Hurricane's Grill & Bar: Meat feast, South African style
Ever since Hurricane’s stormed into Bondi back in 2004, the name has been synonymous with quality carnivorous delights. Modelled after a South African steakhouse (Afrikaners must seriously love their steaks!), Hurricane’s quickly gained a wide following for its top-notch beef cuts, mammoth rib racks and uncommonly tasty salads.
The newest and shiniest incarnation of Hurricane's is on the second floor of the Harbourside Shopping Centre in Darling Harbour. The restaurant’s sleek "modern cave" fit-out -- dark, raw and earthy -- is designed to inspire a primal appetite for flesh. Swaths of panelled glass gazes out across the gleaming harbour and the city lights beyond. It’s big, noisy and perfect for a meat feast to satiate the heartiest of hungers.
Ordering starters seems a little superfluous, but if you’re sharing in a group, there are plump, succulent barbecued chicken wings, mussels in garlic-cream sauce, and flash-grilled scallops in a peri peri vinaigrette. A South African speciality is the Boerwors, a coarsely textured beef sausage served with creamy mash and a Spanish-inspired sauce.
The steaks are basted and caramelised on an open flame grill and run the gamut from the relatively dainty 200 gram sirloin to the rather extravagant prime rib steak and the one kilogram Goliath T-bone. Just as popular are the ribs (pork, lamb or beef), smothered in sticky sweet sauce and served with the obligatory white bib. The half-rack is more than enough for most, and the full rack is described in the menu as “the Uluru of the rib world.”
If you’re not a rabid red meat fanatic, there’s also smoky, char-grilled Portuguese chicken; a vegetarian burger with a vegie-and-pine-nut pattie, mushrooms and haloumi cheese; and an enormous seafood platter for two which includes a half-lobster.
Stretch out that second stomach for dessert and get into some classic steakhouse sweets – lemon meringue pie, Mars bar cheesecake and of course, old-fashioned vanilla ice cream with hot chocolate sauce.
HelloSydney Tip: The original Hurricane’s is at 130 Roscoe St. Bondi Beach. Bookings are strongly recommended for both venues.
Posted by Fiona Davies
