Share the Love of Good Food at these 4 Restaurants

Share plates is a type of dining that became popular in the United States after 2000 and has gone on to take the culinary world by the whisk.

When you are out with friends enjoying Friday night drinks, most of us just want to graze on several different plates that tantalise taste buds and harmonise with our cocktails.

Here are four venues where sharing is caring:

Step into the shadows to see the light at Sydney’s newest and oldest hotel and bar, Morris on Pitt Street in Haymarket. Housed within a striking Italian renaissance building with palatial Art Deco sentiments, Morris has found new life as an evocative bar and boutique hotel; poised like dusk, between old and new light, this is a destination that hums with intrigue and like no other.

 

The bar is a meeting of moody lighting, classic table finishing and highly illusionary artwork, sip a specialty coffee, wine or cocktail and devour baked treats and deli-style share plates like baked ricotta, honey, lemon and chilli dressing, along with flank steak, café de Morris butter, crushed potatoes and a leafy salad.

Modern Australian fare served in a relaxed, stylish setting with a wine lounge and alfresco tables is what awaits Bunbury diners at Mojo’s Kitchen, Bar & Bottleshop on Victoria Street. With three different dining spaces, there is a spot for everyone from the main dining room with comfortable seating, cosy corners and ambient lighting, to the unique outdoor shipping container with retractable blinds and heating for cooler days.

 

Share plates like Italian savoury doughnuts with aged Parma ham, Parmesan foam and balsamico to get the party started, or an antipasti platter of cured meat, olives, marinated zucchini, cheese, house pickles, preserves and toasted bread; those with more ravenous appetites opt for beef sirloin, with housemade wedges, leaf salad and smoked chilli aioli.

A place to connect, relish and relax, ABODE on Day Street brings innovative dining to Darling Harbour. This stylish venue includes a lounge, alfresco deck and restaurant; alongside a menu revolving around sophisticated but accessible Australian cuisine using locally grown and sourced produce.

 

Banquette seating, wooden filigree panels and hanging cane chairs set the mood for memorable dining, perhaps starting with share plates like corn ribs with butter and Parmesan, or mortadella, rockmelon and togarashi spice; move onto larger dishes such as Mediterranean marinated chicken with chestnut purée, herb salad, pickled red cabbage and crispy enoki.

Expect authentic Sri Lankan fare Burgher-style at Ceylon Girl's Café & Bar on Skye Road in Frankston. This family-friendly café sets a warm and welcoming vibe of polished wood floors, dark blue walls adorned with traditional artwork and panels of greenery; ideal for lingering over a coffee and Sri Lankan or Continental breakfast bite, through to an intimate dinner.

 

Kickstart your culinary journey with a shared entrée of loaded Ceylon fries, with slow-cooked meat curry, Mexican sauce and aioli, or chicken pan rolls and garden vegetables; before delving into an authentic pork curry with rice, raita, roti and garlic butter, or tandoori chicken and a side salad.