My little foodie crew often try to do a catch up at one of the hot spots on our list, and this month, it was Casa Esquina.
The Argentinian restaurant has taken up a huge site on the corner of Balmain’s Elliott and Darling Streets with plenty of outdoor seating, and two stories inside. When you check out the inside, you can also see the amazing open flame parilla and kitchen preparing all the food. The venue has beautiful terracotta and light green hues which totally fit the space and theming, it looks especially great in the garden with the greenery.
We’ve travelled to Argentina and it’s one of our favourite foodie places, for the meat cooked over fire is one of the most natural and tastiest ways to have it. So, the fact that Casa Esquina do this type of food intrigued us. We found the smokiness woven into every menu item we ordered, even the cocktails.
They’re all about shared meals, so we ordered a range of dishes to share (but a banquet would also be suitable). We mostly skipped on the entrees, keen for the proteins but did have the kingfish and a couple of empanadas. For the empanadas, we opted for chicken and chorizo as well as the kangaroo. The beautiful meat was inside a delicious salad rustic pastry shell and absolutely a must try.
For the larger dishes, we had a 700g slow cooked lamb shoulder with a tomato salsa, fire roasted chicken with salsa chambota, and Riverina Angus Picanha (steak). The meat was perfect, charred on the outside, medium on the inside and so good, we needed to order a second one.
As the sides; fried Brussel Sprouts, ajo blanco, espelette pepper as well as their Old Bay seasoned fries with chipotle aioli and also their charred sugarloaf cabbage with romesco, candied hazelnut, Pedro Ximenez glaze and Mahon cheese. This was a great selection and one that could easily be shared.
There is a dessert menu, yet we were very full, so just one alfajores for the dessert lovers amongst us. The Argentinian dulce de leche shortbread here was slathered with a melted chocolate and a winning choice.
Service is friendly and super attentive, the food does take a while to come, but when it does, it’s worth it.
Please note, parties of 8+ must have banquet.
Casa Esquina
79 Elliot Street
Balmain NSW 2041
Closed Mondays