it in unshowy ways, plating the creamy cheese with aged balsamic, radicchio and some well-deployed honeycomb. Octopus carpaccio is accented with chickpeas, salsa verde and chilli, while risotto with asparagus, confit Meyer lemon and goat’s curd is a welcome reminder of spring’s many upsides.

This might be the only Yunnanese restaurant in Sydney, but that’s not the only reason to pay a visit to this Regent Place venue. At Yunn, Wing Yang showcases how diverse this Chinese cuisine is with a variety of noodle dishes (like the excellent douhua mixian, with its fanned-out ingredients and soft tofu), chilli-spiced zucchini and mushrooms that are deeply grilled and handmade pea jelly that comes with a refreshing splash of vinegar dressing. For your sweet tooth, savour the mango sago with crispy bread on top.

Walk-ins only.

At this Parramatta Square bakery, you’ll find excellent cinnamon scrolls and well-spiced carrot cake with turrets of cream cheese on top. But the main attraction here – as signalled by Threefold Pastry’s logo – is the croissants. There are the permanent residents on the menu, such as the apple crumble croissant and the savoury editions, where the fillings are sealed right inside the pastry folds (like the smoked leg ham and sharp cheddar), but there’s no denying the Instagram-friendly appeal of the ever-rotating croissant specials. Aliasghar Balapurwala’s variations on the classic French crescents include baklava, matcha raspberry, Milo and condensed milk, kalamansi and mango creations and two different attempts to evoke Ferrero Rocher chocolates in flaky, croissant form.

Walk-ins only.

Marvin Antonio Barahona has been recognised as Salvadoran of the Year for his work championing the culture of his birthplace. One way he does this is via the cheesy and bean-filled pupusas at Raza Central. His menu doesn’t just feature the national dish of El Salvador, though, it also includes tamales (made from a recipe inherited from his grandmother) and specials like much-requested sopa de mondongo. It’s one of Sydney’s under-rated gems worth knowing about.

For reservations, call 0481 123 547.

Chef Josh Donachie (Shell House) joined Re mid-way through this year, continuing the bar’s mission of maximising every edible scrap in inventive ways, from carrot leaf pesto made for dipping with yoghurt flatbread to lamb offal kofta with black garlic ketchup and pickles. And owner/bartender Matt Whiley taps into the venue’s sustainable potential in countless ways, too, from extending his ‘Never Wasted’ initiative to other bars and transforming leftover Lune croissants and other excess ingredients into inventive cocktails worth your time. This inspired approach keeps drawing far-ranging attention to Re, too: it was recently ranked on The World’s 50 Best Bars longlist at #87.

This unassuming ramen house might fly under the radar, but it has the quiet charm of a neighbourhood noodle joint you’d chance across while visiting Tokyo. From the jazz piano soundtrack you hear while walking through the timber door, to the glow of Japanese paper lamps and the strong smoky fragrance of bonito as you search for a table, Umami Dojo Ramen has a transporting feel. Self-taught chef Keiji Mizuno actually brews his ramen broth in coffee siphons, a style associated with Tokyo’s Gyorai Ramen. For dessert, get a scoop of the yuzu sherbet, which is sweet and citrus-tart in equal measure. Or for something more understated, try the stretchy, transparent globes of mochi, filled with black sesame.

Email umamidojo@gmail.com for reservations.