If you love brunch, cocktails and European food, then check out Bohemian European restaurant Beast&Co in Surry Hills.
Beast&Co serve European cuisine with dishes inspired from traditional Czech family recipes but created with a modern twist. Run by Czech owners Petra Kanalosova and Jakub Kosik since 2020, Beast&Co is the couple’s first venture into restaurant ownership. The duo have worked in hospitality for more than a decade managing restaurants for Rockpool Dining Group.
The restaurant focuses on fresh, seasonal produce and sources ingredients from local farmer's markets. Beast&Co style of cooking is “nose to tail” using as much of the produce as possible, breaking down the whole chicken, duck, fish, ensuring nothing goes to waste. The sustainable philosophy also applies to veggies, meaning the menu includes homemade purees, pickled and fermented veggies, made from leftover cauliflowers, beetroots and cabbages.
All the dishes are designed to share and this includes the brunch items. The extensive menu includes starters and your choice of one main dish. Running 11am to 5pm (last booking 3pm), the brunch experience is a steal at $49 per person (minimum two people), especially as most bottomless brunches are 1.5 hours but Beast&Co’s runs for two hours. If you want to make it bottomless, the drinks package is $30 per person with mimosa, house wines and fruity mocktail (of the day).
A brunch would not be complete without coffee; Beast&Co make it decadent and tempting with espresso martini ($14) or bottomless margarita (for an extra $20 each) made with Patron tequila.
This is a big European brunch with generous serves that will have you rolling out the door. To start, we were served yoghurt flat bread (sourced-locally from the Bread and Butter Project), olives, pork salami, charred carrot hummus and roasted peppers with straciatella.
Fortunately my companion and I were in agreement for our main - selecting the crackling pork belly. Slow cooked and served with carrot puree, kale, spring onions and jus, the pork was succulent and the crackling super crispy! The alternative was gnocchi with chicken ragu. And there’s also a veggie menu with spiced pumpkin as the main dish.
You can then add on dessert, the delicious Czech doughnut (made fresh in-house) for an extra $14. And you must. The sweet doughnut is absolutely delicious. Served with plum jam and vanilla ice cream, it’s a fabulous finish to the meal.
Before leaving, we veered off the brunch menu, selecting the traditional European spirit, Becherovkaa. The bitter-sweet tasting Czech herbal digestive is served in a tiny tea-cup. Petra calls in their “national treasure”. Becherovka is a secret recipe that has remained unchanged since 1807. The liqueur is a mix of approximately 20 herbs, spices, orange oil and pure water from the Bohemian region. It’s recommended that you start or finish with this spirit.
Offering indoor or outdoor seating, the restaurant interior is a welcoming mix of raw wood tones and green walls, chosen to give the sense of walking through a forest.
For a great-value indulgent experience, excellent attentive service, relaxed atmosphere and hearty food, Beast&Co is the perfect way to kick-start your weekend.
Beast&Co offer a bottomless brunch (11am to 5pm) Saturday and Sunday.
The set sharing menu is $49 per person and you can add the 2-hour bottomless beverage package for an additional $30 per person.
Find Beast&Co at 425 Bourke Street, Surry Hills.
Open Wednesday - Friday 5pm to late, Saturday 11am to late and Sunday 11am to 10pm.
Happy hour runs from 5pm - 6pm Friday & Sunday, offering $6 wines & spirits, $8 beers and $12 classic cocktails.
Looking for something a little more special? Try Beast & Co’s unique blindfolded "dining in the dark" 3-course secret menu.