Surry Hills is welcoming a swish new venue tonight with the opening of Linla, a Taiwanese social dining bar on Bourke Street at the former home of Dead Ringer.
The venue is the latest from Taiwanese-born restaurateur and mixologist Charles Chang, who already operates neighbouring Japanese fusion bar Moku and is a former Top 100 finalist in the Diageo World Class Competition.
Where Moku celebrates restraint and discipline, Linla is a looser, more playful proposition, built around Taiwanese street culture, pan-Asian influences and the simple act of raising a glass together.
The name itself comes from the Taiwanese dialect word for the sound and feeling of a toast between friends. “Linla isn’t about one culture or one cuisine,” says Chang. “It’s about the moment when people raise their glasses together. That sound, that feeling – that’s what we wanted to build the entire space around.”
Vibe: A Victorian terrace with warm tones and a soundscape designed to complement conversation and uplift the ambience.
Menu Highlights: Cha-Cha-Cha Half chicken, Wagyu Beef Tartare, XOXO Calamari Fettuccine
Cost: $85 – $140 pp for a full meal + a drink
Dietary Considerations: Gluten-free, Vegetarian and Vegan options available.
The space sits inside a converted Victorian terrace, with a two-sided dining room seating up to 32 and a raised sandstone balcony overlooking Bourke Street with alfresco seating for 20.
Interiors by Sydney studio D Design Office bring warmth to the room through ivory French-washed walls, walnut timber and orange-brown leather banquettes.
Music is treated as part of the experience rather than background noise, with a soundscape designed to complement conversation and a bespoke Linla theme song blending contemporary and Asian-inspired textures.
Share-style pan-Asian
In the kitchen, Head Chef Montien Thipwongsa, known as Chef James, brings a Thai-influenced sensibility to a share-style pan-Asian menu.
Dishes include the Cha-Cha-Cha Half Chicken with corn ribs, avocado salsa and fermented chilli oil; Night-Market Crispy Chicken with Szechuan seasoning, garlic chips and basil; and Wagyu Beef Tartare with scallion pancake, yuzu olive oil and golden pickle.
Elsewhere on the menu, Pork and Prawn Wontons come in a tom yum beurre blanc, XOXO Calamari Fettuccine is dressed with XO sauce, and Sticky Rice Arancini arrives with Taiwanese sausage and house made salted radish.
Raise a glass
The drinks program, curated by Chang, is built around technically considered cocktails designed for easy drinking.
Signature serves include Pine & Bloom with pineapple mead, elderflower, dry vermouth and MSG saline; Tomato Salad 2.0 with tequila, tomato, ume salt and ginger soda; Jing Jing High with Long Jing gin and calamansi; Ebi-Tini with Sakura ebi shochu and sencha; and MI-Bubble, a cocktail reimagining of bubble tea.
Sparkling teas featuring jasmine, oolong, sencha, Longjing and chamomile run alongside the cocktail list, functioning both as pairings and as core cocktail ingredients.
Six seats, no menu
Tucked into a private dining room adjacent to Linla, Moku chef Ha Chuen Wai will also run his omakase experience from the same address.
Seating six guests per sitting with two seatings nightly, the multi-course tasting menu is built around seasonal ingredients. Wednesday and Thursday sessions run as traditional dining, with weekends reserved for private bookings.
Linla is open at 413 Bourke Street, Surry Hills, with a late-night licence until 1 am. Guest chef collaborations, bartender takeovers and seasonal menu changes are planned as the venue beds into the neighbourhood.
Source: Pendulum Communications
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