CROYDON LANE WINE AND TAPAS BAR - CRONULLA, SYDNEY

Croydon Lane Wine and Tapas Bar
8/30 The Kingsway
Cronulla, Sydney

Tucked away in Cronulla you will find Croydon Lane and when you see it - it is like another world. An oasis. Hanging baskets with plants adorn a wall exuding an "earthy effect". There are cute comfortable chairs for those that want to be a little intimate.

Croydon Lane is an upmarket city bar in Cronulla and it has personality. It is deceivingly big inside and they seat 80. You can also eat at the bar - very European. They serve top quality food and drinks and their audience leans towards the late 30's and up - and whoever loves a wine - isn't that just about everyone! The ambiance is very social and they cater to private functions as well as degustation nights and whiskey and tequila nights plus they are licensed to midnight. The creative and sophisticated décor was done well by owner Johnny Rechichi's wife Cindy.

There is also some quirkiness to Croydon Lane. If you order a top shelf wine and once you have finished it - you can sign the bottle and the bottle gets added to the "walk of fame".

Sir started his meal with a cocktail - The Empress - what a man! Being a huge fan of rum - this was a good choice. This consisted of Brinley Gold "Shipwreck" spiced run, Chambord, crème de cassis and fresh lime.

Mlady chose the Lychee fantasy. This had Kettle 1 vodka, lychee liquor and lychee juice, fresh lime and hibiscus syrup. This sounds sweet and it was but it was not overly sweet which is how Mlady likes her cocktails. The Lychee fantasy had nice equal flavours and was very refreshing Loved the juicy lychee on top!





















The Bruschetta wrapped scallops came nestled on a corn puree and confit piquillo.

The scallops were big, plump and juicy and had great flavours and textures.

We also really liked the vibrancy of the corn puree - and loved the crunchiness as well.

Next was the peri peri king prawns with pulled pork circles and slaw.

We both love a good peri peri and this was really good.

There was a good bite and it combined well with the pulled pork circles.

We love Haloumi and had it pan-fried with palmitis (palm hearts), tomato salsa and pickled lemon zest. This was an impressively flavoured dish. To combine all this on your fork - OMG! When it arrived it was visually appetising with the fresh colours of the tomato salsa and pickled lemon zest. You could taste everything and nothing was overpowering. An awesome Haloumi too!

Next we had the Wagyu slider - this came with cheddar, lettuce, tomato relish, aioli and was served in a bun and arrived on a bread board. This was a sumptuous wagyu! It was like your traditional burger that so many of us have grown up with. Thick juicy beef, Sir thoroughly enjoyed and devoured.




















The Jamon wrapped chicken breasts came with salad of pomegranate, cucumber, red radish and freekeh. Pomegranate is so versatile and rich in colour and possess a great crunch. This was a delicate looking dish. The chicken was tender and moist and we fully enjoyed the blend of the fresh tastes and textures. A great sharing plate!



Sir also had a white wine - an Albarino - which he enjoyed and Mlady had a lovely Tempranillo.










Our final "main" selection was one we'd been eyeing off on the board - the pork belly.

It came slow roasted with blue lentils and sauteed baby spinach and caramelised shallots.

What a great dish with big flavours and all topped with chunks of explosive crackling. It was so good.













For dessert we had homemade ice-cream. We had the caramelised mango, marshmallow dark choc and caramelised salted popcorn. OMG - simply delish! These were truly heavenly flavoured ice-creams. Sir kindly let Mlady consume more - such a gentleman. We completed our mouth-watering meal with a Pedro Ximenez each. What can we say about this aromatic, smooth as silk, liquid gold nectar that we have not already said before. We always "Vote for Pedro"!






















Sir and Mlady dined as guests of Croydon Lane. We would like to a say a big thank you to Johnny and Cindy for inviting us and to Johnny for explaining his inspirations. Also thank you to Jess and Pablo and to head chef Sanjeev.

Johnny Rechichi