This meal was independently paid for.

I stumbled across SoCal while wandering around Neutral Bay one afternoon. It has a bit of a hidden entrance on Young Street, but the aqua blue door and walls to the stairwell beckoned me up for a look. I was warmly greeted, even though it was three in the afternoon, and I asked if I could look at the menu. The Octopus Tostada immediately caught my eye and the smell of the smoker lured me to keep perusing the menu. I fell in love at first sight.

Luckily it was that lovely down time prior to the prepping before the dinner rush, so I was able to have a bit of a chat to the chef Tomaz Salema Reis about the menu, cooking techniques and ingredients he uses. To his credit Tomaz listened intently to my tale, answered all my questions and even ducked back into the kitchen to ensure that the ingredients for the homemade BBQ sauce didn’t have preservatives. Recon mission was successful and we had a new restaurant to try.

Keep on reading!