Bar H is nestled in a corner of Campbell Street and Forster Street. It was once an old cafe revamped and renovated to become a restaurant. As I was taking a photo from the outside, a waiter was waving her hands from the inside. The waiters were very friendly at Bar H and the service was impeccable. As we stepped inside the darkly lit restaurant with funky graffiti on the walls, we were greeted with a friendly smile and asked where we would like to sit. The place is fairly small and given it was a cold day, we chose to sit under the warm heater rather than at the Bar next to the visible kitchen. Standing there at the kitchen was Hamish Ingham, the head Chef of Bar H, who my friend described as discreetly shy. My friend had gone to one of Hamish's two hour cooking lesson (worth $165) and fell in love with his food. Fortunately for me, she booked the restaurant under a $79 Spreets voucher for a eight course meal so that I could experience the culinary delights from the Chef guided previously by Kylie Kwong at her acclaimed restaurant, "Billy Kwong".
The seven course meal was definitely fulfilling. Towards the end of it, you could barely fit in dessert. Without the $79 deal though, it would be described as an expensive night out. They have a cocktail special from 6-7pm and my friend tells me Bar H makes the best apple cider drink. Aside from the cocktails and desserts, I have to be honest that not all the dishes were outstanding. In fact, I think the desserts were the excitement of the night because they were somewhat unique desserts with a twist and they tasted fabulous.
I am a huge fan of duck. Peking duck, Duck a L'orange, BBQ duck, Smoked tea duck, you name it, so to start off with duck broth brought a smile to my face. There were enokitake mushrooms, microherbs and strips of duck floating on the broth. The broth had a strong sweet tantalising aroma and yet the taste of it was rather subtle. You could taste the duck but it wasn't accentuated. I would have preferred the broth to be more flavoursome because the smell was sensational. Asian Five spices would give this dish a boost of flavour.
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| Duck broth |
Next on the menu was a cucumber and fungi salad spiced with chili and vinaigrette sauce. This was a pretty ordinary dish so didn't appeal much other than it was slightly tangy and spicy from the sauce.
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| Spiced cucumber and fungi salad with microherbs |
Believe it or not, I have never tasted fennel before my visit to Bar H. I quite like it despite the fact that people think it tastes like licorice because I'm not a fan of licorice either. The fennel shavings topped the prawn wonton dish below with chili oil and soy sauce. This dish was slightly too salty for my liking.
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| Prawn dumplings garnished with fennel |
The steamed pork buns was rather sweet. It didn't taste like the ones you get in yum cha though so was unique in that sense. My friend added that the buns elsewhere would have been sweeter and much to her liking.
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| Steamed Pork Buns |
The cuttlefish with fresh herb salad below had finely chopped raddish, and fennel, spanish onions, enokitake mushrooms, fungus and mint. When Bar H says that love fresh produce, they mean it especially when they are a fan of fennel, raddish and microherbs. Again, a touch of spice and the fish sauce to give it a tangy sour flavour.
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| Cuttlefish with fresh herb salad |
These last two main dishes are my favourite out of the mains. Again the sauce was a bit subtle in the Crispy chicken with shallots dish but the crispy chicken was undeniably crispy and won my heart over. Though the shallots gave it a strong garlic and onion aftertaste.
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| Crispy chicken with shallots |
The last braised beef with sichuan eggplant main dish was a true winner. Both my friend and I forced ourselves to eating every part of this dish because it was remarkable. I rate it the highest because the braised beef was so tender and soft, the strips of meat would just fall off as it hits your mouth. Then there was the eggplant which when cooked, it is so soft and the oils from the eggplant taste unbelievably good.
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| Braised Beef with Sichuan eggplant |
Now for my most favourite part of the meal, the scrumptious desserts!!! Ooh la la, feels like a dream. The ginger granita gives it a cooling but strong peppery sweet flavour while the pepita, a crunchy nutty flavour. Sourness from the sour cream and sweetness from the persimmon fruit, this dessert definitely has a burst of all kinds of hot, sour and sweetness flavours making it rather unique and interesting.
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| Ginger granita, persimmon, pepita and sour cream dessert |
Finally, the silken tofu with rich ginger syrup is another awesome dessert. I so love the smooth and silkiness of the tofu. It doesn't taste like the chinese yum cha sweet tofu either and the rich syrup brings sweetness to the dish as tofu is pretty bland by itself.
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| Tofu with ginger syrup |
In Summary, Bar H take pride in their food from sourcing entirely on fresh and good ingredients. If you could get a good deal then no doubt give this place a try. Otherwise it will be a tad on the expensive side. I would opt for the desserts as well because it is unlikely that any other restaurant will serve such creative sweets.
Summary Review of Bar H:
Food rating: 7/10
Service rating: 8/10
Ambience rating: 7/10
Price rating: $$
Overall rating: 7/10
The best way to get to Bar H if you don't drive is to catch a train and get off at Central Station then walk along Elizabeth Street and turn at Campbell street. It should only take maximum 5 minutes.
Bar H address and contact no:
80 Campbell St Surry Hills
(02) 9280 1980
Opening Hours:
Lunch - Mon to Fri - 11.30am - 2.30pm
Dinner - Tues to Sun - 6pm til late
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