Surry Hills-Darlinghurst
buttersydney.com.au
6 Hunt Street, Surry Hills
If you are wandering around lower Surry Hills near Tio’s or Longrain at night and see a brightly lit shop front displaying running shoes in the window, it would be easy to mistake Butter for a shoe shop. Get closer and you may start to pick up the aromas of its mainstay: deep fried chicken. It’s an odd and unappetising mix at first sight: shoes and chicken. But head in for a taste and you’ll find it’s far from ordinary as the flavours run deep, rather than the usual expectation of tasty outer coating with lacklustre chicken lurking underneath.
Butter is more than chicken and shoes (yes, they are for sale but only by appointment). If you’ve had your fill elsewhere, the other feather in its cap is a decent bar. Maybe a charged-up slushie will hit the spot (pineapple and spiced rum or cherry coke and Hennessy) but if their super sweetness is not to your liking try some of the beers, wine or succumb to the popular choice - champagne.
You can expect lines some nights, a sure sign of Butter’s popularity. They even do takeaway if you don’t mind sitting in the nearby creepy reserve to eat, while you ponder how they came to name it ‘Harmony Park’. Don’t leave it too late as it closes around 10pm Monday-Thursday but this stretches to 11:30pm on Fridays and Saturdays. On the plus side, the opening time of 11:30am will mean you can make it a quick stop for a late chicken and champagne breakfast.
The downside to Butter is that the venue is small, and it does have a vibe of exclusiveness even once you’re inside. Being in such a small area would normally encourage people to be friendly, but while the staff are happy to see you, don’t expect your fellow patrons to follow suit.
Best things: Chicken, 11:30am opening
Ideal for: Small groups
Date tip: Not the best place for a date, but could work as a stop-off point later in the evening (keep in mind the closing times)
Gripes: Early closing time 10pm weekend nights, 11:30 Friday and Saturday
Rating: 6/10
Last updated: August 2017
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