Concrete Playground

Ahhh, Sydney, you can officially exhale. For all those who are desperately seeking an unpretentious dining/drinking experience that doesn’t involve having to choose between a wine bar the size of a studio apartment (in New York) with a shave of glorified ham and a lick of pâté masquerading as a meal, or a pub with sticky carpet and $10 steak: your search has ended. The duo that could turn battery acid into Beaujolais, Maurice Terzini and chef Robert Marchetti, recently unveiled their brand new slice of the Mediterranean-meets-Brooklyn, Neild Avenue.

As you enter the tall glass doors, it takes a moment to notice the enormity of the place. Designers Carl Pickering and Claudio Lazzarini have managed to imbue what is essentially an expansive industrial warehouse space with a feeling of intimacy and warmth. Exposed timber beams lace the soaring ceiling. Artworks by Australian prodigy Anthony Lister hover over the main dining area, splashing the monochromatic palate with a shock of colour. Raw brick frames wide windows that, during the day, wash the room in natural light.

The drinking/dining options are endless. There’s a canopied bar you’d happily park yourself at for a 3 course meal (or a shot), the main dining area is replete with comfy booths to nestle into with a crew of besties, black leather chesterfields are an invitation to recline with a glass of red and a sample of buffalo parmesan - yes, it's as good as it sounds - on a not-too-datey first date. Basically, anything you could want out of an evening, aside from glowsticks and a podium, is on offer.

The wait staff are knowledgeable and accommodating, shuffling about in their crisp white Kirrily Johnston-designed getups. The menu, described as ‘Mediterranean’, stretches from Greece to Lebanon to Turkey, with perhaps a hint of Terzini and Marchetti’s old Italian roots. The entrees are tasty bites of fresh, healthy fare like Quinoa Salad, Grilled Buffalo Haloumi, moreish Cauliflower Fritters and ‘Fake’ Tabbouleh. The mains are simple and hearty, designed mainly to share, featuring perfectly cooked duck, tender juicy kebabs and roast organic chicken. Instead of salt and pepper, the tables are graced with shakers of sumac and dried mint leaves to enhance the Mediterranean flavour of the dishes. The locally-sourced wine list (primarily NSW) is shockingly well priced given what you’d usually pay in Sydney for a drink that doesn’t come in a plastic cup.

Judging by the queues already clogging the entrance, Neild Avenue occupies a gap in the Sydney dining scene that urgently needed filling. If you really want a table get there early but, to be honest, you don’t really need one. This is one place where 'waiting at the bar' isn’t exactly waiting at the bar.