Establishment Bar, 252 George Street, Sydney NSW 2000
A feast of freebies
There's nothing better than a free event as long as you can handle the crowds and Merivale pulls out all stops to try and make sure there's plenty of drink and food to go around — and there sure was. Lining up at 5.40 pm for the 6 pm open door event the line up was already snaking around the corner at about 80 people deep and by 6 pm and I think there was at least 200 or more. Capacity for the Establishment Bar is 800 so it looked liked they fit everyone in plus many more who came later but at times it did get pretty cosy, especially when the food was being served. Instead of tiny canapés being served there were small bowls of tasty and filling dishes which were served by the small back bar kitchen table and by service staff.
There's always a frantic urge at first when food comes out but in the end there seemed to be plenty to go around and by 7.15 pm it was much easier to grab some food for those who were still hungry — but you still had to look out for it. Drinks were lined up across the bar so there was no problem quenching the thirst. I think my favourite savoury dish of the night was the Rotolo of roast field mushrooms although the Shiraz braised beef cheeks were really tender and the Chicken quesadilla was very nice as well. Bold flavours were in the Veal brain and bone marrow ravioli which would have scared off the vegetarians. The Chocolate cake and Caramel cream tart were excellent and quite filling and rich so I happily stopped at one of each.
For the first hour there was a very talented singer who sang along to recorded music and at first I thought it was all from a CD. The whole night was to launch Merivale's Feast for the Senses which is a whole season full of lunch and dinner offers for $39 comprising of 1, 2 or even 5 courses, with a glass of wine or beer. Starting on the Monday, 7 June and is available Monday to Friday 12 - 2 pm and 6 - 8 pm.
Other Merivale events:
• 8 Sept 2010 - Establishment's 10th Birthday 2010
• 8 Sept 2010 - Establishment's 10th Birthday 2010
• 6 Sept 2010 - Establishment's 10th Birthday Promotion
• 9 June 2010 - A Feast for the Senses Launch Party 2010
• 4 June 2010 - A Feast for the Senses Launch Party Promotion
• 16 March 2010 - March into Merivale Launch Party 2010
• 16 June 2009 - Winter Feasts Launch Party 2009
• 3 March 2009 - March into Merivale Launch Party 2009
SNAPSHOT REVIEW:
PROS: Complimentary drinks and food, No RSVP required, Friendly and professional service
CONS: Very popular, Very crowded, Long lineup, It's on a Wednesday
MUST TRY: Grabbing a drink and then finding a table and seat and looking out for food
—
The lineup
End of the queue around 5.45 pm
The drinks
Mini bowls of pasta
SIMON FAVOURITE :-)
SIMON FAVOURITE :-)
The downstairs kitchen
The decor and crowds
The promotion
Bloggerspotting
Sugarpuffi and Me. Her camera was playing up which I know would have been devastating if that happened to me.
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