Arms Length, Potts Point

Arms Length is a new cafe, restaurant and bar on leafy Kellett Street in Kings Cross. You can stop by for breakfast, brunch or lunch as well as dinner or supper. Take a seat in one of the cute leather booths for two or sit outside in the courtyard with your dog! See what's on the food and drink menu.

"It's a miracle!" I cry out to Mr NQN as we find a two hour parking spot on Bayswater Road in Kings Cross. Truly it feels that on days like this, the last day of winter where the sun is shining and everyone is relaxed and happy and you score a park, that you're just meant to go out.

We take the short walk to Kellett Street past a row of restaurants. Arms Length is just a few weeks old when we arrive and everyone has decided that the unseasonably warm day means courtyard time. The two owners of Arms Length are Rebecca O’Shea (the former Rockpool Dining Group director) and her sister Rosie O’Shea with head chef Keno Perlas (ex Monopole, Margaret) and executive chef Jeffrey Sue (ex Rockpool, Ormeggio, China Doll).

Mr NQN and I have arrived at 2pm which is when the dinner menu starts. Prior to that there's the breakfast/brunch menu. "When we first opened our Redfern location, it was just after the first COVID lockdown, so the name ‘Arms Length’ was a bit tongue-in-cheek. You know, keeping things at a safe distance. But now, it’s taken on a life of its own. We love that it still has that playful edge while also speaking to the idea of having a wine or cocktail and a delicious snack always within reach - literally at arm's length!" says Rebecca. It was located in Surry Hills and the space never quite felt right so when the spot on Kellett street opened up they moved here just under a month ago. There's a lot of spaces in the deceptively large space that seats 80 people. The courtyard is great on sunny days while the middle section has a fireplace and the cafe bar while the back of the restaurant has adorable little booths for two and the main bar.

We start with two mocktails: a Lychee spritz made with lychee, grapefruit and soda for me. Mr NQN has a Bandwagon Highball with Four Pillars Bandwagon and grapefruit soda that actually packs a nice strong punch of flavour for a non alcoholic drink. There are also $8 all day house wines (the wine list features mostly Australian wines) and a bottomless brunch for $29 a person. The coffee is also a blend called North of Rome by The Little Marionette and is excellent.

The brunch menu goes from 8am-2pm so we just slide into the time before the dinner menu kicks in at 2pm. And we just had the try to super soft milk bun with sausage patty, two layers of melted cheese, rocket and scrambled egg. This is as delicious as it is enormous and it's great for sharing too if you wanted to try this with another main.

Then our first snacky plates arrive from the dinner menu. The Sydney rock oysters served with mignonette are fresh and superb served decoratively on dried chickpeas instead of ice. Within seconds, we devour these.

My favourite dish is the kingfish crudo. I know kingfish crudo pops up on practically every modern Australian menu in Sydney this version is divine because it is a bit different. It's served with buttermilk and salsa macha which is normally a Mexican (Veracruz) chili oil made with sesame and nuts-the version here is made with Asian ingredients like soy sauce. I could have eaten the whole thing by myself and then ordered two more. You do want a bit of bread just to mop up that last bit of salsa macha too.

The signature item is the anchovy toast. This too is creative with stracciatella and an Italian XO on lightly toasted brioche fingers. "The Italian XO is Chef Jeffery’s special creation, a fusion inspired by his Italian culinary training and his family’s Chinese heritage. It’s got that iconic umami punch of traditional XO sauce but with an Italian twist," says Rebecca. He uses balsamic and prosciutto to replace the shrimp, scallop and Chinese cooking wine in a traditional XO sauce. Every bite sings with flavour and I love the creamy, salty, toasted textures too. Make sure to get at least one of these per person.

The chicken liver parfait is also a beautifully smooth and silky parfait edged with jelly with two types of onion: pickled for acidity and caramelised for sweetness. It's a clever idea to have both to balance the richness of the parfait and makes it very moreish with the toast.

There's also a snack menu available from 2-4pm or late at night and that features a range of jaffles and charcuterie. The jaffles are a nod to the previous tenants of the space Dean’s cafe and Dean’s Lounge who served jaffles. We try the four cheese jaffle (mozzarella, American cheese, bocconcini and Grana Padano) that are served with salt and vinegar kettle style chips. The cheese is gooey, generous and gorgeously melty.

We didn't quite get to try the pastas because we were so full from the rest but as the saying goes, there's always room for dessert. And that's the tiramisu with a nice kick of alcohol to it, light texture and creamy mascarpone.

So tell me Dear Reader, do you ever think that there are signs and everything is pointing to you to go out?

Arms Length

7 Kellett St, Potts Point NSW 2011

Open Sunday - Tuesday: 8am - 10pm

Wednesday - Thursday: 8am - 12am

Friday - Saturday: 8am - 2am

https://armslength.au/