Firefly, Hickson Road, Walsh Bay

Firefly, Hickson Road, Walsh Bay
Friday 3 November, 2006

Tonight we were off to see 'Afternoon of the Elves' at the Sydney Theatre. Looking for somewhere different to dine before the show we decided to give Firefly a go. Located just across the road from the Sydney Theatre on Pier 7 - this is a real find and their promotional blurb states,

"Firefly is a small but perfectly formed tapas winebar located right on the waterfront at Walsh Bay. At Firefly we believe in casual dining by the harbour, an interesting wine list with many by the glass, and polished, friendly service."

My first impressions were - what an amazing location & why didn't I know about this sooner? The beauty is, with the tables & chairs in place, Firefly does not get crowded like a typical bar i.e. people standing 10 deep at the bar. Firefly only seats 40 people, so reserve a table ahead of time so that you are not disappointed.

I arrived early and was able to select our table on the second level. I also had a chance to speak with the Manager and learn a little more about Firefly. This was great and as they weren't busy at this stage she was happy to sit & chat. She had recently put together a functions brochure and was happy to share it with me - Firefly would be a perfect location for a cocktail function (I've got a milestone birthday coming up next year and I think I've found the venue).

The wine list is brilliant offering plenty of wines by the glass and the decor has been designed to make the most of the view. We ordered several dishes from their tapas menu - the menu is designed to share, however they do offer larger tapas plates that you could order as a main meal. We ordered:

- crab cakes with avocado salsa (very soft & chock full of capsicum & onion)
- dumplings (light and served in a steam basket with soy sauce)
- haloumi wrapped in proscuitto (delicious and must be eaten warm)
- pork belly with spiced apple slices (very tasty and the spiced apples were sensational)
- garlic bread (very moorish)

Everything was really good and we completely lost track of time. So much so, we had the dessert menus in hand and just decided what we wanted when we realised the play started in 15 mins. Damn it! We could have stayed there all night. So, we let the Manager know we would return after the play for dessert.

At 9.15pm we returned and discovered they had reserved a table for us - how nice! We ordered dessert and tea and sat back to enjoy the atmosphere. This place is a major find - I loved it!

Firefly - Pier Seven, 17 Hickson Road, Walsh Bay - (02) 9241 2031

http://www.fireflybar.net/