The Gidley is a luxurious steak house located in a basement in Sydney CBD. It was one of the most hyped up and talked about restaurants on our IG feed in 2021. The restaurant has a no-phone policy for their main dining area but if you reserve their private rooms or poker games, they don’t care if you want to take photos.
We dined here on Tuesday 18th Jan for T’s birthday and it was a very decadent meal, but we wouldn’t agree with the mass of foodies that said “it was the best burger/steak ever” 🤨. However, playing poker after the feed made it a more memorable dining experience 💰.
We dined here on Tuesday 18th Jan for T’s birthday and it was a very decadent meal, but we wouldn’t agree with the mass of foodies that said “it was the best burger/steak ever” 🤨. However, playing poker after the feed made it a more memorable dining experience 💰.
Entrée
We arrived late so the others had already devoured their share of the Iranian beluga 30g with potato blinis and sour cream $290. No crazy descriptions needed, these were just delicious salty accents on a soft, starchy bed. We do prefer the blinis from Lana Dining more (LINK).
I think the bagel was complimentary because I cannot see it on the menu 😗. We all agreed the best dip was the beef paté (most orange one). The other dips were salt, mayo, vinegar? and another creamy sauce. The bagel itself was very enjoyable on its own – perfectly seasoned crispy crust with a pillowy interior.
I think the bagel was complimentary because I cannot see it on the menu 😗. We all agreed the best dip was the beef paté (most orange one). The other dips were salt, mayo, vinegar? and another creamy sauce. The bagel itself was very enjoyable on its own – perfectly seasoned crispy crust with a pillowy interior.
Mains
Ok, my bad for setting high expectations for this Gidley burger but it was hard not to set the bar high when every IG food review I read said “this is the best burger of my life ❤!!”.
🙄🙄 Foodies and their exaggerations annoy me. You know all they want is free shit. 🙄🙄
Back to the burger, this double beef patty with cheddar and house pickles for $24 (fried egg for an extra $2) was delicious but not mind-blowingly amazing as perceived on the internet. The Gidley sous-vided their patties so all the beefy juices were retained before slapping it on the grill, giving it this extreme sloppy joe texture. The bread was an ordinary burger bun. And the extra egg added a slight gooeyness to the bite, but not much flavour to the original burger.
The burgers were slightly too salty for our liking and the paired pickles were absolutely necessary to cut through all the salt. We also all agreed eating one burger alone would have overkilled the tastebuds and made the overall meal too greasy/fattening (you know that heavy breathing after a fat, uncomfortably-too-big-of-a feed 😅) so we highly recommend sharing the burger with friends.
🙄🙄 Foodies and their exaggerations annoy me. You know all they want is free shit. 🙄🙄
Back to the burger, this double beef patty with cheddar and house pickles for $24 (fried egg for an extra $2) was delicious but not mind-blowingly amazing as perceived on the internet. The Gidley sous-vided their patties so all the beefy juices were retained before slapping it on the grill, giving it this extreme sloppy joe texture. The bread was an ordinary burger bun. And the extra egg added a slight gooeyness to the bite, but not much flavour to the original burger.
The burgers were slightly too salty for our liking and the paired pickles were absolutely necessary to cut through all the salt. We also all agreed eating one burger alone would have overkilled the tastebuds and made the overall meal too greasy/fattening (you know that heavy breathing after a fat, uncomfortably-too-big-of-a feed 😅) so we highly recommend sharing the burger with friends.
We enjoyed the whole flounder with butter, lemon and capers a lot more (market price). The flounder was indulgently soft and creamy, with a mild fishy flavour. The capers were overwhelming. Their salty, pickled taste did compliment the fish however there were too many capers so it ruined the overall bite.
The server deboned the flounder in the room however he threw out the organs and we were sad about it because Asians never leave a single piece go to waste 😩 LOL.
The server deboned the flounder in the room however he threw out the organs and we were sad about it because Asians never leave a single piece go to waste 😩 LOL.
This vol-au-vent was a hollow puff pastry with zucchini, asparagus and sheep feta for $24.The pastry was crispy and flakey, with fresh accompaniments that were delish. This was not a memorable dish.
The Gidley was hyped as an amazing steakhouse however they only offer 4 cuts on their limited menu. We ordered the rib eye on the bone, costing $16 per 100g. We ordered 1kg because there was 7 of us.
This steak was delicious, having been char-grilled over ironbark and charcoal to give it that addicting, smokey flavour. This was enhanced by the squirt of lemon. The pieces were tender and soft with a moderate amount of fat on the cut.
This steak was delicious, having been char-grilled over ironbark and charcoal to give it that addicting, smokey flavour. This was enhanced by the squirt of lemon. The pieces were tender and soft with a moderate amount of fat on the cut.
But oh boy, the spinalis cut was soo much better 🤤👌🏻. This was 220 grams of the beefy cow for $68. It was definitely a juicier, tender and more succulent piece, being the prized cut of the rib eye. We loved the charred flavours too. If we were to come back, we’d skip the other cuts and go straight for this one.
Sides
The brussel sprouts was cooked with pickled apple and fennel for $16. We were surprised by this one because not many places do brussel sprouts well but the Gidley sure know how to make their patrons eat their vegetables. The only downside was they were heavy-handed with the salt.
Everyone loved the garlic mushrooms with pickled onion and Nolly Prat (wine) for $15. It was luscious, well-seasoned and scrumptious. I had one and enjoyed the flavours but man, it’s hard getting over the texture of mushroom 😂.
I like that the Gidley have a separate section on their menu for their potato items 🥔. This potato gratin with caramelised onion and cheddar for $14 was flakey and flavoursome. It was delicious eating all the thin, starchy layers, especially with the delicate cheddar texture on top. Unfortunately, this dish was unevenly seasoned as there were some bites that were too salty.
Finally, we ordered the mac and cheese with gruyere, cheddar, parmesan and truffle oil for $18. We could not taste any of the truffle flavour. This was also another dish that had a bit too much salt. The mac and cheese was creamy but it was not satisfying enough, and after a few bites it became too much to finish.
Dessert
The server recommended the s’mores $14. This was a chocolate and toasted marshmallow piece with a pretzel biscuit base. It was very pleasant but a little too sweet. It would have been a lot better if the pretzel base was slightly thicker to balance the sweetness of the marshmallow.
Drinks
All the cocktails were good but nothing stood out. We liked that they had a medium-sized menu of red wines by the glass, perfect for the poker game.
Poker
The poker room was a $500 hire and the dealer was an extra $550. We got the room for 2 hours. The staff came in and cleaned out our dining room after we had finished eating.
It was a really fun experience because the dealer taught us all how to play poker and we got to “ALL IN!” a lot. Mick won the first round. If only it was a real $250,000 😭😭😭.
It was a really fun experience because the dealer taught us all how to play poker and we got to “ALL IN!” a lot. Mick won the first round. If only it was a real $250,000 😭😭😭.
Service
The service was really good. They do have an “I don’t give a fuck” attitude when we asked to wait a second so we could take a photo, but I guess that’s why they have a no-phone policy for their regular patrons. If you’re here to blog, be prepared to book out a private room otherwise you’re not going to get a photo 🤷🏻♀️.
Review
This was a good dining experience but not so overly fantastic that we would be rushing back any time soon. Since their menu is very limited, we think we’d pass on recommending this place to our other friends looking for a ‘steak house’. The food was nice, just not memorable enough for a recommendation.
Thanks for reading. Happy eating 😁.
Thanks for reading. Happy eating 😁.
