Blackbird Oddity
Darling Harbour is famous for being highly touristy. Who can blame this moniker? Walking to the city from my flat, I will always encounter the trolley cart which masquerades as a ‘train’, the street performers and people snapping pictures. My friend SmartAlec calls this place a tourist trap. As is with all tourist traps, prices are inflated and service lacklustre.
However, not all is that bad. Dig deep enough and you will find great surprises. Apart from the luxurious French cuisine and overly expensive steaks, there is one restaurant which stands apart from all the others.
Welcome to Blackbird Café, Cockle Bay Wharf, Darling Harbour.
Located on the balcony level above Lindt chocolate bar and Nick’s, this establishment is, in a way, the black sheep in the herd. While all the other places serve you in a restrained top notch manner, this venue takes you to a wholly new environment.
Imagine dining with harbour views, commercial house music pumping in the background, a live DJ and hip casually dressed staff. The other restaurants play either classical music or no music at all, with snobbish staff dressed in a generic uniform.
It feels as if you’re eating in a nightclub. Always a good mood setter, considering that in nearby King Street Wharf, the equally stunning Cargo Bar is the perfect next stop.
Food here is good. Excellent beef fillet (read: steak), great pasta, interesting kangaroo fillet and really good burgers. Food doesn’t take that long to arrive, as opposed to some places I have been to (one place in Leichhardt took half an hour for pasta). Most are less than $20.
The staff here are attentive, on par with Café Courtyard and Caffé Cino service. On occasion, you might see an oddly dressed head waiter entertaining the crowd with his antics as he takes your order. One day an Ali G, the next day a Funky Afro Bro. If you’re unsure of what to order, they give good advice on what to eat. Plus, they won’t recommend the most expensive, just the best thing to eat.
The drinks menu here is what I love the most. They used to serve Hoegaardens here, which was one of their draws. However, despite the absence of that very excellent Belgian beer, they serve Smirnoff Black, Smirnoff Blue shooters, Grey Goose; in short, a wide variety of vodka for a restaurant. In addition, they have interestingly named cocktails.
The one passable sin here is their chocolate mousse. Good chocolate mousse but after a while, you feel sick. It is really, really rich, as rich as the chocolate platter served in Sheraton on the Park.
If you ever plan to come, expect the place to be full at any time, especially during weekends. If you arrive but your party is still on their way, you can wait by the centre bar. Don’t worry about the seating. If seating takes a while, you can still enjoy the pleasant surroundings of the bar and the DJ mixing the decks. Remember, it also ‘functions’ as a ‘nightclub.’
When my friend Karen flew in from Adelaide early this month, I brought her for dinner at Blackbird. She loved the place. She comes to Sydney often and always expects to pay at least $30 for dinner. She was surprised that she didn’t have to pay for the harbour views. Cheers!
