Malt Shovel Taphouse
135 Harrington St
The Rocks, Sydney
Previously the Belgian Beer Cafe, this venue is now reborn as the Malt Shovel Taphouse and fully renovated in the process. The room has really been opened up. It’s much brighter and airier now. You can still get those wonderful craft beers and the food is absolutely divine! There’s a huge menu with so many amazing mouth-watering dishes to choose from.
Sir started with a beer - a Panhead - which he thoroughly enjoyed. Mlady a big fan of ginger beer had not one but two! Ginger beer is such a great tasting and refreshing drink.
From the Sharing Plates we had the stuffed field mushrooms. This was a row of eggplant fritters and mushrooms which also had feta, rocket, verde and roast peppers. This was so appetisingly presented and the batter was so lovely, light and delicate. This was such an enjoyable dish - and a surprise for those that may not normally try something vegetarian.
Next we tried the burrata with heirloom tomato, house pesto and Taphouse made olive bread. It was a pretty presentation that had tasty fresh basil on top. We really liked the Taphouse made olive bread - we are big olive fans. It was yet another very fresh tasty dish.
We had some chicken Tacos next. They were made with pico de gallo, BBQ corn, guacamole and chipotle sour cream. Arriving on a stand, this made them easy to grab and it ensured they held their shape and didn’t fall over. They really tasted so good and they held so well together. They had a great kick too.
The Beef Brisket and Pork (with incredible cracking) was presented on a tray with mountain pepper gravy and chimmichurri. Sir is such a big fan of meat and he was in heaven! The Pork was absolutely divine and the beef was so tender and juicy. This was such a scrumptious dish that we both enjoyed immensely. Pouring the gravy over the beef with a bit of chimichurri - lovely! Having that crackling shatter in your mouth - awesome!
A side that came with this was buttered green beans with toasted almonds. They were a lovely vibrant colour with a nice soft crunch. The almonds were a good addition. Another side and fave veggie was pumpkin. It really is such a versatile vegetable. This amazingly flavoured pumpkin was maple roasted with sage, parsley and pepita seeds. It was a great taste which we both loved.
We can’t go past roast potatoes, so we had to try a side of Smashed Chats. These deliciously smashed chats had fresh chilli, parsley, garlic cloves and preserved lemon. The preserved lemon was a very good addition and we both enjoyed this dish, especially Mlady as she loves her roast potatoes - it’s one of her favourite veggies.
Being fans of seafood we just had to try to Miso Baked Salmon with cauliflower purée, shinzo, fennel and shaved radish. There was so much going on with this dish tghat all worked so well and it also had such a great variety of colour. The fish was cooked perfectly and the skin was nice and crisp.
A hamburger is something that Mlady can’t go past so we tried the absolutely impressive Wagyu Mac and Cheese Burger. Just the name alone had us drooling! It was a juicy Wagyu beef pattie, mac and cheese pattie, lettuce, American cheddar, maple bacon, pickles, onion rings, special sauce (so much like a big mac sauce) and old fashioned crinkle cut chips. This is one of those burgers where you grab it with both hands (you need to as it’s that big) and enjoy! We loved everything about it. This was a truly great burger that ticks all the boxes. We also thoroughly enjoyed the crinkle cut chips and the onion rings. We do have to mention the ‘special sauce’ - it was spot on.
We did fit in dessert and shared the very pretty as a picture Oreo Sundae. It had smashed Oreos, hokey pokey ice cream, crushed almonds, wafer sticks and bubble gum fairy floss. This dessert was very very yummy and the Oreos and hokey pokey ice cream were heavenly. Again there was a lot going on with this that tasted so good.
The food at Malt Shovel Taphouse is so good! It’s such a great diverse menu with lovely tasting food that is fresh and vibrant and the servings are substantial.
Sir and Mlady dined as guests of Malt Shovel Taphouse. Special thank you to Chef Ronny for looking after us and taking time out from his busy schedule to chat with us. Big thank you to Jane for taking care of us. Thank you also to Sehen and Zehra. Huge thanks to Chrissy from Creative Little Soul for arranging this visit.