The Dip

The décor makes me think of a diner out of a Flintstones cartoon. And just like the Flintstones era, when electricity hadn’t been invented yet, this place is dark. «Dimly lit» is a nicer way of putting it, I guess. But this place is d-​a-​r-​k, even though my friends and I arrived earlyish at 7 PM for dinner.
I ordered:
— Confuse Di Mouth. I got it because I’m a sucker for cheese and this is one of the few dogs with cheese. It was really good. Though the chef forgot to put ketchup on mine so it arrived on the side, which is actually perfect because I don’t like ketchup.
We shared:
— double bean nachos
— salsa fries
— hot wings
All really good but hallelujah for the hot wings!!! I miss my chicken wings! I don’t want to go all the way to Parramatta for Hooters and I’m desperately missing my wings. Will definitely have wings again the next time I visit.
The best place to experience this place is with a group of friends, because having a hotdog on top of wings AND nachos AND fries by yourself is a little too much…
Service is pretty good. We didn’t have reservations but we were able to get a table pretty quickly. Though we table-​hopped quite a bit when other (better) tables became free. Finally ended up in a booth (which was nice because it wasn’t as dark) which we had to vacate later on because someone had reserved it.
Meals ordered at around 7 – 7:30ish came surprisingly quick, though when another friend arrived later that night her hotdog came in around 40 minutes. It was busier than, but they did apologize for the long wait.
Also when my friends and I were taking, um, group selfies, the chef (who was chillin’ nearby) offered to take our photos for us. Now that’s service! Thank you, kind sir. :P
Later that evening, they cleared some of the tables to make way for a dance floor.

I was craving a burger one night and found this little gem near my partners office. Little did I know their hotdogs were the star of the menu. I’ll have to get back to try those soon. We ordered a burger (young cheesy) and the pull pork nachos to share and were so happy with it. You know that tingly feeling you get in your mouth when you bite into a good burger? I got that. It’s like the right meat and cheese ratio is sending an electrical signal straight from tongue to brain: a very happy moment. I will say that the mood lighting at the restaurant was for midnight dance hall but don’t that that deter you. The food would be just as good in full sun.

Let’s set the scene. Diner cuisine is hot and you want to take your lady out to a new place that promises dim lighting and hosts a menu with all the right condiments. You show up with time to spare, and order an over-​priced but delicious punch jug from the carefully original bar (There’s a Chevy Chase, and a Pat Cash Cooler — GI Cordial and organic vodka). The music is bangin’: funky vinyl-​era miscellania, from R&B to cheesey 80s pop. Then the table’s ready, and though technically there’s no service, the service is great — you get shown to a spot on the lethargic restaurant floor and start drinking beer and digging in to the fare: grilled sweetcorn, hot wings and celery, a bangin’ pulled pork nachos — the one clear standout.
Then it stops. A 3.5mm jack is pulled from some input or other, like a needle being raised, there’s a moment of silence, and suddenly you’re listening to something like Aphex Twin being boomed out at half-​speed from the bottom of a swimming pool, glurg glurg gluuuuuuuurg. You notice that every table around you is magically inhabitted by drunk hussies and there’s a glaze-​eyed guy standing by your seat, nodding at nothing in particular and wearing a singlet that goes down to his knees.
Even the waitress — who’s more like staff, really, this place still doesn’t offer table service — notices that the vibe is a bit off, and asks if you’d rather be re-​seated. We took up the offer and carried on with our food, which had just lost a little bit of its sweet chipotle glaze… if you understand the expression.
The Dip is a restaurant inconveniently located in the middle of a nightclub of some sort, and it shows. This is a betrayal of the kitchen, which does some genuinely good stuff — perfectly on trend with the sort of food that’s been snatching headlines in Darlinghurst and Surry Hills. What it doesn’t do so well is understand its market — it’s torn between the well-​travelled 30 year olds who have come back from a jaunt in the states with a love for Springsteen, dive bars and huge collection of hot sauces, and the 20 year olds who believe Skrillex is changing the world and all wear exactly the same nylon cap.
There was a room at the back of the place brightly labeled the ‘Danceteria,’ though when I was there it was blocked off by a trolley. You can kind of see the cogs whirring away in the mind of the guy who came up with the concept — he just apparently forgot to open the doors. Usher those kids in there with the magnetic sounds of dubstep, and I think we’d see ample segregation. Util then, The Dip represents a clashing and inglorious mix.

Touristy area? Yes
Tacky Décor? Yes
Seedy looking entrance? Absolutely
Cool atmosphere? Mmm hmmmm
Great service? YES
Good and Fun food? Of Course!
What would you expect from a hard to find gourmet burger and hot dog restaurant? This place is in a hard to find, underground, dark, dodgy looking place. I live right across the street and walked by it 1000 times before I finally stopped in. It’s a restaurant/​bar/​nightclub in the back on the weekends place.
They have gourmet hot dogs, gourmet burgers with steamed buns (mmmmmm), I’m from New York and they have REAL Buffalo Chicken Wings… just like home. Chili Fries, nice veggie sides, nachos… this is drinking food people. Which is a good thing because it’s delicious, well thought out, and the drinks are actually reasonably priced! My Coopers was about $ 6…which sounds ridiculous to say that’s reasonable, but after having lived here for about 6 months now I know that’s a deal. They have these «Jugs» that are very cool and suit many different tastes. They are around $ 25-​$ 35 each but serve 3 – 4 big glasses of mixed drink.
We wandered in on a Wednesday night and it happened to be trivia night! Quizzle Schmizzle was running it… he was dressed in a skin tight Riddler costume… which caught me a bit off guard, but it was fun. The questions were ridiculously hard, but it was still really fun. The staff are attentive, they don’t rush you to order, they explain what each thing is, and the smile… and seem to like that you’re there. That’s not easy to find in places like this. I highly recommend coming here… it would be especially fun with a bunch of mates before a night out drinking… you won’t be disappointed.
Bottom lins is that The Dip is Americana delish.

If you like kitsch, good food, and stepping back in time then The Dip @ Good God is for you. The people here really take care to put something delicious on your plate, and following them on twitter gets you the latest updates. They frequently add new types of burgers and dogs and man are they good.
Rock up to the back and order your food, take a seat and await for some good American-​ish fare in Australia. While you wait you can top off with some cocktails like the Chevy Chase, Black Sangria, and more (all are good.)
I’ve been here more times than I can count and it has never disappointed… except when they run out of certain types of food. The buffalo wings are probably the most authentic buffalo wings I’ve had in Australia (not exactly the same, but good nonetheless,) the pulled pork nachos are the bomb, all the hot dogs are pretty damn delicious (I recommend the Lev’s Dawg or Big Windy,) and the burgers are succulent.
If you want good food, chill cocktails, a funky environment and a hip crowd this is the place to go.

This place is a lot of fun. Funky white adobe-​style walls fit the tex-​mex theme for the diner that’s part of Good God Small Club. The music’s cool and loud, the lights are low and coloured, there are secluded booths for 2, 4 or 6, larger tables in a more open room, and a few random tools and benches scattered at the bars (one for drinks, the other for food).
Food on offer is nachos and burgers and hot dogs: that sort of Americana. I had the Big Windy, a tasty hot dog with delicious relish, lashings of mustard, and crunchy dill pickle. The plain chips come with some very flavourful chipotle mayo. The apple and cabbage slaw was just the right crunchy-​cool counterpoint to the spicy mouthfuls of other food.
Staff are young and fun and friendly, and very busy. We were sat close enough to see the guys in the kitchen, who waved at us, and were very apologetic when they got our order slightly wrong (quickly corrected).
I cannot say it’s a huge amount of value for money, though. I have a hard time paying $ 12 for a hot dog, no matter how many yummy condiments it’s got on it. And the chips and mayo were $ 6 but there was hardly a big pile of them.
They’ve got a theme, they’ve got an extremely cool venue, they’ve got a happy party vibe. If there was just a bit more grub on the plate, or a dollar or two less on the prices, I’d be coming here regularly.

Eaten at the Dip twice now and although I’ve been disappointed by missing the hot wings, I absolutely cannot fault what is trying to be done here. There is a real passion for what is being put on your plate, I think that this could be the start of something big.
Having a shared love for American eats, everything is fine tuned and perfected. I have tried most of everything, from the pulled pork sandwich, nachos and ‘Lev’s Dawg’ to the Chip n’ Dip and Grilled Corn. Even the Grilled Watermelon and Bacon Burger (which should be on the fixed menu, but then you could say that about every item they trial)
The only thing they could improve on is their chips, which could have been in the deep fryer a little longer, and not such generically frozen ones. That and the location, as GoodGod Bar is dank and depressing.

The food is kind of southern American, kind of random, and surprisingly delicious. This canteen that lives within Goodgod Small Club was one of the first places to start the Sydney obsession with North American eats, and they’re doing a pretty good job of it.
I came along for an after work get-​together and most of the food was pretty easy to share. We got a bit of everything — The ‘Lev’s Dawg’ hot dog with chipotle mayo, grilled yellow peppers and tomato salsa, the ‘chip n dip’ with watermelon salsa and jalapeño cream, the ‘salsa fries’ with tomato salsa and melted cheese, and the classic ‘slaw’ made of shredded apple and cabbage. The main act, however, was the generously sized pulled pork nachos; a deliciously cheesy mess full of soft meat, lime cream, beans, tomato salsa and corn chips. To finish, don’t go past the ‘ice cold guac’ dessert — finely chopped strawberry ‘salsa’ served with a sweet, rich avocado ice cream.
The ambience was a little lacking — as an underground club-​come-​diner, the surrounds are pretty dark and you’re seated inside booths with walls so high it can get a little claustrophobic. Granted we were there on a Wednesday night and it was only about 6 o’clock so it wasn’t that busy yet, so I’d advise to pop in later on in the week and in the night to ensure the place is already pumping.