Hotel Centennial, Woollahra

Hotel Centennial is the place to be,

As this is totally my cup of tea,

For when in there I felt so esprit,

I may have portrayed the infamous Queen B…

Queen B? Yes, I felt like I was in the upper east side of Manhattan (despite the fact that I have never been, through Gossip Girl, I have lived through the television screen) once I first stepped foot into Hotel Centennial.

A glass of wine in hand, a classy ambience and prestige furnishings completed that inner girly me.  

White: 2013 Cape Mentelle Semillion/Sav Blanc WA $14
Red: 2011Artadi Tempranillo, Rioja Spain $13

“Should we just put a tab on?”

“Sure.”

Not sure if this was the best decision ever or … not?

But knowing the way Miss CC and I go, I guess tab or not – we would have spent our money as if we were Queen B and S regardless.

Here at Hotel Centennial you are spoilt with choice. You can either go to the restaurant (reservations required), the bar, or join the high table (much recommended to reserve a table as there are limited seats).

What is the high table?

Every Monday – Thursday head chef, Justin North, will have a daily dish prepared for the evening with sides to share on a communal table for 30. This comes at a price of $24 and if you want dessert with tea and coffee, all you do is add $10 on top! You can check their tumblr website for their daily updates. It's a pretty nifty and awesome price for dinner if you ask me! 

But on this fair night, Miss CC and I decided to go with nom-ing our night away with bar food. We will definitely be back to try the high table! (They had our beloved pork belly that night!)

Hummus, olives, garlic and flat bread $12

We start the night with flat bread and olives with hummus. The flat bread is nicely toasted; dipping into the humus gives you that great satisfaction with its smooth like texture. With a glass of wine, what a perfect Wednesday this was.

Sweet potato fries with pickled chilli mayo $8

Sweet potato fries! We absolutely loved the dry, crunch exterior versus the soft, fluffy innards. Dipping into the chilli mayo was a way to help counter balance the sweetness from the sweet potato with the subtle chilli and mayo.

Fries with celery & herb salt $8

We decide to rest, but not for long as we ordered our next round of food. The food here really is served fast! We get the fries, because it’s normal potato and not sweet potato. However, they did require a dipping sauce, so we asked for more chilli mayo for this.

Manchengo & prosciutto croquettes with smoked paprika mayo $8

Croquettes!! The cheesey goodness from the manchengo mixed with the saltiness of the prosciutto offered us a squeal with deeeelight. “Oh my, it’s so crunchy!” Miss CC stopped and looked at me puzzled, apparently she thought I said it wasn’t crunchy enough and was wondering how much more crunchier I wanted it. But that smoked paprika mayo brought out the manchengo's cheesy-ness all the more, mm~

Please sir, can I have some more? Must Queen B and S ask that? They merely bring their blue card up  to the bar (your tab number) and order some more!

Bring on the burgers. Well, we were going to have one. But were told they were bar sized, I was puzzled.

“So, like a slider?”

“A little bigger than a slider.” Was what the lady told me.

This is when I decided to go for one of each. But this is when Miss CC and I both had different slider portions in our head… what is the correct size for a slider?

Dry aged beef burger with caramelised onions & fontina $14

The beef pattie was soft; the caramelised onions were sweet, sending my taste buds in a happy dance.

Roast pork belly burger with winter slaw and apple sauce $14

Pork belly always wins our hearts, the winter and apple slaw holds that nice tang making that pork belly slide down all the easier. The pork belly was tender, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. CRACKLE was also present, and we all know how much crackle can make Cassie a happy girl!

By now, we were hugging our stomachs. Walking is classified difficult. And our second stomach was already full, there was no room for dessert. However, as I had been to the dining side of Hotel Centennial previously for work’s EOFY dinner, the waffles are to die for! "It's like eating air" Was what I was told, and low and behold - it was!

As we left, we were introduced to head chef Justin North, honestly, this night could not get any better! However, being a little in shock, and Miss CC in her star struck mode – we completely had missed a photo opportunity… until next time perhaps?

Yet before I sign off … let me shoot you another question Miss CC brought up: Do you have the pickle before or after your burger?

xoxo
Gossip Girl

Hit: Sweet Potato fries, croquettes
Miss: Fries

Hotel Centennial
88 Oxford Street,
Woollahra