The nationwide pop-up restaurants (built in shipping containers) soon to feature on Seven’s Restaurant Revolution opened yesterday, and Mediaweek made the trek out to Parramatta to visit 22-year-old Dom’s restaurant, Something Nice. There was a long line outside waiting to get a sneak peek into the Church Street establishment.
What we ate:
What didn’t we eat? Pulled pork was a favourite, as were the chickpeas. We also chowed down on mushrooms and beetroot, a broccoli salad, lamb ribs, salmon ceviche and some delicious polenta chips.
Dessert isn’t available at lunch, probably a good thing for us.
What we drank:
BYO wine, baby! Beer can also be brought to Somewhere Nice.
The service:
Pretty outstanding, considering it was day one. One of our servers was Dom’s Mum, who was doing a great job of keeping the crowds fed.
The decor:
Astroturf covers one wall of the shipping container, while another is taken up by a chalkboard wall that diners are encouraged to write their well wishes on… classy! The transparent blinds next to our table kept us entertained while we ate as passers-by kept trying to see inside!
The worst:
The restaurant has no bathroom, so guests have to walk across the square to use… city council public loos. We got a great serve of pulled pork, but diners arriving after us missed out – they ran out of that and polenta chips.
The best:
Delicious food at a reasonable price point, and the novelty of being filmed while you eat. Share plates at reasonable prices ($7-$20) during lunch let us try everything, and leave Something Nice feeling good without feeling like we’d consumed an entire suburb’s worth of food.
[ot-video type=”youtube” url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=461i7spmHH4″]