Now that the weather is closing in, the sun is setting just a bit earlier and it's nearly sweater weather, our minds are turning to hearty fare and cosy corners. The silver lining of this impending gloom of winter is Beast and Co.
The modern, bohemian local, bringing European cooking, flavours and techniques to the heart of Surry Hills is fronted by Petra Kanalosova and Jakub Kosik, a pair who bring together over a decade of hospitality experience across Rockpool Dining Group.
Beast and Co’s refined and seasonal menu focuses on local produce coming from earth, lands, rivers and the sea, taking inspiration from Petra and Jakub’s traditional Czech family recipes, with an Aussie edge. Slovakian-born head chef, Jozef Kysel, formally of Michelin Star winner Ora D'aria in Florence, also infuses his European culinary experience into the Beast and Co menu.
Signature dishes lean heavily on the traditional pairings of Eastern Europe like blushing duck breast with braised cabbage, red grapes, blackberries and duck jus; and oven-roasted cabbage with pickled fruit.
The menu is staunch in its "nose to tail" approach, with whole chickens, ducks and fish, broken down on-site ensuring nothing is wasted. The concept also applies to the use of vegetables, meaning waste produce is pureed, pickled or fermented and incorporated back into the menu.
The drinks menu offers traditional Czech beers and a vast range of rare wines, as well as a tight list of signature cocktails.
While the menu may hark back to the Motherland, the aesthetics are firmly planted in Surry Hills, with industrial chic concrete walls and blonde wooden accents adding much-needed warmth on a chilly Sydney night.