On a rainy weekend, I headed to brunch with N and T at Social Hideout in Parramatta. It’s easily one of Sydney’s prettiest cafes, with its hanging wisteria ceiling, the wall of roses and line of ruffled pink umbrellas to shield the elements for those eating outside. During COVID-19, seatings are limited to one hour on weekends.
We started with the Umami Fries ($8.90). The fries were crisp and picked up the seasoning well. Though we’re not entirely sure as to what the brown seasoning contained, it was pleasantly balanced in its savoury flavour.
Ever the more practical, this is T’s Lamb & Cheese Pot of Gold ($21.90) with three kinds of cheese mashed up with slow-cooked pulled lamb, house beans, miso mushrooms, Neapolitan sauce, labneh and sourdough.
It was comforting with its combination of Neapolitan sauce and gamey notes reminding of lamb moussaka.
This is my Taro Hotcakes ($22.90) with pink pitaya, berries, mango cubes, black sesame ice cream, mint and taro lychee ganache.
Honestly, the plate of broody purples looked better than it tasted. The highlight was the black sesame ice cream sitting atop, which had a bold nutty flavour and smooth creamy texture. That said, it overpoweredthe more subtle flavour of the taro in the hotcakes. Eaten alone, they had a gentle earthy sweetness, but together, they served only as tender and fluffy vehicles for the black sesame ice cream. The fruit added acidity but did not elevate the dish, while the taro lychee ganache tasted like whipped cream with a hint of taro and did not taste anything at all of lychee.
Finally, this is The Green Frenchy ($21.90) with matcha green tea French toast, red velvet mascarpone, berries, caramelised banana, bingsu rice cake and maple syrup.
N concurred that her dish was a visual feast but didn’t impress the tastebuds. Essentially, it was eggy French toast made from brioche with maple syrup on the side. The titular green tea element did not define the dish at all and existed only as two sticks of green tea Pocky (the kind manufactured in Thailand and so overly sweet) and the dusting of matcha crumb on top. Indeed, the mascarpone and rice cake added another level of sweetness without contributing depth, while the fruit was not particularly ripe or fresh, resulting in an overly sweet and bland flavour.
Onto the drinks, this is the Iced Taro Bathtub ($9.50). N enjoyed the deep taro flavour but didn’t care for the generous layers of fairy floss and vanilla ice cream (and opted out of the whipped cream). As with the French toast, she felt it relied on sweetness to compensate for blandness.
This is the Iced Coffee Bathtub ($9.50). I enjoyed the novelty of drinking out of a bathtub but did not enjoy the intense sweetness from the ice cream and fairy floss, while the sprinkles were added odd and unpleasant crispiness as well as more sweetness.
Overall, Social Hideout was a definite visual feast both in terms of decor and in food presentation. That said, similar attention to the details of the food — the more critical aspect — was sorely lacking and focused only on sweetness. I’d say they could only attract customers with decor for so long, but they’ve been around for long enough that it may actually work. Not for us, though — we’re not likely to return.
Social Hideout is located at 2a/20 Victoria Rd, Parramatta NSW 2150.