It’s old school.
asserted
It → ’ → ?
For the past eight years, Rosier and his partner, Bec Fanning, had run this Surry Hills restaurant as an intimate, 25-seat tasting menu-only experience.
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Rosier → run → experience
But back in 2024, the couple began to think about what the next iteration of Arthur would look like.
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iteration → begin → Arthur
Ultimately, that was a place they would be comfortable dining in themselves over the next decade or longer.
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they → din → decade
That meant extending the seating to 55 to allow them to welcome walk-ins, and ditching the tasting menu.
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them → mean → menu
So this is Arthur Mark II, offering lots of things I want to eat, in the way I like to eat best: luxuriously, with time on my side.
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I → offer → side
Oysters can be ordered by the piece, which could very well prove to be the perfect metric for how well a date’s going.
uncertain
date → order → piece
Today’s are both Sydney rock – lean, iodine-y Wallis Lakes and sweeter, creamier Merimbulas – served with friendly, informed enthusiasm and a little shallot vinaigrette.
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Today → serve → enthusiasm
House-made sourdough arrives warm with a side of kefir butter – it’s a beautiful accompaniment to the oysters.
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it → make → oysters
A whole steamed globe artichoke is served at room temperature, its heart filled with a little pool of mandarin oil.
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heart → steam → oil
It’s a nice nod to the world of retro cold appetisers – particularly when paired with a locally made port and tonic.
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It → ’ → port
You’ll see Rosier on the pans, working with a quiet economy.
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You → see → economy
Raw prawns no larger than the top of my thumb are draped with razor-thin slices of cured swordfish belly that melt on the tongue.
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that → drape → tongue
Dressed with a mix of prawn oil, bergamot juice and zest, each is a concentrated little explosion of flavour.
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each → dress → flavour
(Take a preview by walking out the back of the dining room and into a dark, tiled antechamber where cabinets are filled with dry-ageing cuts of meat.)
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cabinets → take → meat
But now that I’ve met it, I can see we’re going to remain close friends.
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we → meet → it
The little gamebird with its sweet, musky meat is butterflied, stuffed with ham, crumbed and fried ’til crisp and garnished with soft herbs.
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gamebird → butterflie → herbs
We treat it as our main course and build a few little dishes around it.
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We → treat → it
Consider the sauteed bitter greens with macadamia and parsley, and a side of sugarloaf cabbage – its frills sweetly charred – finished with a native pepper and pear sauce.
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frills → consider → sauce
And while the potato scroll – ribbons of potato tightly wound into a sort of starchy pinwheel, baked until crisp and golden and crusted in salt – is a little rawer in the middle than I’d like
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I → wind → middle
, the smoked seaweed butter sauce it’s served on has a beautifully deep savour.
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it → smoke → savour
Rags of juicy cured lamb (they’re calling it lamb ham on the menu) is sweetened with a pickled muntrie chutney, it’s like something I imagine they might have served at smoko on a sheep station 50 years ago.
uncertain
they → cure → station
The Arthur cheese tart has a similar vibe.
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tart → have → vibe
While the short, crumbly pastry holding sweet pear jam covered in shavings of bitey Bruny Island C2 cheese is technically part of the dessert menu, I’d happily eat a plate of these with a crisp beer as an afternoon snack.
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I → hold → snack
You can see why they’ve never taken it off the menu.
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they → see → menu
I’m a little sad to miss out on the macadamia and passionfruit Alaska (who can resist that level of ice-cream drama?) but there’s real elegant simplicity in a dense, wattleseed-crusted custard tart.
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who → ’m → tart
The vibe might be relaxed, but it’s a dining experience executed with skill and care.
uncertain
it → ’ → skill
They’ve even tailored the acoustics to prioritise good table conversation.
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They → tailor → conversation
Low-talkers and the industrially deaf, this one’s for you.
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one → ’ → you
The low-down
Atmosphere: Easy, relaxed drinking and dining built to outlast trends
Go-to dishes: Quail parma ($36); cheese tart ($14); ebi prawns ($18); lamb leg ham ($14)
Drinks: A proudly all-Aussie wine and spirits list with some fun booze-free options
Cost: About $220 for two, excluding drinks
Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently.
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reviews → build → drinks
A restaurant can’t pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide.
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restaurant → pay → Guide
The Aporia
