About El Bulli
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Tapas, tapas, and more tapas are what’s cooking at Sydney’s El Bulli, the city’s premier location for authentic Spanish cuisine. Found on the corner of Elizabeth Street and Goodlet, just moments from Central in buzzing Surry Hills, El Bulli has become a popular location for live entertainment as well as a hotspot for great Spanish food. Also lending its stylish setting to private functions, El Bulli provides a multi-purpose restaurant in the heart of Sydney.
Opening Hours
- Monday 17:00 - 00:00
- Tuesday 17:00 - 00:00
- Wednesday 17:00 - 00:00
- Thursday 17:00 - 00:00
- Friday 17:00 - 00:00
- Saturday 17:00 - 00:00
- Sunday 16:00 - 00:00
Further Information
One of Sydney’s most well-known Spanish restaurants, El Bulli on Surry Hills’ Elizabeth Street has become famous for its friendly service, exquisite Spanish cuisine, live entertainment events, and rustic setting. Featuring exposed brick walls, wooden tables, candles and dim lighting, the restaurant feels sultry and romantic, making it an ideal location for a night of elegance. The beverage menu only adds to this feeling, with a large selection of some of the best red wine available in Sydney, as well as several varieties of delicious homemade sangria.
While drinking (or perhaps guzzling) your beverage of choice, you’re encouraged to start with a number of nibbles like pan con tomate (toasted ciabatta rubbed with garlic, tomato and sea salt), almendras tostadas (toasted seasoned almonds) and esparragos con jamon (asparagus spears wrapped in Iberico ham with balsamic glaze). Like your food on a stick? Then make sure to try the pinchitos de pollo, skewered chicken that’s been slowly marinated in a savoury chimichurri sauce, topped with fresh lemon. For big appetites, we recommend mains like the classic Spanish paella, which features seafood, chicken and chorizo. Make a reservation for an incredible Spanish dining experience in the heart of Sydney’s Surry Hills.
177 Reviews
Great food. Great atmosphere. Great service. Easy to find and get to. You can't go past the meatballs, chat potatoes and the seasoned fillet of steak
Great service, great food, great drinks, great atmosphere oh and also was a great live band. Overall was an awesome experience :) definitely will go there again and again.
Great service. Friendly staff. The live music was awesome! Food was yummy and we did t have to wait long for it. The cocktails were refreshing.
Awesome service. Nice ambiance. Relaxing and fun music. Food is wonderful. Third time coming in this place and still nice. Reasonable price on food. Clean place.
I've been to El Bulli multiple times, including my birthday and am never disappointed. Definitely the best Spanish food in Sydney and the nicest waitresses. Food comes out almost immediately. If you are ordering the paella, they say the waiting time is about 45 minutes, but it usually comes within the half hour. I would order this first thing if you are planning on the paella, even before deciding on the rest of the your meals.
Overall excellent, only negative points for music from band being way too loud for a restaurant, We had to shout across the table to be able to have a converstion, most the time unable to even converse with the person directly oppositte seated. The King Prawns in the Paella tasted extremely strong and very dry and chewy, as though they were quite old and had been defrosted. Same with the BBQ baby Octopus. (Both amongst my favourite all time dishes) All other meals were fantastic, quickly served, excellent table staff, very friendly, food was great, drinks were very well made, though a little on the high end price wise. Overall we had a fantastic time, with great service and excellent food, will be happilly returning soon. :)
Wow last night was my first time at El Bulli and it was such a beautiful restaurant! I am completely impressed! The food had amazing favour with generous portions and the inside of the restaurant was Spanishly authentic in its decoré. Cannot wait to go back for more!
Loved the food at El Bulli ! It was a Sunday night so it wasn't too busy but with just the right amount of people. It was also paella night which was also great. And yay for Sangrias ! The staff were also really helpful with letting us know how big portions were and their recommendations.
My friends and I decided to try El Bulli as we'd heard great things- we were not disappointed! The service was great and the food, delicious. Great to hear and see a live music act being employed to entertain us as we ate- definitely helped build the atmosphere! Would definitely go back!
We had a great night, but we were seated right next to the band, so it was very difficult to talk to eachother, and I was facing the band so I had a spotlight directly in my eye all night! After dinner we moved to the back room and were much more comfortable there. Also we ordered paella but unfortunately it was not great, perhaps it had been kept warm while we finished tapas? We clearly ordered way too many tapas and did not have enough room left to eat the paella. We had to ask for fresh plates for the paella too, which took a while to come. Anyway we will know better next time! Not too many tapas, and ask for a table further away from the band.
I always enjoy El Bulli. The service is good, the good is delicious and the ambience is awesome. I don't come here often but when I do I always have a great time and a lovely meal.
Potatoes el Bulli are to die for. The spicy lamb pieces, the potato croquettes and the gnocchi - OMG!!! If you've never been to El Bulli - it's a must! My husband loved the sangria too
having not been to El Bulli for some time our return visit was enjoyable, the tapas and paella were fantastic, the atmosphere great and the service was just the right level of attentiveness. Even better that we went on paella night (sunday).
Once again, El Bulli delivered! Beautiful atmosphere, friendly staff and amazing food! We love, love the food (especially lamb, garlic prawns, chicken skewers, potatoes , chorizos and churros) as well as sangria!
Margaritas were very good, also food quality and taste pretty amazing, rather small coursers (you could have probably summed the 9-course menu up as a 3-course menu) but we'll definitely give "El Bulli" another try sometime soon :-D
Overall it was a nice experience but... We had to wait 30 minutes for our table, at your bar, which was way too crowded. When we got seated, we ordered way too much food and within 10 minutes we asked if we could cancel some thay hadn't started cooking and she said no because they had started everything and we knew most definitely that it hadn't all, considering we didn't recieve some diches like prawns and mussels until min 21 hour in to the dinner. I didn't appreciate that but still enjoyed the night.
A favourite restaurant of our family. Friendly service, a great range of tasty tapas and a good atmosphere too. We always enjoy the sangria too. We love going to El Bulli!!
It's a very special valentine's day for me and my wife having lunch at El Bulli. As always, their Paella is big and fabulous! Will definitely go back there again!
Always good service. Always good food. Always great sangria. El Bulli provides atmosphere that cant be copied anywhere else. Id suggest the potato dishes. There are three to choose from.
Food, service and overall atmosphere is always amazing :) The quality and flavours of the food at El Bulli is to die for. Don't even think twice about booking.
After being seated on a table directly in front the band we were told to move whilst half way through our diner to make room for people who would like to dance / there was plenty of room for the handful of people that wanted to dance on the night. I found it extremely disrespectful that that the staff and manager told us to move when we had not finished our dinner. Once we moved there was not one person on the dance floor. Was it necessary to have us moved!? I love the food at El Bulli and have been many times. I booked the night for my mum and sisters birthday. The manager was non compassionate when we went to pay for our food that we did not finish. She said it was "unfortunate" that people had stopped dancing when they moved us mid way through dinner. I suggest informing your guests prior that they could be moved if people want to dance, if being seated infront of the band.
Friendly environment to enjoy with friends. Great food in a rich taste from Spain. I have spent my Birthday here and it was worth. Thank you El Bulli
excellent service, excellent food, gotta get the paella! Attentive waiters with drinks at the ready. We had a vegan guest who was satisfied. Totally happy with El Bulli.
Great atmosphere and music. The tapas and sangria we received in our banquet menu was divine. We will be coming back to El Bulli again soon.
The ambiance and atmosphere was lively for a Saturday night and even though we had a reservation for 8.15pm, our table was ready early. Our waiter was great! Our food arrived quickly and she attended to all our needs and helped us organise birthday churros with a candle. Great place to eat!
Disappointed that we had to order off the group menu, but understandable (there were 16 of us). Food was decent and plentiful. Slight issue with service - one of our group ordered an extra tapas dish that was not on the set menu. It was given to the wrong people who tucked in assuming it included in the set menu. After realising her mistake, the waitress rudely took the dish from those who started it and plonked a half eaten dish in front of the guest who ordered it. We asked for a fresh dish to be provided which never arrived.
El Bulli had excellent food and atmosphere. friendly and helpful staff, lovely location. reasonably priced. good band and music. Will definitely go back there soon.
I have not been to El Bulli in a while, but our latest experience did not disappoint - Delicious food! Helpful and friendly services. Great atmosphere with live music.
Excellent food, very friendly service. There was a rowdy table so the waitress mistook our order and we didn't get our paella. We ordered a four person serving but she brought over a one person serving. We were told that it would take very long to get the four person serving made (towards the end of our meal) so we had to order other food. Would recommend but double check your order.
I've driven past El Bulli for years - always wanted to go there, and finally did. Nice food, nice atmosphere and great service - would definitely go back.
Lovely tapas and atmosphere. 2 piece Latino band that were great. After our meal we got up and danced. We shared 5 tapas between 4 people which was plenty. Very generous tapa servings. The lamb and mushrooms were my favourite. Churros to share for desert yummy
Our groupon voucher for two was used for this restaurant. Service was quick and the food was good. Although i do wish that the groupon voucher had included more food to share between the two...but you get what you pay for. The decor and atmosphere was very relaxing and cosy. Had a lovely evening there.
The food was pretty good, I like the jamon croquetas. Good service . The sangria is not very strong, but that's ok. The Barrafina one is the best. And the music was very calm, just a guy playing guitar and singing. I don't know if that's usual for Friday night
El Bulli was a great night out with friends. Music finished a little early would have liked to dance a bit more. Food was good!
El Bulli has a wonderful atmosphere Good tasty food and Sangria Great to have a dance with excellent band Staff went very friendly and helpful
Good service, excellent food! We eere pleased we went on a Sindau as I would imagine the love music could be really loud as there are no soft furnishings, a lot of wood and it is a small open plan space.
Great service and very friendly staff!! When we asked the waitress how the gnocchi were cooked she was able to tell us exactly how and what was in it, something you don't see often in restaurants anymore.Food was great too!
We were group of 8 celebrating bacs night . We selected set many and food was very good, we couldn’t finish all. Atmosphere was very pleasant with lovely Latin band playing Spanish music. Sangria was our drink through the night.
Loved the food, the music, the style of the restaurant and our waitress was awesome! Had to wait a bit because our waitress was busy with other tables but once the good got there, yummmm! That just shows how good they are, all their tables were packed
This is the third time I've been to this restaurant so it's definitely doing something right. The food is delicious and the stand outs for us were the two off Groupon deal dishes we ordered. The lamb was moist and juicy and the patatas fritas divine.
Excellent service by all the staff who and very good variety of foods and tastes. Quantities of food were well proportioned and went down well with the sangria. A very satisfying Monday night for all six of us.
Good food, service a bit slow at first, but after we ordered, the food came out quite fast. Good value for money, we had 8 dishes between 4 of us and 2 jugs of sangria. About $50 per head. Too full to have dessert!
Amazing! Best tapas in Sydney - nothing else compares. The meatballs and the chorizo is the best! The live band is awesome as well. It's a good place to go as part of a big group.
Been waitinf to come here for months with friends and it was worth the wait. Beautiful atmosphere, amazing food. The food came in generous and very filling portions! Amazing and friendly service!!! Thank you Silvia.
Excellent, great customer service, fast, tasty, reasonable priced. great live music, spanish-latino suthamerican and popular english songs A bit tight but ok Definitely will be there again. parking free unlimited 2 blocks away Max
Great food, friendly and helpful staff, great entertainment made a enjoyable atmosphere. We had a family birthday dinner and loved time we spent there. Thoroughly recommend a visit and we will be going again
I visit El Bulli with a Groupon voucher very disappointed. food tastes great but Portion sizing greatly reduced to what is normally served guessing as we had a prepaid voucher. For example sardines costing normally 17.50 on the menu, we got exactly 4sardines. And olives costing normal 8.50 we got 4. Wait staff just seemed to be in a hurry to get you out of the restaurant. Taking food away as soon a finished. waitresses themselves cold and unfriendly, the service gave the whole place a unfriendly atmosphere! I would not advise going here, I certainly won't be going again!
Once again, this is a great restaurant to celebrate a special occasion or just have a good meal! Our wait staff were great, food was very good although not all of our meals arrived! Churros and lamb a must have!
Very nice food and the service was excellent. The Band was great and we dance a lot . It was a great night out and my sister in law enjoyed her Birthday dinner
I was not happy that they made a fuss when I phoned them at 1pm for a 8pm reservation to inform them that our party had dropped from 15 to 12. 7 hours notice is perfectly reasonable, when we arrived they commented on it yet again so it made our group feel unwelcome for no good reason. Organising groups is difficult, deal with it.