Date Visited: Sunday 1 March, 2020
Sunny and warm enough to wear a dress but not too hot to be sweating every second – if that doesn’t sound like perfect brunch weather then I don’t know what is! The outdoor courtyard at Orto Trading Co was such a relaxing place for a Sunday meal and we were so spoilt for choice. Best to go in a group to try several dishes as it’ll be hard to pick just one! We kicked things off with several refreshing drinks, from various iced teas, fresh juices and even a classic mimosa.
I’d normally leave pancakes till last as dessert, but this dish looked so good I tried it first, and I was not disappointed at all. Everything about these pancakes was pretty perfect. I love the sweetness and indulgence of pancakes with ample maple syrup and lots of fresh berries between the layers. Nothing to fault about these pancakes and I’d certainly order them again!
House made mix berry and ricotta hotcakes – $18
I was pleasantly by the toasted granola, which was a fresh light bowl of goodness. A breakfast classic with a lovely combination of fruit, granola, Greek yoghurt and some honey to keep things sweet.
Toasted granola – $15
The star of the show was the southern fried chicken eggs benedict. I’ve never had such a dish before, so I loved the creativity and genius of the poached eggs and hollandaise sauce matched with deliciously crunchy fried chicken.
Southern fried chicken benni – $22
Another dish that impressed me was the pumpkin patch. I never knew a simple oven roasted pumpkin with some poached eggs and feta could be so brilliant. Well balanced flavours meant that I was certainly a fan of this unusual brunch dish.
Pumpkin patch – $18 – vegan option available
Moving onto the lunch dishes available only from 11:30am, Orto Trading Co’s tagliatelle bolognese is an order you can’t go wrong with. They really nailed this classic dish and the bolognese sauce was absolutely on point. I think this was the first dish our group finished as it was so hard to stop eating once you had a bit of the tagliatelle!
Our classic tagliatelle bolognese – $20, classic mimosa – $15 (right)
Next up is the house-made gnocchi. I personally wasn’t the biggest fan of this as the parmesan was a very dominant flavour. The gnocchi was accompanied with cherry tomatoes, black olive tapenade, fresh basil and creamy ricotta but I felt that it was lacking something to really tie everything in the dish together.
House-made gnocchi – $22
We also tried one of the specials, the chorizo risotto. The risotto definitely made chorizo the hero and I thought the flavours were super tasty. An easy dish to keep having spoonfuls of. Featured on the right is the pineapple, passionfruit, apple and lime juice, which I really enjoyed. The juice had been sitting on the table for quite some time as we were taking photos, so I gave it a good mix before drinking – it was such a refreshingly delicious combination, and something a bit different to the usual apple, orange or green juice.
Chorizo risotto in napoli sauce, PPAL fresh juice – $8 (right)
For the person craving a burger, there’s the Angus beef burger. It was a very standard burger, with only the addition of roasted capsicum making it a bit different. Unfortunately I’m not a fan of capsicum, but I loved the well seasoned crispy fries that went with this. The burger won’t compare to one you can get from a good burger joint, but it does a decent job as the token burger option on the menu.
Angus beef burger char grilled – $20
For the ultra healthy, Orto Trading Co also offers three salads. Compared to everything else on the table, I personally wasn’t that excited about this and didn’t really try much of it, but this warm mushroom and beetroot salad with roasted sweet potato might appeal more to you!
Warm mushroom and beetroot salad – $20 – vegan option
Last but not least was a side of polenta fries with buttermilk blue cheese sauce. At $2 a chip, it’s quite steep but I guess if you’re a fan of polenta you’ll enjoy this. Otherwise, it wasn’t really a dish for me.
Truffled polenta chips – $12
There were some dishes I really loved, and some not so much, but overall I really enjoyed my brunch at Orto Trading Co! They have delightfully refreshing drinks and some absolutely winning dishes with the southern fried chicken benni, pancakes and tagliatelle bolognese amongst my favourites. I can’t believe I’ve never heard of this place before in Surry Hills, and being in such a lovely location despite only a short walk from Central station, this is certainly a hidden gem for brunch!
Disclaimer: I dined as a guest of Orto Trading Co., but all opinions and photos are my own. Thank you so much Vivian (@vivifean) for extending the invite!
Orto Trading Co.| 38 Waterloo St, Surry Hills NSW 2010 | Facebook | Instagram
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