First there was Firedoor, and now there’s Gildas, a new Lennox Hastie establishment!

My trip to Sydney was rather impromptu, and I found myself without any plans on a Friday night. So what do I do? I google Gildas to see if they’re walk in friendly, and lo and behold, I got myself a spot!

Look at these lovely bite size gildas! I love the naming system too. I was only in here for something small, and this fit the bill perfectly! They had three gildas on offer – gilda, grillda, and matilda. The gilda is a classic – anchovy, olive, and pepper. The grillda was bonito and caper, while the matilda was kangaroo and desert lime. My favourite (if I had to choose one) was the grillda, but to be honest, all three were fantastic!

When I saw the retired dairy cow tartare on the menu, I totally had to get it! I’ve been wanting to eat more dairy cows, and this one was great! Because of the way it was prepared, I couldn’t tell that this was any different from a beef cow. There was a cute cup of kipfler chips to go with it!

I can’t get enough of mushrooms, so I had to order the oyster mushroom and smoked yolk dish. Oyster mushrooms are too expensive to buy at home, so it was a great excuse to splurge!

And lastly, the tocino de cielo. I’d never had anything like it so I had to try it, and I’m glad it was small! That’s what I get for having a pre-lunch and a late lunch! This had the most interesting texture, it’s described as being similar to a creme caramel, but this was soooo much richer. It’s like a creme caramel if it was made of 90% egg yolks! It was the perfect size and I love all the tiny glistening grapes on top!

I’m really glad they take walk ins so that I could try out a few of these dishes. It’s very much a case of simple things done well, and some food I’ve never had before! It is a great place to have drinks and some food!

The best bit about the visit was the souvenirs, I have no idea if these are given out to every table, but my bill came with fat matchsticks and a … coin? thing? I have no idea if it has a name. But it was very fun to get, better than just a business card! I left the matchsticks behind though since I didn’t want to take them on the plane. It’s so retro, it’s great!