Honeycomb Restaurant, Darlinghurst

All images by Paula Kaplan

He’s not like most of your Sydney chefs… he is not looking to trick your taste buds, manipulate the plate with fanciful artistry or use ‘food theatrics’ to ensue gasps of wonder and surprise. You will never see tweezers in the kitchen, the word foam present on the menu nor any odes to Ferran Adrià or Heston Blumenthal resting upon the shelves.

Andy Bunn first started creating fan fare in Sydney when Barry MacDonald asked him to set up the now renowned Fratelli Fresh Sopra cafes. From his Sopra days, we got to know and love his pure, honest, unassuming food and today we have our very own Andy Bunn restaurant nestled in Darlinghurst’s Liverpool Street.

Honeycomb is the name and it is the new darling of chef Andy Bunn and business partners Paul Frost (of Masterchef fame) and his wife Ivana. So what to expect? The moral of the story is fast, fresh, seasonal tucker with that classical European spin that we know Andy best for. It’s all about quality produce, treating it with integrity, and bringing back wholesome and honest food to the restaurant scene.

The menu has Bunn’s signature all over it with hints of his Sopra days running throughout it, with the likes of the spanner crab frittata, cabbage salad and that illustrious banoffee pie. Though the first thing I notice when looking at Bunn’s menu is the cooking techniques- baked, roast, pan fried, poached- yes, all classical terms we know, but carefully teamed up with specific ingredients in the purpose of bringing out their natural flavour and texture. The menu may look simple but there is a lot of care and purpose that goes into poaching that Atlantic salmon and teaching it up with it’s potato and asparagus salad. You don’t have to meet Bunn to know that he is a passionate man, it is quite clear just by eating his food and looking and the menu.

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If you are a local in the area, you’ll be happy to know that the menu changes pretty much all the time, I’m told, according to what’s seasonal and what’s available, so there’s room to come round a couple of times a week. Sopra fans will rejoice in the fact that the classics are there to stay along with Honeycombs signature dessert the Honeycomb Semifreddo ($14), which is a delight.

Along with those Sopra favourites, which are a must try, I recommend you share by grabbing a couple of dishes including the Pan fried sardines with tomato sauce, pesto & bruschetta ($18), the Baked whole trout with lemon, mint & beurre noisette ($28) and the Meatballs with rich tomato sauce & spaghettini ($26). If you can fit in dessert… Banoffee pie, of course ($14) and the Gorgonzola picante & honey ($18) is a wonderful finale.

Honeycomb is also open for brunch with great breakfast and light lunch additions including panini’s ($12), Waffles with banana, almonds, vanilla ice cream & honey ($14) and Baked eggs w parmesan & toasted ham soldiers ($16).

The space is light, friendly and inviting, along with the staff and it makes for a no fuss, breezy and enjoyable feed. The locals have cottoned on quite quickly so make sure you are an early walk-in or book ahead.

See our interview with Andy here.

354 Liverpool Street
Darlinghurst NSW 2010
02 9331 3387

Closed Mondays
Tuesday- Saturday 9am-3pm, 6pm- 10pm
Sunday 9am- 3pm, 5pm-9pm

Manon Dallee

Manon is a true food enthusiast who literally has never met an ingredient she didn’t like. Even thought her inability to take orders mixed with her stubborn nature made working as a pastry chef almost impossible, she has immense respect for the trade and still loves nothing more than to bake, in her own domain. Find out more about Manon here.

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