The Cookhouse

The Cookhouse’s drinks menu begins ambitiously, offering at pole position a tempting selection of signature cocktails. You’ll often see slightly worse for wear but effortlessly chic and sunglassed gaggles sipping on the house Bloody Mary come the weekend, but we like the litre jug of Pimm’s, peach bitters, dry ginger ale and lemonade to share on sunny Sydney days. And, hop heads rejoice, The Cookhouse’s sandstone castle down Randwick’s Belmore Road is known as a stronghold for international craft beers, on tap and bottled. A big list of boutique wines round off a peerless selection of liquid refreshment.

Lunch and dinner is served seven days a week at The Cookhouse, with share plates and tapas particularly popular at this Randwick social hub. Rustic and international, The Cookhouse keeps tapas simple, as it should be, but makes the most of the modern Australian cuilnary approach to present plates brimming with fresh and carefully matched ingredients. Making the most of Sydney’s seafood bounty, dishes like the scallops with morcilla, pea and mascarpone, cauli and Manchego cheese are divine for a light lunch or to share. Sidle up to sliders and sides like lamb shoulder with harissa or the polenta chips with truffled pecorino before attacking The Cookhouse’s larger plates: big appetites will go for the superlative steak selection, while light dishes like the young chicken with ancient grains, pomegranate, green beans and smoked yoghurt add a Middle Eastern and Mediterranean tinge to proceedings.