Liquid and Larder, the team behind Bistecca and The Gidley have opened up a new restaurant Alfie's, looking to upend the steakhouse market in Sydney. I wonder if it's a coincidence that if you line up the venues together, the acronym spells out BAG, because this team is really in their bag for this one. Each venue heroes a specific cut of steak: Bistecca with the T-Bone, The Gidley with the Ribeye, and now Alfie's with the sirloin, or New York strip as it's also known as.
The venue slots in as a hodgepodge between a pub and a steakhouse and they promise a $38 220g Riverine sirloin in under 15 minutes, cooked medium rare so I had my reservations on if they could deliver. My reservations were unfounded because they really nailed the model here. This cut of steak isn't my preferred cut yet it was cooked perfectly well and had lots of ample flavour that left me wanting more. The horseradish mustard they provide works really well with it too, though I do wish there was just a larger portion for the sauce, otherwise I can't fault it.
When you arrive they provide you with some small scones and a savoury butter, it's a nice touch. You're also presented with a menu with a handful of British influenced sides where you can choose a full or half portion.
We went with half portions of the following:
$17/$9 - Fire Roasted Baby Carrots - Carrot puree, malted beer vinegar, buckwheat, feta
$14/$8 - Butter Lettuce Salad - Pickled eschalot, croutons, Alfie's vinaigrette
$14/$8 - Hot Chips - Chip shop curry sauce
$16/$9 - Potato Gratin - Welsh rarebit, crispy potato skins
All simple, and all very tasty. The carrots and lettuce were great to cut through some richness and if I had to leave a side out it would be the gratin. Four half orders is plenty for 2, you end up spending roughly $60 per person without drinks which is actually quite reasonable for what you're getting in this part of town.
I see this place doing very well with the power lunch crowd, and I'll be happy to join them again.
