Eating Out Around Newcastle: Darby St

There is nothing quite like the delicate, rich, full and exotic zest of Thai cuisine partying with your tastebuds when you’re hungry. For flavour and atmosphere, Benjamas on Darby St is one of the most authentic Thai restaurants in Newcastle. Upon entering the restaurant you are instantly transported straight to Phuket, with your vision inundated with scores of peaceful, sacred elephant shrines in a cozy room of tightly bound tables beautifully set. Your nose is inundated with the smell of rich spices, fried onion, marinated garlic - and the rest – which leave you absolutely on tenterhooks for a Thai fix. The menu boasts all the classics of traditional Thai cooking, including a rich and smooth masaman curry (beef, potato, coconut milk and peanuts), spicy, sweet cashew nut sauce (chicken, seafood , beef, tofu) and gorgeous refreshing soups like Tom Yum. With a range of vegetarian options, tantalizing teasers of entrees with delicate complimenting sauces and an authentic and cosy atmosphere, Benjamas is a fantastic destination if you want to travel through Asia for an easy $30.

Longbench has a long history on Darby St, having been established around nine years ago now. Recently, local Novovcastrian Joe Evers has purchased and totally revamped the restaurant with an eclectic 70’s-style décor, a refreshed, locally-based menu and a showcase of some of Newcastle’s finest musicians on weekends. The restaurant feels extremely airy and open-plan despite a fairly average-sized floorspace, and if you’re lucky enough to bag one of the front tables you feel neither inside nor outside - which allows both a pleasant sea breeze and a sense of privacy from the street. The menu is ripe with locally produced products combined thoughtfully to create some deliciously fresh flavours – at dinnertime you can order an array of entrée-sized or designed-to-share plates including grilled king prawns & marinated chorizo served on romesco sauce with caperberries or grilled asparagus spears with oven dried tomato ravioli finished with tomato & onion concasse. A great place to gather a group and bag a seat on the eponymous longbench to share dinner and a good time.

So you’re sitting there trying to decide on dinner – you almost feel like pizza but you’ve just had it a million times before. The perfect alternative is pide – gorgeously soft and smooth dough wrapped around rich tasty toppings and cheese like a loving warm blanket. Ooh, and a quick squeeze of lemon slice through the rich oils oozing out … Excuse me a moment, I need a pide. Don’t be intimidated by the casual, cafeteria feeling of Pide Fez, this little hole-in-the-wall takeaway shop boasts some of the most satisfying and delicious pide around. Usually setting you back an easy $10, one is easily shared between two people. Open (very) late on the nights that count (Wednesday, Friday and Saturday), it is perfect for after-clubbing food – just don’t under-order because you’ll definitely be fighting over the last piece, trust me.

Darby Raj is a bustling Indian takeaway shop and eatery that seems to appeal to an extremely wide spectrum of Novocastrians – you’re just as likely to run into your old principal ordering a meal-for-one as you are your two 13 yr old nieces scraping silver together to buy a small butter chicken. Darby Raj is small and loud, and operates on a quick, pre-made basis - but surprisingly the food always tastes really fresh and exciting. A dish worth mentioning is the vegetable korma – a smooth, sweet, coconut cream-based sauce poured lovingly over a generous serving of rice. Darby Raj also offer an array of exotic sides, such as spicy potato (a battered ball of spicey mashed potato), onion bahjees (deep fried onion slices in a patty) and eggplant pakora (deep fried eggplant slices). A must to compliment your meal is their lassi – which is like a delicious, sweet thick smoothie but without milk – in flavours like strawberry and mango. Insider tip: ask for a vegetable naan, which they make fresh while you order the rest – full of peas and spicey potato in a crisp and springy dough.

The Depot has been establishing itself as one of Newcastle’s best restaurants for almost four years now, and credit is due for introducing Novocastrians to the tantalizing, social cuisine that is tapas. Bowls of crisp potato bites with a spicy salsa and flavorsome thick aioli, crunchy crumbed croquettes with warm manchego and spinach filling, generous serves of piping hot, juicy sliced chorizo and a wide selection of warm breads are a few standout dishes that, although taxing on the wallet, leave your tastebuds in Espanola heaven. The restaurant also boasts mains that are a most unusual and delectable collaboration between Spanish and Australian cuisine. The urban-industrial-inspired restaurant seats around 100 and is often at full capacity towards the end of the week, with generous wooden high tables perfect for sharing and cocktailing, cozy low round tables for those intimate nights and a formal dining for everywhere in-between. The Depot also features a bar made entirely from a shipping crate, which hosts some of the best baristas in Newcastle in the daytime – one worth mentioning is young Melissa Mace who creates coffee like its second nature. Insider tip: the Banana Buzz smoothie, which consists of chocolate sauce, real banana and honeycomb pieces, is a huge favourite for Depot-locals – and trust me, it’s fantastic.