2/1/2019

So we were treated very well.
That casual way Aussie do... friendly, professional but you know it is genuine. Anyway, as I said, we were treated very well. Lots of chat, warmth and genuine care while we enjoyed our meal. But it was not just our experience that prompts me to write this review but rather the table of French (I think) that were next to us. They were wowed enough by the service to insist that the waitress joined them in a "happy new year" toast at was at their expense. Later they asked her to take a group photo but rather than just press the button the waitress demanded that the lights above the bar were turned off because it "spoilt the picture" This is someone who cares.
We had no such demands but were treated with no less attention and care.
Oh, and by the way... the food was exquisite and the wine list extensive.

17/6/2017

Tuesday night, 7pm - managed to get the last table for 2 inside. There was a function going on up the back so it was probably noisier/busier than usual. We started with the salt and pepper prawns, and then I had the spanned crab and chili linguine while my partner had the black angus skirt steak. Both were absolutely delicious. We also had the side of the thrice cooked lamb roasties (potato). Will definitely go back.

• 

  Black angus skirt steak, spammer crab and chili linguine. Also thrice cooked lamb roasties, and salt and pepper school prawns.

  Black angus skirt steak, spammer crab and chili linguine. Also thrice cooked lamb roasties, and salt and pepper school prawns.

24/11/2015

• 6 check-ins

It might be called Fix St James, but this place needs no fixin'.

Been here a few times and have always been impressed with the food and matching wine. They get busy even on weeknights so I'd recommend booking ahead.

During lunch time they have a plat du jour (daily set) which changes every day. Mine was a succulent grilled octopus salad served with crisp polenta. It's simple but effective - a quick fix, as some might attest to.

During night time this place transforms into a wine bar (I should add it's also popular for after work drinks too - fine beer selection on tap). It's usually too noisy to have deep meaningful conversations - but who's there to talk during after work drinks anyway? Might be an ideal date location for couples who communicate better without words.

Someone warned me never to write reviews while intoxicated.. Now bring me my next Pinot Grigio!

• 

  Grilled octopus with polenta

  Grilled octopus with polenta

14/5/2016

This place was awesome. Went on a Friday night and it was packed. Good thing I had reservations. I had the skirt steak, bone marrow, and lamb potatoes. Everything was very very good. Especially the skirt steak, which I wasn't expecting much out of, but wow!!! It was so tender and tasted excellent. The bone marrow was awesome...not many places serve bone marrow and it was great to have. Overall I love this place and would come back any day.

• 

  Bone marrow $11. So good. So fatty and perfect. And goes great with the complimentary bread they serve.

  Bone marrow $11. So good. So fatty and perfect. And goes great with the complimentary bread they serve.
• 

  Bone marrow. Simply WOW!!!! Loved it.

  Bone marrow. Simply WOW!!!! Loved it.

18/6/2016

Behold! The smallest pour of a glass you will ever pay for! Excellent selection but mostly if you're buying bottles and good customer service.

21/8/2014

• 1 check-in

A 'blow in' meal that turned into a highlight of my short visit to Sydney. I could have been in Paris. Great staff, a wine list to die for and a concise menu crying out for a good glass. I had mixed olives, a stand out tartare and some perfect cheese. A great value Muscadet matched the choices... This place is serious!

• 

  All in perfect nick!

  All in perfect nick!

18/2/2016

Great wine, Bistro-style food. Appetizers were delicious (oysters and bone marrow). I got the barramundi with crispy skin. I have never seen anything like it before. Looks like they made a bunch of tiny scores in the skin and fried it in a hot pan. Crispiest skin ever.

Yum.

23/1/2014

• 1 check-in

Quick and efficient in the heart of the CBD-- great wine selection and decent food as well. Nothing was exceptionally stand out with the food we got, but it was "good."

The beef tartar was probably the highlight of the evening as it was well seasoned and tasted extremely fresh. Maybe it's just my love of dipping, but I was really craving something to dip the fried potatoes into. They were perfectly crispy (thank you duck fat) and had the optimal level of saltiness but I just felt they could have been taken to the next level with a bit extra in the form of a dip.

Would be a fun place to catch up with girlfriends after work, but not a great date place in my opinion.

7/4/2013

I booked a table here for a girls night out to catch up over some good food and wine.  The booking process was very easy and the atmosphere is nice (walls of wine bottles are always a plus), but I was underwhelmed by both the food and the knowledge of wine by the wait staff.  I would assume that if you call yourself a wine bar, you'd have a fairly knowledgeble staff.  

We ordered a bunch of small plates and the main disappointment was the school prawns.  Maybe I am supposed to know this, but apparently school prawns are small friend prawns with heads and eyeballs.  It wasn't exactly what any of us had in mind.  We got a cheese plate for dessert, but that is where we ran into problems with the wine pairing....he suggested whiskey.  

If I went again, maybe I would try one of the main dishes, but not sure I'll be heading back soon.

14/9/2013

Great place for a low-key long lunch with an amazing wine list.  Food is always excellent, with a special mention to the steak tartare (I am a little obsessed with this) and the great cheeses.

Be warned, they make a damn strong martini!

29/1/2012

• 1 check-in

Lunch is without a doubt my favourite meal of the day, so I can blind the best of 'em with my lunchtime science. And from one academic to the next, Fix St. James = Sydney's best lunch.

Listen, I'm sure you all want the details of the equation as surely #mathslove is one of the key common denominators of yelpers, but without going quadratic on you, I'll keep it at this:

Modern Australian cuisine + Italian influences
x 5 chef-chosen dishes (aka quick fix)
+ Sommelier of the year
- any inkling of pretense
- number of hours since the fresh, local produce arrived
/ number of available tables  
= your lunchtime fix.

It's elementary, my dear yelpers.

25/3/2012

• ROTD 28/3/2012

Wine, vino, fermented grape juice.  I love it.  Drinking it, talking about it, learning about it, collecting it.  It's all good.  So, I was just a tad excited to be spending an evening with Stuart Knox, smh Sommelier of the Year, at his restaurant, Fix St James.

It's not often the Sommelier owns the restaurant, rather than the Chef, but that's exactly the case at Fix St James.  Stuart Knox, shares his love of wine and food at his wine bistro, located smack bang in the cbd.  Perfect for that after work glass of wine, if you ask me.

The split level restaurant is minimalist with little fuss.  Don't get me wrong, it's nice, but the decor doesn't take centre stage - that's left to the wine.  By day, it's a popular lunch spot for office workers, by night it's transformed to a sexy wine bistro.

My group and I dined on a Thursday evening, and the place was packed.  The clientele was mixed, from Silks and Barristers, to Gen Y's, and everyone looked at home.

For our evening, instead of pairing wine with food, we paired food with wine.  Stuart created a 5 course wine tasting and food menu for our group.   He personally explained to us the characteristics of each wine, and why the matching dish worked with the selected wine.   I know I learnt a thing or two, and certainly discovered a few new wine favourites along the way.

So, if like me you're a wine lover, you simply must visit Fix St James.  Take advantage of the Feed Me Fix Menu's and take your own wine voyage!

21/10/2013

• 1 check-in
• ROTD 14/1/2014

I've been here a few times, most recently last night for a function. It's a small place, specialising in good wines. I've been a fan since I saw them do a fish encased in rock salt in an earlier menu. The most recent renovation means less noise which was really the only complaint I had about the venue. Hoping to head back soon to taste their most recent menu. It's placed a little way back in Elizabeth St, so it's a blink and miss it affair. The bar is the first thing you hit on the way in (good design) and they've now got a communal table and a few small tables on the lower level and larger number of tables in the upper level. Good friendly service and reasonably priced.

8/3/2012

• 1 check-in

School prawns are following me around.
Usually, pretending I am going to be read one day, I dont review until two visits. This is such a joy to eat at that I am confident my first visit is a fair gauge. Other reviews are spot on.
Service was friendly, intelligent, provocative (wrt wine matching) and accurate.
Food avoids cliche and self importance. Italian -  with ultimate respect being given to the food. Sommelier won some something or other recently. It shows. Mornington Peninsula Chardonnay that I had never heard of, and namewise now forgotten was a triffic match for the schoolies, pork belly salad, the spatchcock and the blue eye.

I am going back as soon as I can.

6/12/2011

• 2 check-ins

Stuart Knox, voted Sommelier of the year 2011, oversees this gem of a bar/restaurant in the city. Fabulous & consistent food by Sam Bennett, always warm service, and one of the best wine lists in Sydney.
Head in for the "quick fix" which allows you to sample across the menu and add a glass of natural wine and you have the perfect lunch or dinner!

1/5/2015

• 1 check-in

The best steak I ever had on any continent and I've been around :).  We had the Greenstone Creek Chateaubriand which takes 40 min to cook and is SO worth the wait!    The staff were very friendly and extremely knowledgeable about wine.  Strongly recommended.

17/11/2012

• 2 check-ins

The food is way above average but the wine list & the relaxed sophistication of this place puts into the highest level of city eateries. These guys really put the customer first & every time I go I leave happy.

16/10/2011

• First to Review

This is such a random hidden gem. The inside is like a bar in the front, but then a beautifully lacquered and dramatically lighted tiny restaurant with a window into a bustling kitchen in the back.

This place does Italian with a bit of a fresh Aussie spin, and they do it with absolute aplomb!

Starters like olives, charcuterie plate, piadinas (mini pizzas), carpaccios, livers and pâté.  A short list of mains, a couple pastas and some serious steaks round it all out. Don't miss the roasted veal, or the sausage ragu that comes with those little ear-shaped pastas. The coolest, though, is if you don't know what to pick, just tell the server and they'll arrange a sampler for your table of however many dishes you want!

And then there's the wine list...  it's HUGE, and they'll pour four sizes on all the selection (taste...why bother, glass, flask or whole bottle). The absolute best deal is their house cask wine though. It's kinda like cleanskin at a restaurant, but it doesn't taste like grape juice gone bad. Oh no, this house wine is great and at $20 for a half-liter, you can't beat it with a stick!

15/11/2011

Fix St James is a bit of a well kept secret among city workers. The location is totally isolated, on Elizabeth Street between David Jones and Martin Place - there really isn't anything else worth visiting in the area food or drinks wise, so if you passed here during the day it's unlikely you'd give it a second glance. Especially because the restaurant itself isn't flashy or impressive - just a simple white dining room with a giant blackboard menu, and a handful of black and chrome table sets out the front.

The food is best described as modern European, with a mix of Italian dishes and bistro classics like beef carpaccio, chicken livers with mushroom, and mussels with chilli and gremolata. Last time I visited, a friend and I were headed down to the Opera House for a show at 8 o'clock, so were just after something light but good quality. We shared a salumi plate with bresaola, prosciutto, mortadella and nduja spread (which at about $20 was much larger than at other places) with some olives and a couple of glasses of organic wine thy had mounted up on the front counter in a plastic water cooler tub. The service was so friendly, I am very much forward to showing off this place to friends and colleagues in the future.

22/4/2013

Great spot downtown with well cooked food and a creative wine program. I also appreciated the local cheeses featured on their cheese course. Well done all around.