When the sun is out, a little voice inside of us is saying…we must get out and make the most of the weather (before La Niña forces us into rain poncho wearing fashionistas). This is the time when listicles go crazy on Google, the best pub gardens, best outdoor venues, places by the sea, and then there is something which till recently Sydney still lacked. A great rooftop venue.
The Rook worked it’s way into our hearts years ago (did someone say lobster roll?). This summer the team have been hard at work creating an installation that Kew Gardens should be jealous of. The Secret Garden is a transformation which begins the minute the lift doors pull back and we ooh and arhhh at a flower filled archway, the kind most brides would like to have if their best mate was a florist.
rooftop dining 
entrance archway of flowers
Flowers are tumbling along the city skyline from overhead beams and at the weekend they are amping up the vibe with live music and a new bottomless brunch offering.
We take our tables and then have the difficult choice of what spritz to order first. We could opt for an Appley Ever After with, yes, you guessed it, with green apples, or Makes a Man Go (with man-gos!), It is between the Water Felon (with melon) and Tread Gingerly (ginger & lime). Over the next two hours we really settle down into the less sweet end of the spectrum and Tread Gingerly is definitely my favourite, with Water Felon in runner up position.
Now with all this spritz, food becomes increasingly important. For $79 the package includes a sharing platter. Its actually a selection of small tasters. We start off with a tablespoon sized avocado tofu dip, sounds weird but the lovely large prawn crackers make it a vegan fiesta. Next, the platter arrives. All our favourite nibbles. We tuck into slices of Ora King Salmon Crudo layered with slices of granny smith apple which is delicious. If you haven’t had King Salmon before, the NZ cold oceans means the fat content is higher, and its flavour is full, clean and rich. Once you have tasted it, it’s hard to go back. Next is a single Betel leaf, it’s topped with caramalised prawn and corn nibblets. A crunchy pile of karaage chicken is demolished followed by fish tacos which is our favourite of the platter thanks to the chunky deep fried fillets topped with a tasty salsa and corriander.
Depending on your drinking prowess or hunger pangs, we topped up the platter with a delicious bowl of duck ravoli and a cracking quesadilla which – wait for it, is filled with japanese okonomiyaki! What a revelation of corn, cabbage, bonito flakes and tonkatsu sauce. Bonkers, but brilliant.
So gather some friends, enjoy the sunshine and let’s celebrate summer with beautiful blooms on the rooftop.
$79pp, incudes shared platters and 2-hours of Bottomless Spritz. Available Saturdays and Sundays from 12-3pm. To book, therook.com.au/whats-on/secret-garden/
