LL Wine & Dine

This hip modern-​Asian bar cum restaurant is a must visit. The cocktails are amazing, with the LL Cool Sling being the stand out. The food is delicious but the menu changes from time to time. The duck pancakes are the all time best. A harp-​led band plays for the all you can eat yum cha on Sunday’s. The sexy mood still lingers from the building’s life as a former brothel.

Hidden away in Llankely Place, far removed from the hustle and bustle of nearby Kings Cross, you will find an Asian gem. LL Wine and Dine is a Hong Kong styled wine bar, tucked away in an establishment with a rather colourful and checkered history. Their digs were formerly an illegal casino, an adult book store and a stronghold steel room — if only those walls could talk!
Rather appropriately, the dimly lit décor features vibrant shades of red, with a distinct Asian feel. You will notice subtle references to the past, in the form of an ‘ecstasy’ sign and restraints attached to the ceiling (don’t ask)! The restaurant is sectioned into spaces, featuring a bar, outdoor seating, and some pretty cool semi-​private dining areas downstairs.
For my money, the contemporary Asian menu is best shared with a group. In fact, this is a great place for a group booking, and I dine on my visit with a group to celebrate the gorgeous Ms C’s birthday.
They offer 3 banquet menus, ranging from $ 50 — $ 70pp. This night, we share the Jade Banquet Menu at $ 60pp, which includes:
Glass of Prosecco (sparkling wine) on arrival
Entrée:
Prawn and pork wonton
LL san choy bau of chicken
Crispy tofu
Main:
Chili and garlic crumbed soft shell crab
Crispy pork belly
Spicy wok fried kong bau chicken
Sides:
Steamed rice
Wok fried rice
Steamed gai lan
Sichuan style green beans
Dessert (platters to share):
LL Chocolate Devil
Vanilla sugar coated doughnut balls
Crème Caramel
There is a good variety of food on the menu, featuring flavours from Japan, China and South East Asia. I must say, the sauce that accompanied the tofu was to die for!
Good to know, they also do Yum Cha on weekends, complete with live music and cocktails.
So, when you’re looking for your next group venue, keep LL Wine and Dine in mind!

LL Wine & Dine is tucked away on Llankelly Place off Darlinghurst Road in Potts Point (on the end near the Empire Hotel). Two handsome brothers (I think they’re brothers) run the place, providing great cocktails, yum cha (dim sum) earlier in the day, and more substantial food too. Service is friendly and attentive but not overly so. Great music, great wallpaper (!), great bar. Highly recommend the Pimms cocktail, the vegetarian yum cha, and the tofu & seaweed salad.

LL is exactly what this area needed. A bit of taste, a bit of class — and an excellent place to have a nosh. Tucked up the Kings Cross end of Potts Point, LL offers excellent modern Asian food, designed to share. So call your nearest and dearest, order up a bunch of cocktails and dishes, and settle in for a feast. Oh wait, I skipped a bit. Did I mention the porn wall? When the three brothers who own this place first started work on the renos, they discovered heaps of secret nooks and crannies — and one storage space housing a whole pile of old porn. So, what would any typical male do with such a stash? That’s right — stick it all over the wall. You’ve got to hand it to these boys for their bravery! The menu is equally inventive and absolutely everything I’ve tried here is excellent (and I’ve been back a few times now), but I’d have to say the crispy pork belly and duck pancakes are definitely my favourites.

Modern Asian fusion inspired by the buzzing Hong Kong bar scene. Fit out is funky, industrial and oriental. Exposed brick, offbeat wallpaper and graffiti art paired with bold colours and dim lighting for subtle impact. The place feels like an unfolding maze of über cool little dining environments… one for every mood. T-​lights add a flicker of ambience, and the ergonomic mosaic bar was ingeniously designed to accommodate your legs. My mates are late (as usual) and I’m tempted to start the feast without them as dish after tantalising dish sweeps past to other tables… aka torture by food porn. My Botanical Fling keeps me refreshing company… Hendricks gin martini with St Germain elderflower, kaffir lime and lemon (shaken) with a cucumber twist. Ginger and lychee martini is perfectly balanced… not overwhelming like lychee drinks often are. Foodwise, there’s something for everyone. The diet friendly menu provides plenty of gluten free, soy free and vego options. And carnivores are also well catered to. Come here with a few friends so you can order up — every dish looks the goods. We choose to leisurely stagger. Pork and prawn wontons are salty and sweet… fried prawn and scallop dumplings with wakame and chilli are plump and addictive. Ensure there’s two per head or prepare for a food fight. And the crispy pork belly is deliciously caramelised and awesomely fatty the way only pork can be… and I wish it would never end. Yum cha now stars at LL. Get one of the super cute staff to guide your palate. Awarded «Favourite Bar» by Good Food Guide 2011 and Top 10 Sydney Yum Cha by Sydney Magazine.

LL Wine and Dine Potts Point (which is a stretch really, as it is smack bang in the middle of Kings Cross!) is one of my better finds of late.
Once an adult bookshop (this explains the ‘ecstasy’ sign on the way to the ladies toilets) this revamped spot inspired by the Hong Kong bar scene is one of the best places for Yum Cha in Sydney.
I recently attended a Sunday Yum Cha birthday and being a party of ten meant we were offered the banquet menu.
Out came an array of delicious, fresh dumplings, steamed vegetables and tofu. Then came the san choy bau and fried rice. Then came the soft shell crab. Then came the pork belly!
Unbelievably, the grand total came to $ 35 each. For such generous servings the value is beyond excellent.