The best private dining rooms in Sydney
There’s a heap of restaurants in Sydney with private dining rooms, and we’ve put together a list of the best for you. From the moody, underground vibes of Spice Temple in the CBD, to waterfront views at Freshwater’s Pilu, outsourcing is the smart way to entertain. So gather your people together, choose your spot, and worry only about the serious business of eating and merriment. And the best part? You don’t have to do the dishes.
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The best private dining rooms in Sydney
Hubert
Porteño on Cleveland
While diners now get their Ben Milgate and Elvis Abrahanowicz food fix at Porteño's new digs on Holt Street, the original site of the top notch restaurant now serves as an event space. You can spread out across grand the two-level restaurant and rent out the entire space to yourself and you can do a sit-down do or a cocktail-style affair. The menu dishes out all of the Porteño favourites – including those Brussels sprouts, barbecued rolled pork, lamb sausage and wood fired lamb – and upstairs caters for up to 50 people seated and 150 standing, while downstairs caters to 130 seated and 180 standing.
Pilu at Freshwater
ACME
One Penny Red
The Paddington
The Commons
Bibo Wine Bar
Sixpenny
Spice Temple
Indu
Take your party underground to Indu, the modern Indian hotspot situated beneath George Street. Two dining alcoves come off the main dining area, each fitting up to 12 people. Carved into the side of the heritage-listed building, the tunnel-like rooms feature exposed brick walls and intricate floor tiling. The long table means that you may have to play musical chairs throughout the meal in order not to shout. A curtain can be draped across the entrance for more privacy. The $65pp set menu will take your taste buds around the subcontinent, starting with dosa and working up to more sizeable dishes like Goan pork belly curry. Bump it up to $80pp, and the menu includes Indu’s signature lamb raan: lamb leg marinated in yoghurt and spices and cooked over two days. The minimum spend for groups is $1,000; easily done here, we reckon.
10 William Street
You can seat up to 24 people upstairs at this excellent wine bar, making it an ace place to host a private dinner. You know what you need to accompany that fresh and fruity glass of Xavier fiano from Heathcote? A soft, hot block of haloumi and tapioca, fried a golden brown and topped with XO sauce to deliver a salty, spicy sucker punch, with a savoury double tap from a light snow of grated pecorino.
Or try this...
The Private Kitchen
Just in time for the festive season, the Private Kitchen is set to overtake the third floor of the Old Rum Store on Kensington Street from December. Like the rest of the Kensington Street district, the Private Kitchen is impressive, combining the original design of the building with floor-to-ceiling glass windows and a wrap-around balcony. With a seated capacity of 100 or 120 standing, the restaurant will cater exclusively for events and functions and is the perfect place to celebrate Christmas, say goodbye to the working year, or raise a glass to 2017.
The site will feature a roster of big-name chefs, starting with Stanley Wong, formerly of Hong Kong’s Mandarin Oriental Hotel and Spice Market in New York. For seated events, Wong has designed two set menu options featuring elegant flavours with an Asian bent. The five-course menu is $55 a head, while the seven-course menu will set you back $88pp. Expect starters such as scallop carpaccio with nashi and toasted hazelnuts or seared hamachi served with bacon dashi. For the main event, you’ll find the likes of crab risotto with fennel pollen or a spice-encrusted New York strip loin with endive and snap peas. For standing functions, canapes come at $5 a pop and also draw heavily from Asia. Think chicken larb tacos, smoked duck with kumquat glaze and matcha coconut cream cups. The bar within the Private Kitchen will take care of all your imbibes.
Considering there’s a minimum spend of $1,500 for lunch and $2,000 for dinner bookings, it’s a case of the more, the merrier here. Lvl 3, The Old Rum Store, Kensington St, Chippendale 2008. Available for lunch and dinner bookings seven days from December 8. Email events@theprivatekitchen.com.au.
