The Butler

The lure of The Butler is actually neither the cocktails, nor the food, but the sundrenched patio; bang on the perfect place to while away a Sydney afternoon. Book early to get a coveted outside table, set under the hanging plants, and time your visit for an hour shy of sunset.
You’ll drown in golden light as the last rays of sun cut through the city skyline. Whet your lips on Grandma’s Vase ($ 35/​jug) — the rather twee name is perhaps a nod to camomile, joined by a showering of citrus, Beefeater gin, and enough Aperol to keep it from being insipid.
By way of drinking snacks there are Soffritto Croquettes ($ ¹⁵⁄₄) with a fairly uninspiring (and not particularly spicy) tomato relish; and Sausage Rolls ($ 12) that eat more like pastry-​wrapped Lyonnaise pork snags. My dining companion wishes they had used more fat. Call me a heathen, but I wish I could switch out the pineapple relish for good, old-​fashioned tomato sauce. We’re all more enamoured with the French Fries ($ 8) dipped in chipotle mayonnaise; though truth be told they’re pretty similar to the ones you could find for half the price under the golden arches.
At the healthier end of the menu you can tackle Hand-​cut Steak Tartare ($ 22) served with house-​made ‘toasts’ whose greatest selling point is that they’re weighty enough to pick up after being heavily loaded with tartare. Both the tartare, and the BBQ Pork Neck ($ 28) that follows, are under seasoned. Tomatoes, borlotti beans and a scattering of parsley brighten the slightly pink medallions of pig, which I observe flying out across the buzzing Friday arvo dining room.
Now, about that unmatchable view…

I had lunch at The Butler this week to catch up with a long lost girlfriend, who happens to live in the area. She chose this restaurant, and I have to say I was blown away by the meal, the serving staff, the Sydney city /​park views and the atmosphere generally. I would highly recommend this venue for tourists and Sydneyites alike.
I had he swordfish with artichokes and gnocchi (absolutely heavenly) and my friend had the seared tuna on a bed of chick peas and yogurt, which she also loved — and she’s a health fanatic too. Cost per meal was just under $ 30 + wine /​coffee and whatever else takes your fancy. I would go back there — over and over and slowly make my way through their menu, while taking in the atmosphere and the amaizing Sydney views. They also serve a not too shabby coffee too. How rare is that?!
The service was attentive, friendly and not intrusive — and I dare you to find an ordinary looking server — all lovely and easy on the eye. What’s not to like. Try The Butler. You won’t be disappointed.

I adored everything about my dining experience here from the moment I stepped inside & was so warmly greeted by the gorgeous host Rose, til well after I left & am still raving about it.
The food was divine & the cocktails just right, capped off with impeccable service & a stunning vista — what a night!
Highly recommend the trout, the broccoli & the cauliflower. The oysters were some of the best I’ve had in Sydney.
Go, go, go!!!
P. s. To the owners … Give Rose a raise!

We took our parents here for their last night in Sydney, the food was fantastic, the service However was lacking at no real fault of the waiter… they were obviously quite understaffed! The atmosphere was good however we found it very loud and we had to ask twice for our wine which finally arrived after we finished our meals!

I loved everything about this restaurant! I had dinner at this restaurant with 3 other friends while visiting Sydney, based on a local’s recommendation. The restaurant had a beautiful view of the city skyline. I sat inside as the night time was quite chilly when I visited. However, had the weather been warmer, I would have loved to sit on the patio. We shared several dishes between the four of us, and I thought everything was very yummy. There were lots of cocktails to choose from, and the one I tried was amazing. The service was also very good, and our waiter was very attentive, from explaining the specials of the day to us at the start of dinner, to answering any questions we had, to checking on us throughout the night. I also loved the atmosphere at the restaurant, and think that this is a great place to hand out with friends over drinks and catch up!

OMG amazing. Everything about this place i love. I love the location — i love the views — i love the atmosphere — i love the bar — i love the food. This is the perfect spot to hang out with some girlfriends and drink a couple of cocktails and enjoy the fresh air flowing through the doors. The food is great and the customer service is attentive. I highly recommend the salted cod croquettes and the steak frites.

Bar staff upstairs phenomenal… smiley, helpful and a good laugh. Wait staff downstairs could do with some retraining in customer service. Ego’s, snarls and not a smile to be seen. Exhausting interaction… truly dismal experience. Adiós.

Great restaurant with an amazing view of the city. The waiters were attentive and friendly. The food was very good.
This place is great for long boozy lunches and girls day out. It’s also a great place to bring out of town guests.

I’ve now been here 3 or 4 times — service fab, décor/​vibe amazing and lovely food and wine. Great for a date or catch up with friends. Would def recommend to anyone… Little bit pricey but it’s nothing out of the ordinary for Potts Point :-)

Hmmm we went here with a friend for her to do a review.
Suffice to say we got the best seats in the house, except they forgot to mention that as the view got more amazing as the sun went down across the city outline, the mozzies also got hungrier and you are dinner.
We got quite a few dishes from here to try out nearly everything we could to share. There’s quite a few dishes that have Creole in them that made my heart sing a bit, however upon putting them into my mouth they lacked that good olé southern taste. I was wishing it would teleport me back to New Orleans for flavour, but it didn’t. So I got the sads.
The other dishes weren’t that huge a deal either. We had the lamb ribs which were high in fat content and not much meat content. This also made me a bit sad.
On the bright side their cocktail menu is delish! They even have pictures of the cups your choice of cocktail will come in. My dinner companion and I were delighted! Finally, you get to choose what cup you want! The cocktails were a hit. We tried quite a few, unlike the food you definitely get what you want and then some.
If you go here definitely try the smaller slider dishes to go with your cocktails. Bigger food items I’d really not go back to try to be honest. Which is a bit disappointing because it’s somewhat affordable grub but the flavours just aren’t there for me.

A friend had an intimate boozy hen’s lunch booked here and it was the perfect atmosphere: great views over the city, with massively high ceilings, murals of palm trees on the walls, stylish high bar tables and booths with stylish people to go in them. A fab soundtrack of inspired funk and soul livened up the playful sleekness.
Normally a swank place like this has overpriced food and it’s hit or miss as to whether it’s good or not. Unfortunately, the Butler falls into the latter.
We ordered quite a variety of dishes and everything bizarrely managed to taste exactly the same. From the cod croquettes to the tuna carpaccio on crispy tortilla to the lamb ribs to the (nicely cooked) pork belly, they all had the same sort of dukkah-​inspired spice profile which was sickly after the 2^nd dish. Grilled octopus with white beans was nearly tasteless and just plain wrong, crumbed shiitake mushrooms overly tough and weirdly sweet, the prawns in quinoa good but extremely buttery, tasting nothing like the coconut mango flavour profile promised.
The desserts also had strange elements: hazelnut chocolate mousse came adorned with sultanas in too-​sweet syrup, and the custard with mixed berries, coulis and honeycomb had weird bits of unwanted jelly.
Staff were friendly and attentive with sexy hipster barmen making dainty cocktail after dainty cocktail. It’s an awesome enough atmosphere that I would go back for a few casual drinks and some bread, olives and chips in a late afternoon, lounging on the balcony, taking in the city views. Anything else on the menu might have that unpleasant, one-​note flavour profile that’s still making me feel slightly queasy…

I had heard good things about this place and was eager to visit…
Don’t get me wrong, it does have interesting views. Certainly not the standard view you get in an inner city venue, which is nice for a change. The décor is akin to a swanky beach shack; bright and airy.
Despite being hungry and looking for a meal, I didn’t order anything off the menu. Nothing jumped out in that stand out «gotta have it» way and as a vegetarian, the options were limited, if not sparse.
I would come here for a special occasion or to impress out of towners but for me, it isn’t somewhere I would frequent for a couple of drinks or dinner on a Saturday night.

We stayed at the B&B Albert & Victorias Court across the street. Our host recommended the Butler to us and we promptly made a reservation. What a HUGE disappointment. We arrived promptly at 6 PM on a Tuesday evening. The restaurant was completely vacant. We were seated under a speaker where the music was so blaring, conversation with the person seated next to you was impossible. We explained that the 2 gentlemen in our group suffered from hearing problems and asked if it was possible to turn down the music. We were informed that «their customer’s preferred it that way». OK, we said, is it possible to be moved to an area that was not located directly under the speakers. No. we were told, the restaurant was completed booked. We glanced around at the empty restaurant and couldn’t understand why our request wasn’t met. The menu looked very interesting, and we were eager to experience it. We also appreciate really good wines, and their wine list was extensive. Unfortunately because they were so unaccomodating to us, we felt unwelcome, and disinclined to spend our money there. Please note that the charge is $ 55 per person to share a plate, add to that, a few bottles of wine, and you have a cost of approx. $ 150 per person, which is a fair charge for what we perceived the experience would cost us. Apparently the restaurant (did I mention that we were the only ones there) did not need our support. Due to their inflexibility and quite frankly, rudeness, we left the restaurant and found a fabulous restaurant around the corner where we were greeted with open arms and enjoyed an incrediable meal. So, my advice is, avoid this restaurant is you have any intention of enjoying the company you are with as you will be completely unable to hear each other speak.

Seems to be a hip place. Quite loud on a Friday night if you arrive with friends to talk to. Great views.

A local took me to this restaurant. If you don’t know it, you would just pass the entrance. But then going inside it is a huge restaurant with an awesome view of Sydney’s skyline.
Our Italian waitress gave us several recommendations on food and drinks. Everything was delicious –or as you say in Australia ”beautiful”.
Since it is shared plats it easy to try out all kind of things.
A must-​do when in Sydney!