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Firepop

A fan-favourite pop-up finds a forever home in the inner west, writes MATTY HIRSCH, and proves its mettle in the process.
Fish crudo at Firepop in Enmore, Sydney
Wild-caught hapuka crudo at Firepop, Enmore
Jacqui Triggs
SYDNEY
Address
137 Enmore Rd, Enmore NSW

When Firepop slipped into a slim, two-storey site across from the Enmore Theatre back in March, it arrived with an enviable asset: a loyal following. Its owners, wife and husband Alina Van and Raymond Hou, hatched the idea in the form of a Chinatown market stall they built in 2019, hawking three different flame-kissed skewers. And it wasn’t long before those “pops” became the talk of pop-ups all over town.

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It is not hard to understand why. Charry nuggets of New England lamb speckled with cumin and sesame dukkah, an OG signature, answer almost every question you could ask of meat impaled on a bamboo stick: smoky, musky, zealously spiced. Rugged swatches of Bangalow pork belly follow suit, sheathed in garlic, fermented chilli and house spice mix. Gently fried silken tofu finished over coals also measures up, streaked with sesame dressing and Sichuan chilli under a thatch of shredded coriander.

These skewers and others – chicken tails and hearts, wagyu cubes and strips – may be this handsome 90-seater’s raison d’être, but the ideas happening on the periphery are as exciting. Take the scorched shishito and Padrón peppers, for example, which come with frozen pickled grapes that taste like spherified sangria in case things get too spicy. Or how the tropical tang of a jammy kiwi sauce leads grilled slices of Tathra Place duck breast down an inspired path.

Firepop Enmore dining room.
The dining room at Firepop.

Intelligence and flavour are common denominators across the menu, best experienced at one of the comfy stools fronting the open kitchen. Wild-caught hapuka crudo is made bright by white soy and a mandarin oil that mirrors the magma glow of embers, while a caper-flecked rhubarb sauce with the glutamate richness of puttanesca underlines the sweetness of just-blistered sugar snaps. Velveteen-soft potatoes creamy with house-made yoghurt butter and dill make for a simple, scene-stealing side.

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What Van and Hou have created is not merely a quick-service kiosk turned bricks-and-mortar. It is a restaurant proper, buoyed by a concept with room to grow and built on fine produce, honed technique and a nimbleness that makes them operators to keep an eye on. In just half a year, they’ve proven they’re attuned to how diners are thinking, upping their cover count with an $80 set menu, a happy hour and weekend DJs.

The couple pretty much did this by themselves, by the way, from tiling and painting to welding the grills. And with no prior wine experience, Van obtained Court of Master Sommeliers certification to assemble the formidable drinks list, where Georgian amber wines rub elbows with sake and Saison tinnies. Like everything about the place, it brims with self-belief.

Firepop
137 Enmore Rd, Enmore NSW
Price Guide
$
Bookings
Recommended
Opening Hours
Lunch Sat, Dinner Tue-Sat

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