Flinders Lane
“Seriously, it was probably the creamiest coconut curry I've ever had.”
“The sausage rolls are incredible and the San Choy Bau was so deliciously spicy.”
“The Chicken San Choi Bau is a well spiced dish with flavorful ground chicken and vegetables served with crisp lettuce.”
Flinders Lane
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Happy Hour: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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This is a somewhat partial review, mainly because we only had drinks and a small bowl of excellent brussels sprouts. This was our pre-dinner destination, but in retrospect we should've stayed through the night to order more. I'm a fanatic for negronis and theirs – a 'sherry' negroni – did not disappoint. It inspired us to grab a small side of charred, tart brussels sprouts with a chili caramel dressing which was the perfect snack to hold us over. They strategically placed us between two other tables, both of which ordered delicious-looking food and left us no choice but to salivate. Most of our attention was allocated to watching this happy couple eat their way through a braised lamb shank which looked absolutely divine. Will definitely order it myself the next time I swing by.
This is an Australian restaurant heavily influenced by Asian cuisine, so don't be surprised to see a number of Asian dishes (like curry laksa).
Besides the tall Australian waiters in aprons, I was a bit disappointed with Flinders Lane. I was hoping for amazing food and a unique atmosphere, but it fell short. It was loud, our waiter was a bit cold and disappeared for long stretches of time, and the food didn't blow me away.
The sausage rolls were probably the highlights of the meal, although they were a bit on the small side. They didn't have kangaroo on the menu that night (sadly) so I ordered a coconut curry laksa, which was flavorful but overpriced for $19. And, the noodle-to-broth ratio was bad…too much soup and not nearly enough noodles. (I definitely prefer the seafood laksa from Aux Epices, and it's less expensive.) My boyfriend seemed happy with his spinach and steak pie. I think their strength is their crusts; the sausage rolls and pies both had awesome crusts.
Overall it's fine, but there are just too many great restaurants, especially in the East Village, to want to come back again.
I initially decided to check out this spot because it was part of CUPS line up. They use Vittoria coffee from Australia and their espresso drinks are excellent. But I've returned a few times since because they serve excellent brunch dishes as well. One time I had scrambled eggs with avocado and dish deliciously spiced prawns. Another time I had a smoked trout with poached eggs and avocado dish. Each time, the food was great and the flat white coffee was excellent. I've brought a couple of my colleagues as well and they've enjoyed the food equally.
I have mentioned before that I pretty much gave up on brunch. It is so crowded and I am happy to eat outside the hours of 10AM – 4PM any day.
Anywho.
As it has gotten warmer I have begun to go out Sunday evenings and in so doing I have stumbled upon a number of neighborhood (the east village/LES) gems. Flinders Lane is one of them.
I stopped in randomly with two friends on Sunday evening after not being able to find a Mr. Softee truck. It wasn't crowded and we sat at the bar. The cocktails were good, I got a whiskey cooler and my friends got negronis. The waitress was testing out different sangria recipes and we got to taste test a shiraz infused gin which was amazing.
The waitress was sweet, fun and knowledgeable about alcohol. I did not taste the food, but I highly recommend you stop by for drinks.
It is the fun, quaint (as some people would call it) experience you can only get when a spot is high quality and low key (my perfect combo).
Michelin Guide recommended? I gotta say, I don't get it. Maybe they didn't come for brunch.
I just was not thrilled with this place. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either.
For starters, our waitress was not very friendly. It's great that they found a nice Aussie to keep the place authentic, but jeez a smile every once and awhile won't kill you!!
Next, the drinks. Coffee gets an A+. The Bloody Mary's were not good, they lacked true flavor and the flavor they did have was carrot overload and completely missed the tomato. I don't know if that's how they roll down under with Bloody Mary's but, no thanks! The smoked carrot margarita was good, very strong, which is not a bad thing, but it was almost too strong so that I could not taste much else of the drink besides some carrot juice which had a bit of a V8 taste going.
The food also did not leave me feeling WOW'd. Everyone ate their food, everyone was content, which is why I'm keeping this a three stars, but again, nothing was so good we wanted to talk about it for hours after leaving. The burger, with all it included, was a little bland, which is the same for the avocado toast and the BLAT. Some spice or just more flavor in general was definitely needed.
It wasn't bad, but I can't say more than that. Maybe lunch or dinner would be a better time to try?
While looking for a place to eat dinner during out two hour wait time for PDT, my boyfriend and I stumbled past Flinders Lane. We tried a few other restaurants in the area but the waits were upwards of two hours. Flinders had a 10-15 minute wait- something that is almost impossible to find on Friday night around 9. After about 6 minutes of waiting the host came over to apologize…FOR THE WAIT… and comped us a round of drinks. Have you ever heard of such a thing?? Anyways, about five minutes later our table was ready. They amazing sounding specials and unfortunately the one I wanted was already sold out, a sad yet telltale sign of how good their food is. We split the sausage roll special to start, then shared the chicken lettuce wraps and the coconut curry laksa with jumbo lump crab meat. Each dish was more delicious than the next. Service was pretty slow but in a way that allows you to enjoy the food in front of you without gorging (which happened anyways because it was all so good I couldn't stop). Highly recommened!
Quaint little Australian restaurant and bar in the East Village.
While we only came for drinks, the service was excellent and the drinks were carefully made with great flavor combinations.
People seem to go nuts over the carrot margarita ($13.00), but it wasn't for me. I especially loved the cucumber daquiri with smoked thyme ($13.00). Incredibly refreshing, light and complex all at once. Their cream-based after dinner drinks also sound decadent.
Would love to return for a meal or another round!
Ever since I found out there was an Australian spot in the East Village, I've been wanting to try it because the menu seemed interesting. It always changes but the types of dishes did seem to parallel the ones you'd find in Oz (at least from my brief experience vacationing down there). I learned that Australian cuisine is not one specific food or one particular group of food, rather it's many, many different types of food from different cultures, since the country is so diverse. It's a melting pot of food, if you will. So, a lot of things caught my eye on the menu, from curry to some sort of a Thai soup.
To start, we had the diver caught scallops (macadamia-chili relish, braised hijiki, good water farm greens). I wasn't too keen on the macadamia-chili relish but I think it was just because I don't like nuts in my food. The scallops themselves were great though, and I don't even normally like scallops.
For my entree, I went with one of their specials – the chili crab linguine, which was tossed in extra virgin olive oil. They give you a good portion of crab meat, which was something I really liked about it. It did taste a little bland but it might just because I'm used to eating saucy, heavier pasta dishes so this was a nice change.
My boyfriend ordered the coconut curry laksa (grilled shrimp, bean sprouts, tofu, and vermicelli). The broth was really good. It was nice and fragrant, and coconutty – but not overly so. The small bite of shrimp I had did not taste fresh. It tasted really mushy but maybe that was just one that slipped through the cracks.
For drinks, I had the pear ginger. I don't really like cocktails because most of the time, they're too sweet. This one was no different but since I love ginger and ginger drinks, I just had to try it.
Overall, I had a great experience at Flinder's Lane. The food was good and so was the service. I would definitely come back in the future to see what new dishes they add to the menu.