Where Chefs Eat: Lennox Hastie Doesn’t Do Takeaway, but He Rates One Pizza Joint in the ’Burbs

Firedoor is one of the hardest-to-book restaurants in the country. Lennox Hastie’s spectacular line-up of dishes comes straight to the plate from a fiery hearth and wood oven, where the flames are fuelled by an ever-changing mix of wood – from iron bark to eucalyptus, citrus trees to apple.

Rounds of just-charred wattleseed flatbreads are primed to top with buffalo cream and salmon roe; little grilled Ballina pippies come doused in XO; a fire-roasted crackle crowns a cut of Bundarra pork. A sweet, halved caramelised fig, joined by honey cake and black-sugar ice-cream, is a delightful finisher. Although every day’s menu is different, the flames are a constant.

But, where does Hastie eat around town? We sat down with the chef to find out.

Lennox, you're on the go – where do you get lunch?
For me, it’d be something quite local [to Firedoor]: Parami. It’s a really small hole in the wall that does really amazing onigiri. Run by [co-owner] Mika [Kazato], who’s always really lovely. Amazing matcha, good coffee. They’ve always got a little special that I want to try. I’m amazed at how tasty some of the vegetarian options are.

What’s your favourite spot for a snack?
If I’m [at work], Sang by Mabasa. I’ve been there for dinner quite a few times but the lunch is actually a simplified version, really quick and easy as well. Super delicious. Again, really tiny place. Family run: Kenny [Yong Soo Son] and his partner [Youmee Jeon], parents in the kitchen. It’s always fresh, it’s always good.

Where’s your go-to if you’re going to get takeaway for dinner?
Oh takeaway ... who does takeaway? I don’t do takeaway, that’s bizarre isn’t it? I either want to go to a venue or I want to cook at home, is that odd? I always want to immerse myself in the experience of the venue, even if it’s very basic. That’s part of the charm of it. I tend to look for places that are chef- or owner-operated, and personality in the space.

And if it’s a special occasion, where are you booking?
I’ve always enjoyed Sixpenny. I love Lumi. I went recently to Bathers’ Pavilion, which I thought was really quite impressive. Aaron [Ward]’s taken over recently and I was really impressed. You know how you get different chefs in different locations, and sometimes they just need the right place in order to blossom? I was really impressed with how [Aaron’s] found his stride. It’s always been a beautiful setting, but I feel like it’s elevated to the point where it’s a beautiful place to go, amazing views day or night, and now the food and drinks are amazing to match as well.

Where do you grab a coffee?
Single O’s just around the corner, which makes it super simple. We’ve been open nine years, so that coffee’s seen me through the searching phase [at Firedoor], the construction phase, the early days of working crazy hours and even now. They’re a very young and energetic team but they’ve got superb focus on the coffee.

Do you have a go to for a long lunch?
I do love Bar Vincent. It’s great if there are two or three of you, but you can do a group at the back. Andy [Logue]’s an old-school cook’s cook – doesn’t really give a shit about lots of fussy shit. Just really good ingredients – the main difficulty is choosing what not to order, most of the time.

What about if you’ve got a big group of family or friends, where are you heading?
Baba’s Place. It’s a great space to take members of your team, who are your family. It’s quite a pared back restaurant in so many ways, which just delivers in spades in terms of hospitality and deliciousness. It’s crazy simple, but it’s just that freshness, that vitality, that energy that they have. You can really feel it in the food.

Do you have a bucket list restaurant?
Currently, Table by Bruno Verjus. It’s in Paris. It’s a chap that I’ve been following for quite a while now, and he’s starting to really get a lot of recognition, which is great to see. It’s always annoying when you get these amazing chefs around the world who never trained as chefs. They take it up later in life as this passionate project and suddenly they’re extremely good at it. They’ve got a very different perspective of food, which I think is interesting. So yeah, very unusual combinations but very close to my heart: anything produce-focused.

If you’re after something sweet, where are you going?
I’m more of a savoury guy, if I’m honest. I mean, just down the road at AP Bakery is always a good go-to. It’s easy to swing by, there’s always something – even if you don’t get there super early, and they’ve sold out of something. It’s quite nice, even some of their sweet stuff’s got a savoury edge to it. They’re not afraid to add a bit of salt to something sweet. To balance it out or caramelise sugars.

Is there somewhere in Sydney that you think is underrated?
There’s a lot, isn’t there? There’s this place near me called Braci. We really don’t have, on the north side, good restaurants in the ’burbs. It’s good to see local guys doing something really good. It is simple – it was an old, very basic pizza restaurant, and the chap who runs it used to work for me many, many years ago behind the bar – Toby Robinson. He got together with a friend of his Chris [Carlei] – a chef out of Melbourne – and Toby works the floor with his beautiful twin sisters. The family’s all involved, and Chris works the kitchen. It just fits really well. Beautiful pizza, relaxed local restaurant, real good range of starters, the drinks are spot on.

@lennoxhastie
@firedoor_surryhills