el Capo

Speaking of Surry Hills…I went to flavour of the month El Capo for a little farewell dinner with the girls from work. Pitched as Latin Street Food it certainly sets your expectations at a certain level so that when you partake in the festivities your expectations are well and truly exceeded. The restaurant fit out is essentially gangster chic - think pistol vases, mismatched colourful chairs including huge wads of hunge dollar bills and big pop art murals on the walls. It sets an exciting vibe that warms you up for the fun and frivolities to be had at the dinner table.

We order the sauvignon blanc from Chile which is crisp and fruity * and a bunch of dishes to share, all the while munching on the complimentary popped maze which has a tangy spice coating. They are crunchy and addictive but not something you want to eat too much of because we know our feasts awaits us...

 Popped maize with tangy spiced coating

 
Corn bread with home made butter

Dense slightly corny rounds of bread topped with salt flakes and cumin
served with luscious house made butter

Colombian empanadas

Really soft beef and potato filling wrapped in a short pasty, served with a gorgeous tomato, 
onion and coriander vinaigrette, a magical combination

Son of El Capo salad

Red cabbage slaw with hazelnuts and raisins. Crunchy, creamy and gorgeous

 

Smoky Beans

Chipotle beans with a soft poached egg, spinach and crispy (bread?) crumbs.  
The beans were smokey indeed, could have used a smidgen of salt

Lamb with horchata

A beautifully thick lamb cutlet cooked to medium, so soft, on a glistening sauce reduction and almond milk quenelles (a really mild creamy flavour almost like mash) and baby kipfler potatoes

Quick game of dominoes while we waited for dessert to arrive
a struggle to remember how to play!

Cesar Negro

Dense chocolate mousse with super chilled chocolate milk ice shavings 
with bursts of tamarind (almost sour cherry) flavours. The grand entrance of this dessert is exciting and Heston-esque, probably overshadowing the flavours themselves just a little. 

 Three milk cake

A super moist ribbon twist of vanilla cake with pockets of cream, caramel, cherry, pomegranate 
and garnished with violet petals and a (vanilla milo?) dust. It tastes as good as it looks.


 

The service was fantastic from start to finish - helpful, attentive and really friendly. Some of the larger tables are shared between parties and we lucked out with a very sweet couple to share with. Loved the fun atmosphere and exciting food adventure. I'm also loving the fact that authentic south american and mexican flavours are becoming more popular in Sydney, that makes me happy.
 

  Will be back soon to eat through the other half of the menu !

El Capo
52 Waterloo St, Surry Hills
9699 2518
elcapo.com.au

* if you haven’t tried a sav blanc from Chile yet you must. I think they are a lot more vibrant and complex than Marlborough so check it out.