I had to admit that I was a little surprised by the communal table setting. Though we were given seats at the end of the long table, there were two strangers opposite us. Thank god they were not obnoxious or loud because it would have ruin the dinner experience Food, however, was really good! We started off with the betel leaf with smoked salmon, it was refreshing because of the watermelon juice on it. A nice combination that I never tasted before. The stir fry squid was soooo good, it was fresh and tasty.....and the sauce is to die for, it went really well with white rice. The last dish we had was salt & pepper silky tofu, another excellent dish. The sauce that came with it was good. Overall, it was a good dining experience. I would not recommend this place if you are on your first date or if you want privacy for a quiet dinner with your dinner partner. read more

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Longrain was my first upscale Thai food experience ever, and I loved it! I first read about this modern Thai restaurant in an in-flight magazine on my way to Sydney, and was legit salivating on the plane. Coincidentally, my Aussie friend had booked Longrain for our reunion dinner two days later - thanks, mate for reading my mind! Although it was a pricey dinner, our party of 5 enjoyed every course from drinks to dessert. Recommend ordering these standouts: - Ping Pong passionfruit lychee cocktail...tropical ingredients that instantly put me in a beach vacation mindset. - raw oysters with chili jam mignonette... refreshing starter to our meal - betel leaf confit salmon... exotic dish with varying textures. - fried chicken in turmeric coconut cream sauce... let's just say, I wanted to drink the sauce like soup because it was that good. - northern Thai lamb curry... not your typical traditional Thai meat, but the lamb was incredibly tender and the dark curry had vibrant flavor. - black sticky rice dessert with coconut jelly, vanilla tapioca and fruit... loved the consistency and mild sweetness. Every meal should end with this heavenly dessert. Sad that I can't find anything similar in my hometown back in the states. For now, I will just have to enjoy this meal in my dreams. read more

Longrain Restaurant & Bar - Black sticky rice & vanilla tapioca dessert - must-try! - Thai Near Me - Surry Hills, NSW

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So how funny that I came back here almost exactly a year later, and not only was sat at the same large round table, but... in the exact same spot, too? And again, it was fabulous, darling! I am so in love with this place. And again, I shunted myself out of having my birthday here, because its next week. Would that be weird to come back 2 weeks in a row? I'm actually seriously asking, is it?? read more

I went to Longrain for a small birthday dinner on a Friday night, and I was absolutely delighted by the level and complexity of tastes that were balanced in the meals. The customer service is, as to be expected in this level of restaurant. The Maitre de found a table for us to sit at within a few minutes of entering the restaurant, to our surprise as we were prepared to sit and drink a few cocktails while we waited for a table. We were being seated at the uncomfortably high communal tables at the end of the restaurant, which shouldn't be used if you're a group that enjoys to talk over your meal, or has a person who's roughly 4.5 foot tall. uncomfortable seating, which just made you jealous of the people at the lower tables, or even better, the private bookings for groups over 6 people. We continued to order, and quickly our first meal appeared to share. We ordered the iconic Eggnet with pork, prawns, peanuts & caramelised coconut with a cucumber relish on the side. It looked amazing, layered with fresh bean sprouts, and crunchy peanuts, and balanced with soft tender pork and prawns and the incredible egg net, with a sweet and juicy cucumber relish to pour over the top. Delicious, and well sized to share between 3 or 4. $31.00. We had the Grilled octopus & crisp pork belly with watermelon, roast chilli & black vinegar to follow. I have to say that the spice in the salad overpowered, to rest of the well balanced meal. Underneath the salad was a beautifully crisp skin pork belly, with unbelievably tender pork, melt in the mouth type stuff. The octopus was sliced length ways and layered within the salad, although it found mine to be a bit overcooked, the flavours were still very good. $36.50 Our next meal was a slow cooked beef special, with a side of fruity zesty salad, it was delightfully tender and scrumptiously cooked to perfection. Although the size wasn't big enough to share around 4 people easily. $39 Overall, as the tastes complexities can be tricky to read off the menu, ask your waitress/waiter for suggestions, and to explain anything you don't understand on the menu. It was a fantastic night. Oh, and try their Soho cocktail, it's pretty awesome! read more

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I was first introduced to this place a month after it opened, as a friend of mine had booked his wedding dinner here. I have been back a couple of times since and, after a few years break ended up here tonight with friends. It used to be my favourite Thai fusion restaurant in Sydney and I am afraid, it did not live up to its past reputation tonight. I love the ambience and cocktails here but the food tonight was a bit disappointing. We ordered a few dishes and shared most of it. The portions are not huge by any means and, if you do share with more than two, it only gives you a small taste per. I ordered the fried whole barramundi and it looked great but, the taste was not spectacular. The beef and peanut curry was excellent but the green curry with fennel was a bit disappointing. The betel leaf was also ok. The banana and sticky rice dessert was ok and I loved the duck egg dessert. This place is expensive and, I would have high expectations for the prices. Unfortunately for me it did not meet that mark. I may come back here in the future if the flavour improves and they deliver the kind of food they used to. read more

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Perfectly lit, sleek angles and luxuriously spacious; the ambiance is pretty sexy. The long communal tables are.....thought-provoking. You're seated side by side with your dining partner and across from two strangers. It's a little confronting. I thought the seating situation was a bad call by Longrain at first, but then I realised it's kind of genius. It opens you up to a new experience i.e.: a memorable night. Plus, we like to chat with strangers and make friends. The sophisticated re-modelling of Thai food is pretty nice. Beautiful flavours, which were somehow subtle and bold at the same time. Exquisite cocktails make fine use of Asian ingredients (lychees, ginger, lime, hello!). Date night or celebrating a milestone, you'll have a pleasant evening. read more

It's hard to put into words just how good Longrain really is. I think it's best to let a few of the standout dishes on Longrain's menu speak for themselves... - Betel leaf topped with prawn, peanuts, roasted coconut & ginger - Salt & pepper silken tofu with soy & lime - Salt & pepper cuttlefish with sweet soy - Eggnet with pork, prawn, peanuts, bean sprouts & sweet vinegar Another good indicator of the quality of Longrain is the fact that this favourite is always busy and you'll always have to wait for a table. Even the wait is a good thing though as Longrain has a funky bar area downstairs, which serves up a host of fabulous cocktails and also has a great bar food menu so you can get a starter and a drink while you wait. The restaurant features large long bench table seating and there's also a high bar as well as smaller tables in the old lounge bar area. The atmosphere is buzzy and warm. There's no question that Longrain is up there with the best of them. read more

Longrain Restaurant & Bar - Thai Near Me - Surry Hills, NSW

I was taken to this place, and was surprised because I expected gritty Thai food, not tapas upscale Thai food, but am glad we came here. We started with the oysters and betel nut wraps, then the grilled eggplant and the beef in black vinegar with salad, and there is a brown rice option! The oysters were reasonably fresh, with a nice chilli ginger dressing - yum! The betel nut wraps, well, tasted like betel nut leaves. The grilled eggplant really blew us away. Perfect mix of veggies and grilled well enough. My favorite, was the beef. Beef in black vinegar, what else could be better? The SALAD! The salad that came with it was the usual Asian veggies you see as garnishes atop most dishes - coriander, ginger, chilli, spring onion. They took sideline veggies and turned them into limelight veggies. Surprising, and very delicious. I want to come back again, so desperately. read more

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This place was recommended to me by my Australian CFO so I had high expectations and the restaurant did not disappoint. Beautiful space with a wonderful menu that is perfect for sharing. My favorite was the salmon curry (first time I have had this preparation). The pork hock is also delicious with crispy pieces in a sweet and tangy sauce. read more

Longrain Restaurant & Bar - Thai Near Me - Surry Hills, NSW

We had a good banquet here the last time so decided to come back for my birthday. But the waitress looks like she was just out from the prison. We didn't get the warmest hospitality we expected for a hip uptown place like this. But heck, we are here for the food. And the caramelised pork hock was amazing, right level of crunchiness and caramelisation. The sambal prawns was ok, but $38 for 5 prawns, I was kinda expecting prawns that swim in my mouth but nothing close to that experience. So I wouldn't probably endeavour this place again. read more

Longrain Restaurant & Bar - Caramelised pork - Thai Near Me - Surry Hills, NSW

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WOW is all I can say!! You will have to Google the menu to see the most amazing choices on the menu, but I can tell you that no matter what it is that you order it will be outstanding on every level! This place is phenomenal! Good luck getting in, and if you do, make sure you don't cancel. We had the snapper and the tofu dishes. Outrageous! read more

Longrain Restaurant & Bar - Thai Near Me - Surry Hills, NSW

I've been coming here for over a decade. My favorite place in all of Sydney - I look forward to it every trip. You really must eat here. Sit at a communal table, and order one of everything if you can. read more

Incredibly good (upmarket) Thai food! Deliciously tasty and very well presented. They get very busy, but there is a cool waiting area where you can get cocktails while you wait. Can be a bit pricey, but the quality is higher than your average Thai place. read more

Macka and I went to Longrain when she quit work. She put me on the horns of a dilemma. Nah - didn't hurt that much. She doesn't eat pork because the animal is so intelligent. I understand that, I don't eat brains because I can't eat something that was once used for thinking. But - the caramelised pork with five spice and chilli vinegar... Waiter "How would you like your dilemma cooked sir?" Me "Horns off but otherwise as the chef would have it" The pork is soooo good, but - I couldn't do it. Luckily, cuttlefish and ducks are stupid. read more

I was underwhelmed by Longrain. Don't get me wrong - it's amazing inside, sleek and cavernous, which gives off a hefty whiff of pretention. Not a problem as long as the food lives up to it. Came for a mate's birthday and we chose the "banquet menu" for $65pp. Five dishes were on the menu, three starters and two mains, plus a dessert. I settled in for some serious munching. The problem was, they didn't give us nearly enough food. Oysters? Great - you get one each. Ditto the betel-leaf-wrapped ocean trout. The egg-net thingy? Two, for a table of nine. Really? As for the mains, two teeny-tiny bowls of each dish were proferred as our dinner and came nowhere near to satisfying our increasing hunger. Everyone raved about the pork belly, but I wouldn't know, since the dish ran out before it made its way to me. I managed to get a bit of beef curry before it was scarfed by the other hungry diners. Plenty of white rice, though. In their defense, I was the only lady amongst a bunch of big, hungry, rugby-playing dudes. But still. Why so ridicuolusly chintzy on the portions? It's not a "tasting" menu. It's a banquet menu. I've never spent so much to leave hungry at the end. Don't get me wrong. The little amount of food I ate was really very delicious. But they realistically should have provided almost twice the amount of food for the price they are charging. I can almost forgive the small starters, but not the mains. To leave a place like this and not feel at least a little bit satisfied hunger-wise left a bad taste in my mouth. Glad I went. Never going back. read more

One of the best Thai restaurants I've been to. The starters were excellent, and the Vegetarian dishes were better than the chicken dish that we had. Worth a visit. Wait was pretty long though. read more

I've been meaning to try Longrain for awhile, but thought it was going to really make a hole in my wallet. I was pleasantly surprised that it's actually fairly reasonably priced by Sydney standards and good value for the food you get. Don't mind the surly host who thinks he's God- just take yourself down to the Bunker Bar if your table isn't ready and sip on a nice glass of wine. For the food I'd recommend sharing dishes with the rest of your table so you can taste as much goodness as this kitchen puts out. Star dishes were the egg net (pork and prawns in a yummy sauce, covered by what looks like an actual net, but is actually egg), the salmon curry, the green curry and the silken tofu. Still trying to figure out how they got that tofu so crispy on the outside and so tender on the inside. Skip the wagyu beef and the barramundi- both were ok, but couldn't stand up next to some of the other dishes, and these were the pricier of the options our table selected. You're better off sharing plates instead of doing the tasting menu as well-- for a table of 7 we all ordered mains, plus a few sides and rice as well as wine and we paid $65 each, versus the tasting menu with less dishes and no alcohol for that same price! read more

I have dined here on a number of ocassions and always had a good experience......well speaking in these terms does not do justice to this outstanding restaurant. It is always consistent, each time that little bit better than the last memory and I always leave wowing a dish that we had choosen. It is about a whole ocassion and do so by starting downstairs for a cocktail or some bubbles....I know people say it is a little more expensive...well what one needs to put into context here is what you are experiencing, the whole ambience complimented by attentive and caring service. .........you can enjoy a starter downstairs however my preference is to move upstairs and get into the foodie mood. i am not suggesting any one dish - all offerings are really good. I recommend you adopt the principle that you let taste buds preferences do the choosing. And nestling beside the menu is a wine list that offers some quality to compliment the fine food. A wonderful place to have a great night............leave by debating what is best....I think you will be arguing about all these great dishes dead heating for first! read more

Heard many good things about this place and it did not disappoint! The upstairs dining facilities are really nice and the staff was friendly. The food was amazingly delicious and well presented. The waitress was really helpful and recommended her favorite dishes, not the most expensive. Filling and delicious place with great ambiance. read more

Hands down this is one of the best meals I have ever had. Service was stellar. Sat at the bar since I was solo on a work trip. Received amazing attention and fabulous food recommendations Food was outstanding. All the amazing complexity of flavors that you expect from Thai cuisine. I has a salmon curry while I was there and it's one of the best fish dishes I have ever had. Amazing flavor and the salmon was cooked SO perfectly. Cannot say enough. Had a kingfish sashimi dish as well that was well balanced. Betel leaf was tasty. Coffee ice cream + pineapple dessert was delish. Wish I had been with more people to try even more. Highly reco this place! read more

Longrain, Longrain my friend Kenny insisted we go to Longrain when i visited him in Surry Hills. One thing is for sure, Longrain did not disappoint. The cuisine was absolutely delicious, as a vegetarian i place such value in this restaurant because they made tofu like i have never tasted before. It was unbelievable. Kenny and I sampled pretty much everything on the menu (seriously, how did we fit it all in) and i loved the cocktails which were made from a range of home infused vodkas, epic. The atmosphere was relaxed and we felt we could have spent our entire night just eating, drinking and catching up on everything we have missed out on. read more

This is the absolute one standout restaurant that never disappoints...ever. The balance & flavour pairings are well thought out & simply perfect in every way. You must start with the betel leaves, then the the eggnet. Follow with the caramelised pork hock & the salmon curry & you will be in flavour heaven. 11 years on Longrain still delivers! read more

Very interesting spins on Thai, had some very tasty appetizers & cocktails. Sat at the Bar, had excellent service! Although a tad pricey, it was excellent. Will be back. read more

Longrain was recommeded to us by a friend. The food and service at Longrain didn't disappoint. All the dishes we ordered were made with fresh ingredients and perfectly balanced. Our server was great at walking us through the menu and answering all our questions. I would highly recommed Longrain for great Thai food! read more

Oh, Longrain, how well you please my taste buds. While waiting for your party start downstairs in the lounge bar. The cocktails are expertly blended/shaken/muddled and tempt you with interesting ingredients and flavour combinations. If your party has arrived before you finish you can take your drink upstairs to the table. As for the restaurant my only bit of advice is to go for the banquet. It is the best way to try a range of the food on offer. Just imagine the freshest quality ingredients drizzled with shallots, ginger, lime or red chilli. Everything bursts with flavour and is seductively delicious. The banquet includes a tasting plate of deserts that will take you on a journey to heaven and back. Everything is mouth-watering and the egg custard is to die for! Despite the vast amount of food you will be served, you don't leave feeling like your belly has shifted from your insides to the outside. You will leave feeling satisfied and wondering when it is relatively acceptable to visit again. read more

The Good: The betel leaves and the ma hor are must-haves. The ma hor especially packs a ton of flavour into a small bite-sized appetizer - sweet, sour, and salty, but not overpowering the meat. Also couldn't get enough of the lamb with the mint sauce. The atmosphere was pleasant, a long row of communal tables and a large bar allowing a lively restaurant without feeling crowded or intrusive for a date night. Also, around 7:15, we were able to walk in and get a table for 2 with no wait, which was a nice surprise. The Bad: The steamed fish was good - good quality meat, cooked well, no bones, nice broth, but there also wasn't anything particularly special about it, either. This was a little surprising since our waiter was adamant that it was the best thing on the menu. Also, overall the food was a little saltier than it needed to be (yes, I'm aware salt is an essential flavour in East-Asian cuisine. Still, a little too much of it). Bottom line: A solid Thai restaurant with a great atmosphere and reasonable (for what you get) prices. I think next time, I'll go a little hungrier and get the banquet menu, which seems like a great value. read more

Such flavourful Thai-inspired food with fresh ingredients in a great setting. The majority of seats are at large communal tables, but the chairs are spread out enough that you don't feel like you're intruding on someone else's conversations. The vegetarian selections are limited, but everything is delicious so your veg friends won't go hungry. As others have said, the betel leaves are a must - fresh and light and flavourful. We also really enjoyed the complex flavours of the curries, some of which can be quite hot - consider yourself warned. Desserts are also excellent, and the staff is very helpful. All in all, a lovely experience. read more

There are two locations for this restaurant, one in Sydney and one in Melbourne. Because I am obsessed, I'll be transposing my review to each. Look, I'm from Atlanta, Georgia, USA and the light at the end of the tunnel for a 30+ hour flight? Eating at these restaurants. I have gone to both locations each of the two times I've been to Australia. Their whole fried snapper is something I dream about. Their caramelized pork and their betel leaves are my other two favorites. On my second trip to Australia, I hit Melbourne first and they didn't have my snapper that night. :'( So, like the obsessed fan I am, when I traveled to Sydney, I called to find out what night they were going to be having it. I think I've developed a problem. Any interest in an Atlanta location, Longrain? read more

Pleasant and delicious surprises. I visited the restaurant with thoughts of favorite Thai dishes on my mind and ordered dishes I did not fully comprehend l instead. In each case I was blown away by distinct, delicious, and well balanced flavors. I started with the betel leaf which you wrap around the pomelo, coconut, mint - and whatever else is in there - and yum. It was a very refreshing and palette cleansing start. I then ordered the eggnet stuffed with pork, prawns, peanuts and other herbs etc. I did not know what an eggnet was but apparently it is an egg net over the dish. With the cucumber relish it was delicious and I could have just had that as an entree. In fact they made me a half order and I couldn't finish that - can't imagine the size of the full order They also suggested a half order of my entree, yellow curry pumpkin with sweet corn, cauliflower, beans and peppers. I don't normally eat vegetarian curries but this was outstanding. The staff were great and I appreciated getting two substantial half orders so I could try different dishes. And yes, substantial - I'm a big eater and did not finish either half dish. For dessert I had Carmelites pears with apply sorbet and biscuit. It was a refreshing close Highly recommend. read more

Had the dinner reserved at six. Interesting seating arrangement that the guests seated next to each other. Ordered the steamed fish and not as spectacular as I expected, wish the meat more tender. Good spice into all the three dishes we ordered. Vegetable curry really good, and also the pineapple with caramelized pork and shrimp mix is good entree. Three dishes for a total 87 dollars, a little over priced. read more

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If you're looking for high quality East Asian cuisine built for sharing, Longrain is a fantastic option. Star 1: How were the service and atmosphere? The atmosphere at Longrain is fantastic with abundant floorspace and seating options, classy and friendly service, and a steady steam of communal dishes. Star Granted. Star 2: How were the portions relative to the cost? "We'll have one of everything", said my host for the evening with our party of seven, and from there I only recall a steady stream of excellent food. Only after the fact did I go back and check the prices, and for larger communal dishes where everyone of our party of seven could have one or two small helpings the average cost was just shy of $35.00. That's expensive, but not entirely unreasonable. Star Granted. Stars 3 and 4: How was the food? Every single one of the dishes at Longrain was excellent, with the highlights being the beef cheek and brisket in green curry sauce. Even apart from my favorite two the prawns, the salmon, and the pork had excellent flavor. Arguably the best part of my trip to Longrain was the fact that every single dish went well with the fluffy white rice that was served in an endless portion. Dual Stars Granted. Star 5: Would you eat here every day if you could? It's a close call here, and the only thing that keeps me from dishing out a fifth star is that Longrain might not be as appealing if you didn't have a larger group to share the dishes with. No Star Granted. read more

Tried 5 dishes for dinner shared amongst 3 people and nothing was a standout. The best dish that we had was probably the fried fish of the day with tamarind sauce. Would stay clear of the crispy pork and pineapple - it was pretty lacklustre. Didn't try their desserts as we were pretty uninspired by the dinner items. I would probably rate Longrain higher but there are many other places of similar quality but for half the price. Only thing I really liked about Longrain was the ambiance. Service was pretty slow too - they should probably invest in one or two additional waiter/waitresses. read more

Longrain is a contemporary restaurant, with a bar, Asian produce store and canteen. It is located within an expansive, 110 year-old converted warehouse. A hip, yet welcoming atmosphere is combined with warm service, original cocktails, an inspired wine list and award-winning, modern Thai/Asian food. There is nothing left to be added read more

Excellent food, service and atmosphere. Especially liked the spring rolls ...Amazing!

Watching the reviews pour in and hearing friends and coworkers rave about how amazing Longrain is had me pretty excited for my Thai adventure. We were told it would take 1-2 hours for a table. Fair, there were 6 of us at peak dinner hour on a Saturday night. We had been expecting a wait and went for drinks in the Bunker Bar below. At about 10 minutes past the 2 hour mark I went to check on our table. The host was a bit defensive "I told you it would be 2 hours", "well, no, we were told 1 to 2. I'm just checking as we're past 2 hours". He told me we could come up then, as our table actually was ready. I avoided ordering responsibilities - my preferred route these days as it affords the opportunity to try things I may not normally order, and I like the surprise. The stand outs for me were the witlof leaf entree (which I understand replaced the betal leaf entree as something was out of season) and the salt and pepper silken tofu. The other dishes we had were fine, but they all tasted like they could be easily replicated (curse of a home cook I suppose). Everything tasted nice enough, but for the wait and the price, I expected more. read more

Ok heard so much about this place, seriously Thai food is Thai food right... I was so wrong!!! Yes it's curry lamb or crispy pork, seen that, done it, no big deal right... Man I was so wrong!!! Chat Thai ... Step aside, out of your league... Not even close to this place! If you, like me, heard about this place and haven't been yet, get yourself down here and be prepared to stuff yourselves silly! No regrets if it means I have to do 3 extra gym sessions... Friendly staff, chic environment, amazing food AND very reasonably priced!!!! read more

Perhaps an off night, but had a terrible experience at Longrain last night. Afte 45 minutes waiting for our first course (2 Betel leaves) and asking our server about our food multiple times, we walked out. The table next to us sat after we did and had their second course delivered before our first ever arrived. Sadly, our bumbling server ran over to us as we walked out holding 2 betel leaves stuffed on a small plate. Disappointed. C'mon Longrain, get back on your game. read more

A friend and I came for dinner on a quiet Monday night. Whilst the food largely met our high expectations (apart from the sauce with the beef cheeks, which was exceptionally salty to the point of being inedible) the service was sloppy at best. We had to ask for our water and wine glasses to be refilled a number of times, and ended up suggesting that the bartender just give us our bottle so we could refill our glasses ourselves. Worse, our waitress was largely absent and disinterested. Not good enough for a restaurant of this quality. read more

Our first time here. At first we were taken aback by the seating. There was only two of us and not knowing too much about the place we were surprised to sit at a shared table opposite people we didn't know. BUT... Once we tasted the food - stating with the silken tofu then then green curry, Mussaman and the Snapper - WOW. And the sorbets for desert? Holy cow....why did it take so long to come here? Thanks for the great staff and friendly advice and service too. Would be great in a big group so you can taste everything. We will be back. A nice table for 2 would be nice though. read more

My colleagues have been recommending this restaurant several times this week so we have gotta try before we leave sydney! Food is good, ambience is great but background music playing louder and louder so it is difficult to chat. Had the degustation menu for 68 or so per person. Started with oyster so fresh and then mango salad with chicoree salad. The highlight of the meal is crispy pork hock! Yummy. Apparently famous drink there is ping pong ;) tried it! read more