House of Crabs, Redfern

What a hoot! This place packs in so much fun. Order your crustacean of choice, bib up, dig in and get messy. Brilliant for birthdays or to bring a group of acquaintances/strangers. First date venue? Bold!

For the sauce, you've got to get the Cajun - cinnamon, cayenne pepper, finger-licking good. Don't gloss over the sides though. We gobbled down Chorizo Occcy balls, kale salad and the cheesey lobster fries, om nom nom.

The downer was that its rreeaallly noisy, we could hardly hear each other speak. Also, that unisex toilet - a tad awkward. All in all House of Crabs is howling good time.

House of Crabs

Level 1, 305 Cleveland Street
Redfern, NSW 2016
Upstairs at The Norfolk
Lunch: Friday
Dinner: Tues - Sat

Vasco Bar, Surry Hills

Photo from Vasco Bar owners

Boisterous, fun, unapologetically loud, and a bit rough around the edges. Not really a place for conversation, quite likely somewhere you'll do shots and definitely somewhere you'll leave with ears ringing. The mischievous Italian bar tenders are insistent that you have a good time. In a few words: Italian Rock n' Roll bar.

Vasco Bar
421 Cleveland St
Surry Hills 
Night: Tues - Sun

Chur Burger, Surry Hills

Oozey gooey beef burger, $10

These burgers are the bomb. They're not made from a catalogue of ingredients, just a few select things done really well. Indulgent, sweet, oozey and damn good (check the photos). The light, sweet brioche bun is the hero here, and ordering a diet alternative would be missing the point. Don't overlook the perfectly cooked sweet potatoes fries, either.

If you set up at the bar, you get a very intimate look into the burger prep. Hip-hop beats and the swift chef work = contagious energy. 

Chur is probably the best burger I've tried and funnily enough, the cheapest too. Fish, beef, pork, chickpea or chicken; all of them check in at $10. Thank you, Good Chur.

The main thing that separates Chur from other burger joints? They're made by chefs, not cooks.

Chur Burger
48 Albion St
Surry Hills 
Lunch: Mon  -Sat
Dinner: Tues - Sat