i found heaven

Ever since Colin Fassnidge appeared on MasterChef, I've been wanting to try either of his restaurants: Four In Hand or 4fourteen. I finally got to 4fourteen in Surry Hills last week for my birthday dinner, and it was everything I was expecting and more.

Opening in May 2011 and receiving a coveted chefs hat only a couple of months in, Fassnidge draws upon nose-to-tail cookery with local and sustainable produce; making the undesirable, desirable. The restaurant itself has warehouse inspired-charm, with incredibly friendly and helpful staff. The atmosphere, relaxed precision.

The seating is quite spacious, and they even have enough room for prams and high chairs if needed (which we needed on this occasion). The 4fourteen concept is all about sharing, so we ordered some nibbles - ham hock and cheese croquettes (highly recommended by the staff), and grilled spicy chorizo; some salads and starches - mixed grain salad, and the charred salt crust sweet potato with smoked potato mayonnaise; as well as a selection of the large share plates - spiced spanish mackerel, grilled bavette, and braised whole lamb shoulder.

The sweet potato was a crowd favourite, but the the lamb shoulder... WOW. Upon first bite, the entire table fell silent. Seriously the tastiest lamb I, if not the entire table, may have ever had. Hot tip: make sure you poor the jus over the lamb before eating it. Perfection!

The croquettes were nice and would definitely order those, as well as chorizo and bavette again. Give the mackarel a miss. Hardly anyone touched it and it just wasn't up to the same standard as the other dishes...

Now onto my favourite meal - how can you choose from the dessert menu presented to us? We decided to get the white chocolate sandwich and deconstructed snickers to share. They were beyond this world. The white chocolate sandwich... heaven! I may have to come back just to order another one of those. As one of my Instagram followers @jemima.southgate put it, "it's totally life changing". And I completely agree.

Restaurant: 4fourteen

Total price: Approx $365 (for 6ppl including a bottle of wine and beers)

Hours: Tue - Sat lunch 12pm - 3pm, dinner from 6pm; Sunday lunch 12pm-4pm

Must order: Braised whole lamb shoulder with fennel, peas, feta and mint (and if you're a sweet tooth, you MUST get the white chocolate sandwich)