Chef Lennox Hastie’s success with Firedoor, the refined Surry Hills heritage dining venue that serves some of the best steaks in the world, has led to another sensational venue — Gildas, a Basque-themed Spanish tapas and wine bar located a few doors down on Albion Street.
Taking over the former home of Chur Burger, the new Surry Hills foodie haunt is inspired by Chef Hastie’s time in Spain’s northern Basque Country, in a small seaside town called San Sebastian.
For such a small region, Basque Country earned a global reputation for having the highest number of Michelin-starred restaurants, with heaps of world-famous chefs. Chef Hastie lived in the region for over five years to find out and learn from the best. He trained at Astelena, a pintxos bar serving finger foods (pintxos or pinchos), and became very passionate about creating bite-sized flavourful dishes.
The chef has the help of Zach Elliott-Crenn in the kitchen, combining top-quality Spanish ingredients with Australian flavours. Food served at Gildas includes the traditional Spanish Jamon Iberico paired with ham from Bundarra Berkshires in New South Wales.
Regulars cannot get enough of Matilda, a classic pintxos with an Australian twist. It’s made with Seared red Paroo kangaroo, salted desert lime, charred onion, and pepper berry dressing.
The Alubias is quickly becoming the go-to dish as well and it’s made with jamon broth, pipis and manzanilla sherry.
Chef Hastie has also envisioned Gildas to replicate the vibe of the pintxo bars, where diners are served with plenty of choices without any obligations. Gildas is typically a drop-in place where people come for a quick drink, some bites, and a chat before deciding where they want to spend the rest of the night or they may decide to settle in and stay for the evening.
In true Basque Country style, the wine bar is not overly decorated. Gildas is mostly open for walk-ins and has limited reservations.
Visit the official site to learn more about Gildas or follow their Instagram page.
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