On a recent trip to Sydney, we were in need of an early, quick dinner ahead of a meeting, and thought we’d hit the jackpot on King St in Newtown, which is known for restaurants galore.
However, after being told by one restaurant that they didn’t switch on the kitchen stove for another half hour, we grew a bit stressed time-wise. Luckily we then stumbled upon a very, very friendly and accommodating restaurant.
Whateley Lane is an Italian restaurant on the corner of King St and (funnily enough) Whateley Lane.
What did we make of Whateley? Let’s find out.
However, after being told by one restaurant that they didn’t switch on the kitchen stove for another half hour, we grew a bit stressed time-wise. Luckily we then stumbled upon a very, very friendly and accommodating restaurant.
Whateley Lane is an Italian restaurant on the corner of King St and (funnily enough) Whateley Lane.
What did we make of Whateley? Let’s find out.
Every single staff member we encountered at Whateley Lane was warm, welcoming and passionate about their food, describing that night’s specials in such an enticing way that I was tempted to order everything to put into some Tupperware for the rest of the week.
In the end we opted for:
I also went for a traditional Italian Chinotto to wash everything down- I’m always so happy when this bevvy is on the menu.
The salad was great and came with a chef’s surprise of a smoked salmon, spinach, olive and mozzarella roulade which was an awesome touch! We loved this delicious little bonus and savoured each mouthful.
The Calamari was amazingly fresh and cooked perfectly. Lightly salty, each piece of squid was tender and tasty.
In the end we opted for:
- Rocket Salad: Rocket, Walnuts, Parmesan Cheese dressed in Balsamic
- Calamari Fritti: Lightly dusted and fried Calamari, Aioli and Salad
I also went for a traditional Italian Chinotto to wash everything down- I’m always so happy when this bevvy is on the menu.
The salad was great and came with a chef’s surprise of a smoked salmon, spinach, olive and mozzarella roulade which was an awesome touch! We loved this delicious little bonus and savoured each mouthful.
The Calamari was amazingly fresh and cooked perfectly. Lightly salty, each piece of squid was tender and tasty.
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Next we had:
The gnocchi was advertised as being served with pork rib ragù, which my dining partner actually didn’t really feel like that night, but she had her heart set on gnocchi for dinner so had ordered it anyway.
After a couple of minutes, we were told that the chef felt the ragù needed another 30 minutes before he was happy to serve it, however in its place, he could make her any other sauce with options including blue cheese, cream or something wine and tomato based. This worked perfectly, and we asked for a bit of everything- a tomato and cream sauce with blue cheese which ended up being amazingly tasty and moreish. The decadent blue cheese in particular really shone through.
The dedication to the quality of food here was really impressive. Rather than serving up something not quite to scratch which some other places would do, the guys at Whateley Lane just wanted to ensure that what was on our plates tasted amazing.
My prawn linguini was a perfect example of an Italian dish too- the hint of wine in the tomato sauce was spot on and the prawns were just as fresh as the squid was in our entrée.
- Newtown Prawn: Linguini, Prawns, Cherry Tomato, Shallots in a White Wine and Tomato Sauce
- Gnocchi
The gnocchi was advertised as being served with pork rib ragù, which my dining partner actually didn’t really feel like that night, but she had her heart set on gnocchi for dinner so had ordered it anyway.
After a couple of minutes, we were told that the chef felt the ragù needed another 30 minutes before he was happy to serve it, however in its place, he could make her any other sauce with options including blue cheese, cream or something wine and tomato based. This worked perfectly, and we asked for a bit of everything- a tomato and cream sauce with blue cheese which ended up being amazingly tasty and moreish. The decadent blue cheese in particular really shone through.
The dedication to the quality of food here was really impressive. Rather than serving up something not quite to scratch which some other places would do, the guys at Whateley Lane just wanted to ensure that what was on our plates tasted amazing.
My prawn linguini was a perfect example of an Italian dish too- the hint of wine in the tomato sauce was spot on and the prawns were just as fresh as the squid was in our entrée.
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If you can’t make it to King Road, Whateley Lane also delivers 7 nights a week. Talk about being accommodating.
