You may remember a few weeks ago I had booked to go to Untied for Brunch with Soul. Unfortunately due to circumstances beyond my control (non cocktail drinkers) I had to postpone that brunch and headed to Nomad instead. Fast forward a few weeks and I thought I’d invite my friend Aishlinn to join me when I re booked at Untied. Aishlinn is a pescatarian with a vegetarian partner (at the time I mistakenly thought he was vegan) and Untied offers vegan and vegetarian options as part of their bottomless brunch. Chris is also a music teacher so I thought a bit of soul would be a perfect fit. Not long after I was hosting a tour of the Brix Distillery with the Darlo Darlings and was speaking to my friend Danielle about her joining me for a Bottomless Brunch. She’d just made a new friend on the tour who we later went out to dinner with and I invited them both to join me for brunch with soul as Ali was also a vegetarian. In the end it turned out to be just the three of us. Chris had a conference, Rohan who we invited later was sick and Ali had ghosted us – wtf?

I arrived slightly late so the girls were there before me. I got a bit lost until I looked up and saw the word Untied on the side of a building with a steep staircase next to it. It was a long way up and I probably should have taken the elevator but I decided I could use the exercise and made the trek up the stairs. When I arrived both girls were chatting animatedly and had already been served their first beverage. It was a bright, sunny winters day and we were sitting in the glaring sun. I got up and asked if we could be moved to a slightly less sunny seat – sighting that while I was not a vampire I didn’t want to melt. We also realised the heaters above us were switched on and once they were turned off we were all a lot more comfortable.

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I chatted with the girls trying to catch anyones attention so I could grab my first beverage. I waited and waited and finally got up to ask if I could order a drink. This became an on going problem for our table and we soon learn to order 2 drinks each from the waiter or waitress as they were passing and eventually one of them would arrive. What can I say? It was a learning experience. The offering at Untied is a set menu with a range of four cocktails as part of the bottomless so we ordered one of everything. The things I do for you dear reader! It was hard to choose between the Sloe Death & The Elderflower Bisou as a favorite. We did try the Rogue Rose Spritz early on but it was a bit tart with the Rouge Vermouth and lemon and of course we’ve all had an Aperol Spritz before.

But of course we weren’t just there for the drinks or the toast, we had also come for the soul and it did not disappoint. At first it was a bit shocking. We’d been trying to chat and suddenly we had a saxophonist playing right behind us. The group consisted of three singers with microphones, a backing track and of course our live sax player. After a few drinks everyone started to get into it clapping along and singing to songs like Price Tag by Jessie J.

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When the yogurt came out I was surprised at the tiny serving. Nevertheless it was pretty tasty. On our booking we had originally said 3 x carnivores, 1 x pescatarian and 1 x vegetarian. We were now two carnivores and one pescatarian. I asked the girls if they had advised our waiter and they assured me they had although they weren’t 100% sure he had understood what they were talking about as English was obviously his second language. This was proven when the next course came out, mini croissants with ham and cheese. We mentioned this to the manager Simone who whisked it away (shame Danielle and I wanted to split that!) and a new one was bought back sans ham.

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Next out was the eggs bendedict. with crispy fried chicken, egg, baby spinach and some spicy hollandaise. Sadly the vegetarian option was not as tasty and Aishlinn had egg envy. Maybe she’d been give the vegan option as not only was she missing an egg she also didn’t get the delicious spicy hollandaise that we were enjoying.

The singers did 2 more sets about 20 minutes each which was perfect timing and they were excellent. Engaging all of us, roaming around the tables, singing to the crowd, perching on chairs and dancing on tables. I really enjoyed the music and as the drinks flowed mics were put into peoples hands as the crowd sang along. In between sets there was background music which could have been just that little bit quieter so that everyone could have chatted comfortably without raising their voices as much. This was my first visit to Untied and I really love it as a venue. I must come back and see what it’s like at night.

Served in between the final course was Watermelon & Mint Kombucha. I’d never tried kombuncha before and after this experience I probably never will again. I could feel my face scrunching up in horror as I shot it down. I can definitely say I am NOT a fan! Luckily it was followed up with warm beignets. Commonly served at breakfast in New Orleans I had wondered what they were like ever since I saw the beignet van on the TV series Once Upon a Time. Deep fried choux pastry served with praline cream. Absolutely delicious.

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As the brunch came to and end and last drinks were called (twice) we settled up the bill and made our way (sensibly) to the elevator. As much as I enjoyed the music I did leave Untied feeling a bit unsatisfied and as I wandered home via Darling Square I found a newly opened Gelato Messina that didn’t have a queue and the problem was solved.

📍 where – level 4, 400 Barangaroo Ave Barangaroo

🌏 www – https://untiedsydney.com.au/

🍹 bottomless – choice of 4 cocktails

💵 how much – $65

🥐🥯 food – set menu with soul

⌚️ how long – 2 hours

🗓 where – Saturday 1pm and 4pm

🎭 entertainment

📚 booking – must give credit card details