So Cal... the land I know and love so well, the place of my birth. Imagine my excitement when a…read moreplace called So Cal opened up within minutes of my house. We decided to try it out this week and I wasn't sure how I felt about it when I walked in to the restaurant. I knew I could be setting myself up for complete disappointment because clearly someone FROM So Cal will have high expectations of a restaurant with the same name. I pictured overpriced small portions (isn't that how all American/Mexican places are in Sydney?). I pictured flavours that were not authentic. I pictured the staff not knowing that no one from So Cal actually calls the beer Pabst Blue Ribbon, the correct name is PBR. But... much to my surprise and delight, none of this happened.
Firstly, the portion sizes were on par with any share plates in Sydney- American, Mexican or otherwise. In fact, the quesadilla, which could have been a total rip off at $20, was massive by Aussie standards! We saw one come out to another table and I thought for sure they must have ordered two, but low and behold, it was one. Plenty to share!
The flavours... ok so these weren't the most amazing taste sensations I've ever experienced, but the food was good. We tried A LOT of it. The pork quesadilla, beef tacos, chicken sliders, beef sliders, corn, tater tots, chips and dip, and beef tartare. Now, I can't say I ate it all myself since I only eat chicken, but what I did have, I enjoyed. The corn was delicious, probably one of my favourite things. The dips... well, I'm a big salsa and guac critic and while they weren't the best I've had, they were not half bad, but the chips were pretty crap. I wish people in this country would make their own tortilla chips for a change rather than buying crappy Old El Paso style bagged chips. Also, cumin doesn't belong in pico de gallo type salsa, but nonetheless it still tasted good.
The chicken sliders were pretty tasty. I asked for mine with none of the salami/chorizo stuff on it and they were really flexible and gave me two with some chipotle aioli instead. They also were willing to charge me half price for just two of them which was great! Tater tots seemed like they came out of a freezer at woolies but the aioli dip was nice and they gave a lot of it, no skimping around with sauce quantities here. My group said the beef sliders were just ok as the buns were over toasted and a bit too hard. The beef taco tortillas were also over toasted and a little burnt and the pork quesadillas were lacking a bit of flavour. None of it was bad, but I wouldn't say it blew any of us away.
And to top it off, the PBRs were pretty good value (again, for Sydney) and the servers actually knew to call them PBR. Props!
The final winner for me? The music! Super beachy reggae style tunes totally made me feel at home, particularly when they played sublime, which I NEVER hear here.
All in all, a winner. I think going in with low expectations actually made this a better experience. For food quality and taste I'd probably give this a 3 star but the vibe takes it up a notch for me. Loved the atmosphere and something like this was REALLY needed on the lower north shore. It's the first place around that feels like a proper fun and trendy bar.
