Profiled by de Groots MediaHurricanes Grill was started 11 years ago by Tony Teixeira and Craig Goldberg, who modelled it on a South African steakhouse. This means the chefs are trained in South Africa to sauce, baste and flame-grill their meat a certain way; and you can find nostalgic items on the menu like boerewors (a traditional South African sausage), Monkey Gland sauce (don’t worry, the name isn’t literal), and even some South African wines in the near future. Other than that it’s an international steakhouse by nature, with the universal steakhouse uniform of dark timber and brown leather interior. Hurricanes is famous for its ribs (pork or lamb) that come with chips or baked potato – and a bib. The full rack is $30 and is truly intimidating for an occasional meat-eater like myself. Huge, sticky with glaze and smoking from the grill, it’s enough to make any red-blooded creature salivate on sight and will keep your hands and mouth busy for the rest of the evening.
If you’re not quite up for the challenge, the Portuguese barbecued chicken, burgers and steaks will amply satisfy you with any cut of Tasmanian beef you could possibly require. Such is the popularity of Hurricanes that you have to book in advance or be prepared to wait for a table. For a weekend 7pm or 8pm booking it’s recommended you book two weeks in advance, for any other time a few day’s notice should be sufficient. To cope with this surplus Hurricanes added a take-away outlet a few years ago, which is doing so well it now refers people to the original restaurant. They put it down to a combination of good food, decent prices and friendly no-fuss service. Look out for a Darling Harbour restaurant in the near future, as the Hurricane blows inland from Bondi.
Sarah Theeboom, January 2008
