Door Knock is a hidden away secret bar in Sydney's CBD on Pitt Street. You have to know where it is to find it and there's only one way to get in. Once there, you'll find a range of cocktails, wine and spirits as well as an incredibly well priced food menu with nothing over $28! Find out what the food and drinks are like.
"There it is!" says Mr NQN pointing to the sandwich board outside Batch Espresso. There's also a light and a little sign that guides you down the stairs where you will find the subterranean bar Door Knock. When you get to the end you're greeted with a red door with a brass pineapple on it. Use this pineapple door knocker to knock three times and a door will be opened and you'll be ushered into the bar.
The bar has a cosy atmosphere and on this Friday night it is busy with people having after work drinks. Owner John Grace, a former fund manager, acquired Door Knock and its sister bar, Uncle Ming’s, in July 2024.
There is table service at Door Knock and we choose a couple of their signature cocktails. Mr NQN loves his Ready to Rumble cocktail made with Bacardi Rum, passion fruit liqueur, pineapple, citrus and a passionfruit filled with macadamia nuts. I really enjoy the Tilde~ End Of Time with Tilde raw vodka, Aperol, watermelon, honey, mirin and citrus (although you can't really taste the alcohol much in this which I actually like).
There is also a good sized food menu by new head chef Joe Slakey (formerly of Flying Fajita Sistas). The most expensive thing on the menu is a steak at $28 and sides for $10. I haven't seen prices like this since before COVID. So we are curious to see what the steak is like. It's a flank steak with Cafe de Paris butter and a little pot of red wine jus. The steak is perfectly tender and served sliced up. The butter is quite lemony but it works with it and we enjoy the generous portion of this lean but tender steak. I'm surprised that it doesn't come with fries or mash to bulk up the plate but it's a good amount of steak.
I have to blink twice when I see a lamb dish for $23 so we have to try this too. The Moroccan and chickpea lamb shoulder tomato stew is cooked for 5 hours and is soft and luscious and falls apart. It comes with a bowl of saffron basmati and dukkah. This is a sizeable dish that is very filling.
We also try some of the sides and most of them are $10 which is also a nice surprise. The cauliflower florets are deep fried and served with spiced labne and zaatar. They go especially well with the Moroccan lamb.
While the sweet potato fries go well with both the steak and the lamb. We can't stop eating these fries and they come out piping hot with crisp sage scattered on top and a pot of truffle aioli. Definitely moreish.
We also try the spice and roasted Dutch carrots with dabs of labne on the side. These are a great snack on their own or with the mains.
I was curious to see about the cacio e pepe butter so we also order the sugar snap peas. The peas are crisp and dressed in butter and black pepper with grated pecorino on top.
There is one dessert on the menu and it's a panna cotta made with honey Greek yogurt so that it has a lovely mild, sweet tang. It is served with sour cherries which is a really lovely twist on regular cherries (I find them to be much harder to find here). The panna cotta is on the firmer side but we both enjoy the yogurt flavour.
On our way out, we linger for a few minutes by the front door taking photos. When we swing open the door there are four people waiting to get in. They gratefully thank us for opening the door for them as I think they had been there for a few minutes - just remember to knock three times!
So tell me Dear Reader, do you like finding hidden away places?
Door Knock
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 4pm - 12am
Friday 4pm - 1am
Saturday from 4pm - 1am
Closed Sunday
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