Goros | Surry Hills
Before yesterday, we feel ashamed to say that we didn't even know this place existed. However, it will now be one of our local visits after our experience the other night. Goros is a twist between your traditional bar and a Japanese restaurant of some sorts. It blends both the traditional Japanese culture with the western influence. They were even showing Sumo Wrestlers playing basketball on TV! Hah! We were invited by Renae Smith from The Atticism to dine as their guest.
Goros opening hours are surprising.
You're telling me I can wake up in the middle of the night when I'm dreaming about the crab sandwich and wake up at Goros?!
Monday to Wednesday - 11:30am - 12am
Thursday - 11:30am - 1am
Friday - 11:30am - 3am
Saturday 4pm - 3am.
The moment we stepped foot inside Goros, we felt like we were already in Japan. The next couple of pictures show the difference between Goros and your normal stand-alone pub. Let us know if you can't notice the Japanese/western fusion and we can show you. Perhaps go have a look for yourself, you will not regret it.
Their table numbers are either the cutest or the freakiest experience I have had all week. I m still trying to decide whether or not my nightmares the last couple of nights were as a result of this table number that was watching us throughout our whole meal.
It definitely is something different...
Cute or Freaky? Christie thinks it's cute.
Matt on the other hand thinks that it is out to get him.
Experiences come in dozens at Goros. You can chose to sit on the outdoor varandah which has a nice warm feel, a the bar with the very friendly staff, on a good ol'fashion bar stool and table, in a booth or in a quiet Japanese (ryokan-style) setting. We chose the latter as it was too good to pass up! Throughout our dine, it was just the two of us. It felt like a private room! We recommend that you dine in this room the when you go, just make sure you take off your shoes when you enter!
As we were dining, we lost track of time. The atmosphere was so relaxing, dark and comfortable.... we could stay here for hours! (which we did)
Complimentary starters prawn crackers, seaweed and wasabi peas. Be careful because the wasabi peas sure kick a punch! Make sure you have some water to start with, or you will get drunk in no time trying to wash the wasabi out of your mouth with Sake (as we did) Hah!
Lloyd asked if Christie was after something sweet or crisp etc. Without hesitation she said SWEET! It was very sweet for Sake, but at the same time it was also enjoyable. You didn't feel a great burn at your throat when sipping on this.
Matt had the #2 which was VERY crisp.
It had more of a kick than mine did, but Matt seemed to enjoy it just as much!
Fried crab sandwich, wakame and tobiko.
This was one of Lloyd's recommendation.
Sandwich/Bun: Extremely crunchy, sweet and leaves you with oily fingers.
Filling: Great! Loved the crunchy texture from the Wakame (seaweed) and a popping sensation from the tobiko (flying rish roe). Then it was all complimented well with the soft and creamy crab filling.
Overall: A MUST ORDER. No wonder why it was a recommended dish. IT'S SERIOUSLY DELICIOUS. Did I already mention that the sandwich/bun is DEEP FRIED?
*exhales*
Goros karaage chicken with wasabi mayo.
This chicken had a nice coating which was very crunchy at most times. There were bits of the chicken where it was doughy (more so the end bits), but that said, because it was also spicy, it actually worked really well. We really enjoyed the chicken! It was served with Wasabi Mayo, which seemed to be more wasabi than mayonnaise! It gave the already spicy chicken an additional burn as we lathered it onto our chicken. Matt normally avoids wasabi at all costs, but was enjoying himself, he pretty much ate majority of the plate! I still prefer a nice garlic mayo sauce to accompany my chicken, but this was a nice change!
Bento Box
Fried chicken, Soba noodle with seasame dressing, potato salad, octopus ball skewer, crab sushi roll and pickles.
This bento box was part of Goros' dinner special (which changes daily), so be sure to get in and try it before it goes. The good thing about Goros, is that they serve Bento Boxes all throughout the day!
The chicken was the same as the Karaage chicken above, but was equally as good. The pickles were a fresh change on your palette and was enjoyable between all the chicken. The potato and noodles were also, once again very different. It was not what I was expecting, but I'm glad that it was served the way it was. Matt devoured his servings and wanted more of that potato! That is probably the one criticism he had. Matt doesn't eat seafood, so he gave me the sushi and sashimi, I wasn't entirely impressed with the sushi roll, but I did pick out the crab from the middle.
Crunchy, saucy, fluffy and melts in your mouth.
The octopus balls (or takoyaki) was really good. They really know how to
deep fry their food because it was nice a crunchy on the outside. It
felt more like bar food than traditional Japanese style takoyaki,
perhaps that is the reason for the name change. That said, we still don't know what traditional takoyaki should taste like.
Hopefully we will find that out later this year when our taste buds take us to Japan!
The Hello Kitty Sour Cocktail.
Hakushu Distillers Reserve, Yuzu-shu, peach bitters and fresh lemon.
Typical Christie, if you have anything cute on your menu.... she is sold. The drink was very refreshing and it didn't feel like you were drinking alcohol at all. It was a nice sweet drink to end the night on as it satisfied my sugar craving.
Goros Bellini
Peach infused sochu, melon balls, hibiscus, sparkling wine and citris rim.
First thing you notice when you see this, is how manly the drink is. Matt rocked the drink with pride as he sipped away on his cocktail. The sparkling wine was very evident in this drink as it it the first thing to hit your palette. The aftertaste is when you star tasting the peach flavours. Quite enjoyable, but those melon balls were the winners of the drink. Who doesn't like alcohol soaked fruit?
Overall, the experience was amazing. As mentioned above, we will be back in due time.
Thank you Renae for introducing us to this unusual dining establishment and to Goros for a great dining experience!
Disclaimer: Snapshots of Food was invited to dine at Goros thanks to Renae from The Atticism.
All opinions are expressed as our own.
