BODEGA - SURRY HILLS

Bodega
216 Commonwealth St
Surry Hills

It was annoying not being able to book, it was annoying waiting for an hour but in the end it was worth it - the food here is great. Bodega is deceptive. When you arrive it doesn't look that busy. But it probably is. People who are waiting for tables either sit outside having a pre-dinner drink or leave their number and go to the pub on the corner.

We were told we'd have to wait about 30 minutes so we waited outside and sipped on a couple of glasses of 2006 Rincon Farmoso Sangiovese Merlot Malbec at $13 a glass. It turned out to be a nice drop.
Our wait however extended to an hour and Mlady was considering a quick departure anywhere , even McDonalds, for sustenance as we were starving.
However once we were seated inside we were served quickly and the food arrived soon afterwards too. We started with a serving of bread and some olive oil to dip it in. Our first order though was a serving marinated olives that were listed ass house made. Yum. They were very tasty and only $6.00. There was a good mix of varieties and some very tempting chunks of garlic too - so hard to resist but we were going out afterwards.

We then had croquettes. They were delicious too. Two little capsules of gooey goodness (or not) with cheese and jamon inside. They were crunchy, hot, gooey and oh so tasty.

They were good value to at only $4.00 each.

Next were the stuffed peppers - or as they were described on the menu - piquillo peppers stuffed with bacalao. We weren't 100% sure exactly what they were stuffed with from looking at the menu but after asking we found out it was salted cod. This can sometimes be a bit overpowering - but not this time. It was actually a subtle flavour that went brilliantly with the softened peppers. We again had one each and they were only $6.00 each.

Then it was the calamari with aioli. Wow this was amazing too. Very tender calamari pieces with a huge dollop of aioli. Some places give you a meagre dribble of aioli - not Bodega. We ate every last bit of the calamari and every scraping of the aioli too.

Finally we finished up with the seared scallops. These were impressive in appearance and just as good or better in taste. There was a row of four big juicy scallops on the base layered with a thin wafer with special mayonnaise then more wafer the some cabbagey stuff on top. The combination looked unusual but it tasted so good. There was also a garnish of pickled cabbage which was amazing too.

The food at Bodega is simply amazing. We loved every dish. The fact you cant book is a hassle but believe me its worth it. Have a drink outside and enjoy the anticipation of a great meal.