Who doesn’t love a long lunch? A workday business lunch can get loose fast, disrupting all your good intentions of heading back to work to finish that report by COB. We’ve all been there! Sydney has lots brunch/lunch destinations, but often its a choice of one end or the other; food court and park bench amongst the bin chickens or high-end restaurants that could turn boozy, and bust the budget. Hester’s comes to the rescue.
The Applejack team (Ben Carroll and Hamish Watts) are the family behind many of our favourites; Bopp & Tone, The Botanist and SoCal. They have taken to naming their lastest ventures as a tribute to family menbers, most recently June’s shoppe, (a café and bar) and now Hester’s which is named after Bopp & Tone wives. This personal touch comes through in the service too, friendly & fast, they can work with a quick turnaround if you need it.
This is not their first rodeo, executive chef Sa Va’afusuaga, is also behind Sydney favourites, such as The Butler, The Botanist and SoCal. The menu is part café classics and part tapas. Our hot tip is dive into the shareables, they are fresh and generous plates. If you are subbing out wine for organic kombucha, that doesn’t mean you cant have an little indulgence, so start with an oyster or half a dozen? Sydney Rock from Port Stephens are sublime with the shallot verjus mignonette. The prosciutto di parma is some of the best you’ll find in Sydney, it is ‘savoury floss’, pink, light as a feather and it melts.
Hester’s is in the heart of the CBD, it’s a sunny but shaded spot to take a breather and if you have time, do have a second course. The wood-fired club can’t be eaten alone. The buffalo mozzarella, zucchini and mint salad is light and zesty. The dish of the day was the salt cod fritters. If a corn fritter and croquette had a love child this would be it, crispy and moorish.
Hesters brings a some much needed Surry Hills sass to the city but with a personal touch. Its one for business, friends and if you enjoy lunch, well…at least you know you can head back the next day for breakfast!
Hesters, 60 Carrington Street, Wynyard Park, Sydney
Hours: Weekdays, Breakfast from 7am – 11am, Lunch from 11:30am – 3pm
