Potts Point Hotel
33-35 Darlinghurst Rd
Potts Point, Sydney
You may know Potts Point Hotel as it's former identity of The Sugarmill, located on the main street of Kings Cross, a local hangout where you can play Tranny Bingo on a Thursday night. But don’t be fooled, this venue is new on every level, having undergone a change in ownership, name and a huge makeover of both decor and menu and now draws a whole new crowd of people.
The familiarity stays though with the staff who are still the same friendly faces you’d remember from The Sugarmill days, but Potts Point Hotel has been given a facelift to transform into an upper class pub-like venue which aims to bridge the gap that has formed over the past few years in Potts Point between fine dining and the old traditional pubs.
The cocktail menu is extensive and interesting and would rival the best cocktail bars in Sydney. You can order your more traditional favourites, but it’s difficult to go past the suggested cocktails, each with it’s own unique story based on a local icon or tale. The Viscount chose the dangerously easy-to-drink Slessor Sling, which was a beautiful concoction of bulleit Bourbon, lemon, elderflower and green tea. Light and refreshing, he could have easily had several more, but decided to be more sensible.
The Viscountess decided on the Witch’s Julep which packed quite a punch. It was smoky from the Hennessy and cinnamon, and fresh from the blackberry and mint which formed such a unique (in a good way) cocktail. With such a delicious start to our menu, we were looking forward to what was to come.
After chatting with our waitress, Molly, we decided on burrata and potato skins for entree, and a selection of smoked meats for our main. The first to arrive were the potato skins, which were an absolutely delicious and indulgent way to start our meal. The potato was light and fluffy with a crispy edge you’d expect from potato skins, that gave us that delicious crunch with every bite. Topped with bacon, kewpie and sriracha, this was a combination of all our favourite things. We could have happily had a main size serving of just potato skins and walk away very happy people.
Next up was the Burrata with fresh fig. The Viscountess is a big fan of burrata and this was easily up there with the best she’s tried. Combined with fresh figs, tomatoes, and smoky prosciutto, this dish was light, fresh and creamy. The cheese itself was absolutely delicious, gooey and deserved a moment of silence just to appreciate it.
When our mains arrived on the table, the first thing we noticed was the incredible, smoky smell that accompanied them. Potts Point Hotel smokes their own meat each day, which means you’ll need to get in quick before they sell out. We couldn’t choose just one dish, so we shared the sticky beef spare ribs and the Carolina pulled pork shoulder. Both were served with house made corn bread, which was light, fluffy and sweet, and the best pickles we’ve ever tried.
The sticky beef spare ribs were exactly as the name says - sticky, tender and something you just have to pick up and eat with your hands. The sauce was smoky, sweet and absolutely delicious and we will definitely be back for these again!
The pulled pork shoulder had the same delicious smoky flavour as the ribs, but there was a beautiful subtleness of herbs that truely enhanced the flavour of the pork. The meat was tender and soft and we were left wanting more, even though we were full to the brim. We are now inspired to try and make our own version at home, although I doubt we will come anywhere close.
We had a short break to try and decide if we had room for dessert, and finally we were talked into trying one of the ice cream burgers by our waiter. We didn’t have much room left, so we decided to share the Oreo ice cream burger between the two of us. The brioche bun was soft and sweet with delicious peanut butter ice cream, and topped with Oreos and peanut butter. We just managed to fit it in, and we’re glad we did.
A huge thank you to Joel and the team at Potts Point Hotel for hosting us. You’ve done a truely incredible job of transforming this venue into somewhere that you would happily go to meet friends for dinner without breaking the bank. Oh, and of course you can still play tranny bingo on a Thursday night!