It always excites me when we have a free Saturday which means being able to venture to places to tick off our to go list. We call a few friends to eat and chill with us, also showing them what our city has to offer. With my liking of the Drink and Dine Group so far, I thought it would be a great opportunity to try another. We make our way to The Norfolk in Surry Hills, ready for a good pub feed.
Located on a busy street means its easy to find but parking can be a bit of a pain. Parking in the smaller side streets definitely does the trick. We make our way to the back of the pub to the outdoor dining area. The atmosphere is different, it’s quirky and it’s fun!
Mexican Cocktail Jugs $20 each (Saturday Special from 12pm to 6pm)
Saturday specials? Yes please. It’s never too early for cocktails. First we have the watermelon agua fresca, a delightfully sweet cocktail which will surely hit you because its too easy to drink. Behind that (I can’t remember the name) is a milky cinnamon drink. It sounds like an unusual concoction but it definitely works, and also goes straight to the head.
Five Spiced Pork Belly Roll with slaw and fries $8.50
The Boy sees pork belly on the menu and is sold straight away. We were all suprised at how huge that pork belly piece is sandwiched inbetween the brioche bun.
The pork pulled so easily away with every bite. The outside was cripsy with the inside being so tender and flavoursome. It paired well with the fresh and crunchy slaw. You can never go wrong with a side of crinkle cut fries (oh my favourite!).
Slow Cooked Adobo Lamb Sandwich with iceberg, cucumber and mint salsa $17.50
No one expected this sambo to be this big, it was huge! The slow cooked lamb was so tender and withheld so much flavour. A clean and simple sandwich that impressed the boys.
Beef Burger with pickles, cheese, bigMMM sauce, bacon and fries $18.50
Now this is one monstrous burger that barely fits in the mouth (great work, Jamie haha). A friend had to deconstruct it a little just so he could eat it (he doesn’t believe in eating burgers with cutlery). But it is everything you want in a burger with the patty tender and juicy. The best thing about it was that all ingredients had their own role to play.
Salt N Pepa Squid with pineapple mayo $14
Cripsy, well seasoned batter coating tender calamari can be tricky. Not all places can get it right, but The Norfolk sure have. Absolutely delicious. The pineapple was a little too subtle for me in the mayo, but was still a treat to eat.
BBQ’d Sweet corn with chipotle mayo, queso cheese and lime $5.50
There is no second guessing this item on the menu. It’s something I’ve recently discovered and cannot get enough of. How can you go wrong with sweet corn with a bbq flavour brushed with spicy chipotle mayo and covered in cheeeeeeeeeeeese and lime? No sharing!
4x soft shell tacos for $20.
Clockwise from top left hand corner:
Beef brisket with queso fresco, scallions, lime and salsa mojo
Special – Crispy Pork Belly and Kim Chi
Chargrilled chicken with red onion and cucumber salsa, guacamole, lettuce, chipotle mayo
Spiced Rubbed pulled pork with rojo sauce, apolo mojo salsa and corriander
A girlfriend and I share some soft shell tacos. We had a hard time picking the tacos but we made the right choices. Each were delicious but the stand out was the special for the day, the crispy pork belly with kim chi. It’s something you don’t normally see in a taco which I think added to the excitement. It was very asian inspired and it ticked all the right boxes for me.
It was an awesome start to our saturday with good food and good company. We are all looking forward to tackling some more of the Drink and Dine Group restaurants very soon.
The Norfolk
305 Cleveland Street
Surry Hills NSW 2010
Tel: +612 9699 3177
That chunk of pork belly is massive! It looks like such an awesome burger
Wow – I’ve not tried the burgers here yet. Must do. And no deep fried pickles? :/
Oh I used to love living and eating in Surry Hills in my student days!! All these delicious images make me want to go back and do it all over again. The cocktails look so yum, I am always a fan of a watermelon cocktail (any hour), and the burgers are huge!
I would love to try the Pork Brioche! Yum, double the fat content… what’s not to like. The pineapple mayonnaise is a really interesting idea with the salt and pepper squid too!
Thanks for visiting my site, I have just added you to my blogroll (I noticed you were missing :0)
Thanks for the great pics and words
Oh my goodness, I’m SO hungry now! That pork belly burger looks incredible! :O
Look at that slab of pork belly – it’s huge!! Hope I will be able to hit up Norfolk soon!
It looks like such a fun place. I really want to try the deep-fried gherkins here.
That’s one huge slab of pork…but pork belly gets me every single time too!
That pork belly burger is crazy. Must. Try.
Can not believe that that pork belly burger is $8.50 what great value!
This is wonderful looking pub food and it’s so reasonably priced. And yes, parking in Surry Hills is always a challenge xx
This place looks fantastic for casual dining and the tasty sounding food is so affordable!
OMG look at that pork belly – and so cheap!
+ 1 on crinkle cut fries. The best!
Ohhh another Mexican place :) You guys in Sydney have totally got the Mexican bug lol it hit us here in Melbourne a couple of years ago ~ That Jar of cocktail is HUGE i don’t think I could ever finish it without getting quite drunk hahaha
I’m obsessed with corn on the cob and cheese over it :P
Definitely a great way to spend your Saturday dear!!! xox
ive been meaning to try this place for a while, i love the look of those salt and pepper squid!
Get all that food in ma belly now! How sexy do those tacos look! and pineapple mayo? yeah def no sharing when it comes to that!
Tina!! That Five Spice Pork Bellyyy!!! OMGGGG!! Wooowww!! Looks like you had an awesome and fun meal! Who says good food = fine dining?!! hehe
Woah there are some seriously sexy looking dishes here. I can’t believe how cheap that pork burger is at a measlyl $8.50 too. So in love with the look of that corn too, oh baby..
I would go past this every day I was in Sydney earlier last year as I would walk from my hotel in the CBD to the conference at the Sydney Uni, I should have dropped in for a bargain meal!