Here’s a unique Mother’s Day lunch add-on: a free photoshoot with your family after you eat. RAFI in North Sydney is offering a complimentary professional shoot with every booking of its Mother’s Day set menu lunch on Sunday, May 11 from 12pm ‘til 3pm.
The lunch is $150pp for adults and $40 for kids aged three to 12. Start with sourdough wholemeal pitas to dip in hummus with crispy chickpeas and green chilli, and a plate of kingfish. Then, move on to roasted sugarloaf cabbage with furikake and chilli and scampi with XO and butter.
For mains, tuck into Wagyu boneless rib-eye with spiced butter and sides of radicchio with blue cheese and roasted figs and crispy potatoes, French onion cream and crispy shallots. Dessert is banana semifreddo, buckwheat and salted coffee ice cream. Most dietaries can be catered for, though you’ll need to share them in advance.
Kids get their choice of mains from a selection of crispy calamari, battered fish and cheeseburger, all served with chips. They’ll also get their choice of fresh juice or soft drink and, for dessert, vanilla ice cream.
If you’re not familiar with RAFI, it opened on Mount Street in North Sydney in 2022. Seating spills from its colourful, yet tasteful interiors (think a stylish, rich friend’s home) onto its wraparound terrace where you can sit in the sun and pretend you’re on the coast of France.
Food is by executive chef Matias Cilloniz and head chef Keith Dsouza, who use elements from Sydney’s coastlines for inspiration and colourful produce from the region in their dishes. The menu is rich with sustainably-sourced seafood and veggies cooked over charcoal and food is presented on small plates, so you can easily mix and match them, and share with others.
On the drinks menu, bright and creative cocktails, by RAFI bar manager Gian-Carlos Anderson, sit alongside a handpicked selection of local beers on tap and a wine list with strong representation of local wineries.
RAFI’s part of North Sydney’s dining scene makeover in the last few years. With dozens of office buildings in the area, it was a hub during the workweek and a ghost town on the weekends. The many new restaurants and bars that have opened in recent years have breathed life into the area, making it a Sydney hotspot for good eating and drinking.
“While the new metro stop [Victoria Cross Station, opened February 2024] has undoubtedly catalysed development, other dynamics are also at play,” says Ben Carroll, co-founder of Applejack, the hospitality group behind RAFI.
“The area’s strategic location — its proximity to the city and the north makes it central — and its growing population density has created a ripe environment for investment and urban renewal.”
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