An Alfresco Lunch at the Opera Kitchen

Photo by Ronnie Alonzo

Photo by Ronnie Alonzo

I was looking forward to this lunch for a few good reasons. 1) it was a chance to catch up with a former student - and it was his treat, 2) in all my years of stay in Sydney I have never eaten in any of the dining establishments at the Opera House and 3) I wanted to bask in the sun and the majestic view Sydney Harbour had to offer. The Opera Kitchen can be found in the Lower Concourse Level of the Opera House at Bennelong Point. It is a fair bit of walk from Circular Quay Station but very scenic so you would not even mind the distance. For a tourist, every angle along that walk would call for a photo opportunity.

The long but casual walk my student and I made from Wynyard to Circular Quay worked up an appetite and it was a good thing that when we arrived at the restaurant, the place was just getting ready for the lunch hour so there were still seats available. The menu (Opera Kitchen) offered a range of dishes and reading the description each dish had was already mouth watering. We finally settled for the El Toro Burger (ground beef patty with chorizo, roasted capsicum, aged cheddar, rocket and smoked paprika mayonnaise with a side of fries) and a couple of Cokes. The queue at the counter for order taking was also starting to build up as tourists and corporate executives were already in lunch mode.

Within fifteen minutes our order arrived served on a wooden plate (looked more like a chopping board to me) with a small tub of tomato sauce for the fries. The burger itself was big and packed, not just with ingredients but with flavour as well! The fries was amazing, golden crispy on the outside but soft and tasty on the inside! The weather was sunny with a mild, cool breeze which was every alfresco dining dream. One draw back was the flock of sea gulls that constantly threaten to fly over our table and nick the french fries or our fingers. I found myself constantly shooing off the birds - maybe because I am not a fan of birds. Some of the diners did not mind the sea gulls one bit! Apart from the birds, the wait staff was quick, attended to our needs and very friendly. The whole place was clean and the toilets were immaculate - even with huge groups of tourists on toilet break. 

Good food, good company, good ambiance made for an excellent lunch date.