June 2022

Dining Review: Kitchen by Mike – Sydney, Australia

After all day exploring the Circular Quay, we had dinner scheduled not too far from the harbor at Kitchen by Mike. As our first proper meal in Sydney, we were excited to see the dining scene.

We arrived to a lovely space – the interior was so well designed. During the day, Kitchen by Mike serves buffet styled lunch full of various options. On Wednesday, Thursdays, and Fridays (WTF), Kitchen by Mike hosts a sit down dinner so we were lucky to have been here on a night it was being offered.

Seated at our table, we ordered glasses of wine and made our way through the menu. There are many small plates and a few larger plate options so we decided to grab a bunch of the small plates to share allowing us to try more of the menu.

Salt cod croquette, tomato chili jam, salsa verde

These were delicious little things! Like homemade fish sticks with a salty and crunchy exterior. Far superior than regular fish sticks.

Chicken liver pate, four spiced salt

We have a soft spot for pate so this was an easy addition to our meal. This pate had a fun flavor with the spices and we really enjoyed it.

Willowbrae “Mt Bowan” white mold goat’s cheese

There were several cheeses to choose from and while it would have been nice to have a plate to try them all, the menu catered to selecting them individually. This goat cheese was lovely with the consistency of traditional goat but with some gooey parts on the outside. The bread ratio had us a bit confused but we were able to use it for the pate as well.

Wood roasted Jerusalem artichokes, sofritto, caper leaves

This was an interesting dish. The artichokes had more of a potato consistency than I expected it to be. The artichokes were very flavorful and the red sauce on top was (unfortunately for me) a bit spicy. I think for this dish it could have been a bit smaller as we could not finish it – that was a lot of artichokes!

Southern calamari grilled over coals, nduja and ink drawing, largo

We were most excited to try this dish – grilled calamari and these looked fantastic. The calamari was so well cooked and flavorful. While it was a tad spicy, I was able to navigate around it and enjoy it. This was definitely a favor of the evening.

Lemon curd tart

While dessert options were limited, we still wanted to try them out so Kevin selected the lemon curd. It was actually very tasty and had a brulee on top which helped cut the tart lemon. It was served with a homemade marscapone which was delicious.

Overall, a delicious meal at Kitchen by Mike. I would be interested to see what the lunches are like here. If you are downtown Sydney, this is great option to enjoy.