Bills Darlinghurst ★ 4.5
Bill Granger's original Bills on Liverpool Street, Darlinghurst, Sydney since 1993. All-day brunch menu, weekend queues, specialty-coffee program.
Order: Ricotta hotcakes with banana and honeycomb butter.
History
Bill Granger opened the original Bills in Darlinghurst in 1993 with ricotta hotcakes on the menu. The recipe is now in 5 cookbooks, on the menu at every Bills location worldwide (Darlinghurst, Surry Hills, Bondi, Tokyo, Honolulu, Seoul, London) and is the canonical Sydney breakfast dish. Bill Granger died in late 2023; the recipe lives on through his family's continuing operation of the Bills brand.
Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy, Egg
Make it at home
Ingredients
- 260g fresh ricotta
- 180ml whole milk
- 4 large eggs, separated
- 150g plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 20g unsalted butter for cooking
- Honeycomb butter: 150g unsalted butter softened, 100g honeycomb chocolate bar finely chopped
- To serve: 2 ripe bananas sliced, maple syrup, icing sugar
Method
- Whisk the ricotta, milk and egg yolks together in a large bowl.
- Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt; whisk until smooth.
- In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks.
- Fold the egg whites into the ricotta batter in two additions, keeping as much air as possible.
- Beat the softened butter and honeycomb chocolate together until just combined. Roll into a log in baking paper and chill.
- Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat with a knob of butter.
- Drop quarter-cup spoonfuls of batter into the pan, cooking 3-4 hotcakes at a time. Cook for 90 seconds until bubbles appear on the surface, then flip and cook for another 60 seconds.
- Stack 3 hotcakes per plate. Top with sliced banana, a thick disc of honeycomb butter, a drizzle of maple syrup and a dusting of icing sugar.
- Serve immediately while the butter melts down the stack.
Tip from the editors. Fold the egg whites gently and cook the hotcakes the moment the batter is mixed; the leavening comes from trapped air, not chemical lift.
This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.
Where to eat ricotta hotcakes
Ricotta Hotcakes in Sydney
Bills Bondi ★ 4.4
Beachside Bills on Hall Street, Bondi, Sydney. Ricotta hotcakes and sweetcorn fritters two blocks from the sand; the dish Bill Granger sent global.
Order: Ricotta hotcakes with banana and honeycomb butter.
More cities are in research. Want ricotta hotcakes covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.