We gathered with a bunch of like-minded foodie friends for our annual Christmas catch up at Kindred. We have been to the rustic Italian restaurant on Cleveland street, but to the surprise of us, many of our friends hadn’t. We ensure to book a few weeks ahead and are placed at a long table in the upstairs space. The venue is so quaint, in a fitted out townhouse and it feels comfortable and spacious.

The staff help us begin with a few drinks after we give some ideas as to what type of drinks we like and then we order some wines with her recommendations. Staff were wonderful, very helpful, attentive and we could tell they love working there.

There is a group menu option, though given our group size, we opted for ordering most of their dishes to share so we could get good variety. A tasting menu might be good in a small dining party. The waitress assisted us with numbers as to the appropriate amount for our group without overselling. We love the food here, for its focus on seasonal produce, freshly made pasta and slow cooked meats is our favourite type of food. Chef Matt Pollock certainly knows how to curate a stunning menu, which changes regularly to entice returning diners, as well as using what’s seasonally fresh and available.

We began with what is our favourite bread in Sydney. The house made Sourdough Bread With house-made cultured butter is so light and fluffy and served warm, they should sell this stuff to go and bottle the butter too. We would have happily just ate baskets of bread for dinner.

We enjoy the smooth and creamy chicken liver parfait, served with grilled sourdough and a rhubarb chutney. We order some extra bread to polish of all of the parfait.

The char-grilled octopus was beautifully smoky and sitting atop an eggplant puree and served with watercress, fennel and paprika aioli. We’d definitely order this again.

We’d confidently say the carrot triangoli was an absolute winner – pasta parcels filled with smooth carrot and served with goats cheese, pistachios and in a burnt butter sauce, was divine. A few of the veggies too; pumpkin and Dutch carrots were great accompaniments.

From the pasta list, we order a vegetarian option with zucchini flowers as well as the fresh pappardelle with beef shin ragu and mushrooms, as well as two bowls of bucatini with guanciale tomato and chilli oil. The freshly made pasta is beautifully flavoured and saucy and thoroughly recommended. We have ordered these on previous occasions as well, so that’s testament to how much we like both of these.

The mains are worth considering too, especially the beef short rib, absolutely melt in the mouth, served with vegetables and onion jus, you’ll be fighting with friends for the last spoonful.

Despite being pretty satisfied, the group opted to try desserts. The favourite amongst the group was the baked butterscotch custard, served with a fermented cream and dark choc gelato.

This is a superb restaurant where we happily return time and time again. Not only is the food quality, but the prices are reasonable and won’t break the break. Small plates, pastas and mains are between $12 – $29.

Kindred Restaurant 
137 Cleveland Street
Darlington, NSW