Review: Tetsuya's

529 Kent Street
Sydney

9267 2900
info@tetsuyas.com

Lunch:  
Saturday from 12 noon
Dinner: 
Tuesday - Friday 
from 6pm
Saturday from 6:30pm


Celebrating 12 years together has to call for somewhere a bit special.  Ahhhh.. Tetsuya's. 
Long have I viewed it as an unattainable destination. Squeak's food idiosyncrasies have simply made it so - especially the seafood ones. However to the credit of most of Sydney's amazing restaurants who have modified degustation menus to cater for such quirks, as well as Squeak's more adventurous food spirit - we have finally eaten our way across Sydney and straight to the door of... Tetsuya's.

I will admit to feeling a little worried that we may feel let down. The downgrading of their status in the GFG from 3 to 2 hats a few years ago has made me wonder if we will feel just a little underwhelmed by the famed restaurant. As we navigate our way through CBD traffic and roadworks we enter the oasis that is Tetsuya's. From the first greeting at the entry we feel like we are in safe hands. The greeting is warm with no hint of pretension whatsoever, and the room we are led to is elegant and looks out onto the peaceful Japanese style garden.

Review: The Bar at the End of the Wharf

Pier 4

Hickson Rd

Walsh Bay

Monday to Friday
Coffee and cake 10am - 3pm                        
Lunch 12pm - 3pm
Bar menu 5pm - late 

Saturdays
Lunch 12pm - 3pm
Bar menu 5pm - late 

So tonight as part of our STC subscription we are off to see 'The Splinter', so rather than dine at our usual spot Cafe Sopra, we decide to give the relatively newly opened 'Bar at the End of the Wharf' a go.

'The Bar' fills the space formerly occupied by The Wharf restaurant and after the very lengthy walk down the pier, we are happy to settle into our seats and admire the best view of the harbour, Sydney has to offer.

Review : Glass Brasserie

Glass Brasserie
Level 2,
488 George Street,
Sydney

Tel: (02) 9265-6068


Mon-Sun 6pm - late


So after our fabulous breakfast at Glass Brasserie, we decide to return for dinner and then a night at the Hilton
We have been needing a little time out - what with our current rental being up for sale and the endless open homes. Yep, time for a little relaxation.


We arrive at the Hilton and settle into our room at around 3.30pm. It is a cold, wet, miserable Sydney day and the first thing we notice is how cold our room is.   
A quick check of the air-con tells us the room should be a pleasant 22 degrees - not so, the room is freezing. 
We try to up the ante on the air-con, but it seems stuck at 22 degrees - a quick call to reception is no help, they offer blankets - come on this is the Hilton - we don't want blankets!  So we shiver for the next hour or so. 
Another call to reception results in an engineer coming to our room - he can't seem to sort out the problem either.
We head down to dinner hoping the air-con situation will be sorted by the time we return.

Review : Hilton Breakfast (Glass Brasserie)

Hilton Sydney
Glass Brasserie
Level 2,
488 George Street,
Sydney

Tel: (02) 9265-6068

monday - friday 6am - 10am

saturday - sunday 7am - 11am


As anyone familiar with our blog knows, breakfast is one of our favourite meals. So when Lorna O'Neill (many thanks Lorna!), from Hilton Sydney invited us to sample Executive Chef Carl Middleton's new breakfast menu - well, it was hard for us to say no.
Carl's resume is very impressive. Coming to the Hilton fresh from his stint as Group Executive Chef, Lilianfels Spa & Resort, he headed the kitchen at Darley's where he achieved a Good Food Guide Chef's Hat back in 2011.
Middleton's new role at Hilton Sydney, also sees him taking responsibility for hotel dining, Zeta Bar, Marble Bar, Caffe Cino, in-room dining and events.

Prior to Lilianfels, Middleton served as Executive Chef at the Four Seasons in Sydney where he oversaw all hotel dining as well as the hotel’s restaurant, Kable’s. Middleton has also worked as Senior Sous Chef at Quay.

Review : Mad Cow - CLOSED

Level 1, Ivy 330 George Street
Sydney

02 9240 3000

Lunch Mon-Fri 12-3pm
Dinner Mon- Sat 6-10.30pm


Ever since visiting Mad Cow for the American Diner Degustation and really enjoying the quality of the food and flavours, we have been very keen on a return visit to sample their regular menu.

This Saturday evening finds us doing just that, heading to Mad Cow for what we are sure is going to be a night of great eating.

We arrive at 7pm just as the restaurant is starting to fill. We once again manage to score one of the roomy booths (love it when restaurants think about customer comfort over squeezing in as many people as possible), and immediately check out the cocktail list.

Review : Cara&Co Restaurant

Shop 4001 Level 4

Westfield Sydney
188 Pitt Street
Sydney
+61 2 9226 9988
restaurant-syd@caraandco.com


Cara&Co restaurant has been on the Buggles and Squeak radar for a while now, so when our planned Australia Day lunch to Spice Temple did not eventuate, we figured this was as good a time as any to pop in to Cara&Co for a visit.



Upon entering the Cara&Co Concept Store we are immediately dazzled by its beauty & the amazing array of clothes, handbags, sunglasses (theo etc) and niche fragrances (think M.Micallef, G.Nejman).

Cara&Co aim to cater for all the senses, so as we make our way to the restaurant we certainly hope our sense of ‘taste’ will be well and truly engaged.
The restaurant flows on beautifully from the store, it is both warm & inviting and sleek & modern all at the same time. The tables are well spaced & generous.

Review : Etch (CLOSED)

62 Bridge Street,
Sydney 2000 
9247 4777

info@etchdining.com

Monday to Friday 12pm - 3pm, 5pm - late

Saturday 5pm - late

It is holiday time again and there is no better way to spend a dreary, rainy, midweek day than leisurely lunching!

We last visited Etch not long after it had opened & even though we really enjoyed our meal, for some reason we have never made it back.

After an appointment in the CBD & with food on our minds, we decide to head to Etch to see what's cooking.

The restaurant is as cosy and inviting as we remember and we are really looking forward to the meal ahead.

Review: Baroque

88 George Street (cnr Hickson Rd)
The Rocks, Sydney

Mon-Sat: Midday - late
Sun: Midday - 4:30pm


I love a macaron. Who doesn't? Squeak loves French fare. Who doesn't? It seems only natural that we should find oursleves lunching at Baroque Bistro one fair Saturday. We have been desirous of dining here for some time, but just hadn't quite got around to it, but finally we bit the bullet, and before we know it are seated in the open, busy and industrial inspired space that is Baroque with glasses of Prosecco in hand.

Review : Acqua Pazza Ristorante - CLOSED

1 Bent Street Sydney 2000

02 92470851
info@acquapazza.com.au

Open Weekdays 12pm-3pm, 6pm-11pm;
Sat 6pm-11pm

We don't tend to eat out in the CBD during the week....don't know why, but we tend to restrict our midweekers to Surry Hills or the Inner West.
That said, we have been very keen to try Mario Percuoco's (not so new) restaurant Acqua Pazza for a while now.

We arrive at around 6.30pm & locate the restaurant (which is part of the Winter Garden complex) easy enough.

The room is spacious, not too dark (which we love), with large tables & comfy chairs. It is a very inviting space.

We kick things off with a glass of Prosecco each while looking over the menu.

Review : Bilson's.....The Revisit - CLOSED

Bilson's Restaurant

Radisson Plaza Hotel Sydney
27 O'Connell Street
Sydney NSW 2000


Phone:  8214 0496

Dinner Tues-Sat
6pm til late

After our recent dining experience at Bilson's, where we felt our expections were well & truly not met, we decide to try again to see if our second experience will bring those long held expectations to fruition.

This time dining on the L'Omnivore Petite menu ($145), we let all thoughts of our last visit go & start afresh.

Review : Bilson's - CLOSED

The Foyer
Radisson Plaza Hotel
27 O'Connell Street
Sydney

Dinner
Tuesday - Saturday
6pm til late

Our experience with Bilson's had started 5 weeks earlier. I noticed that their website stated "that dietary requirements are catered for with sufficient notice"; as someone who doesn't eat seafood (unless it is a ceviche or carpaccio), lamb or pork, I decided to email Bilson's to see if they could cater for my dietary requirements.
In my email I mentioned the foods that I am happy to eat...all poultry, beef, veal, venison, sweetbreads and many others...a substantial & varied amount. I also indicated the following.. "I have found in the past when this request has been made, dishes tend to be substituted with vegetarian options, which while I don't mind vegetarian, I don't want it to be the focus of the meal". 

I was assured that Bilson's "would be delighted to create a menu for you and accommodate your requirements".

The next five weeks couldn't go by soon enough. I, in particular, was very excited to see what delights Chef de Cuisine Diego Muñoz had created for me.
A few days before our reservation I emailed again to remind them of my requirements and was told "The kitchen are aware of your dietary requirements and will happily accommodate on the night".

Review: Spice Temple



The alluring 'curtain' that invites you into Spice Temple

 10 Bligh St
Sydney  NSW
(in the cavern beneath
Rockpool Bar & Grill)

Lunch
Mon - Fri  12pm - 3pm

Dinner
Mon - Sat
from 6pm

Regular readers of the Buggles and Squeak reviews will notice a relative lack of Asian restaurants in our repertoire. There are a couple of reasons for this: 1) It is generally not one of Squeak's favoured cuisines; and 2) Neither of us can use chopsticks!!! This is true, and we are completely aware of how odd this is when we always have to shame-facedly request cutlery. There are some places however where we just have to suck it up, potential embarrassment and all, and Spice Temple is one such place.

Review : Firefly Tapas and Wine Bar

Pier Seven, 17 Hickson Road

Walsh Bay, Sydney NSW 2000

Trading from 5pm Mondays
and noon till late Tues to Sat


Buggles and Squeak were venturing off to see 'Long Day's Journey into Night' (and can I say, what a very long journey it was!) on this cold winter's eve, normally our pre theatre dinner is had at Ventuno....tonight we try Firefly.

Review : Rockpool Bar & Grill

66 Hunter Street
Sydney

Lunch Monday to Friday
Dinner Monday to Saturday

Every Christmas Eve Buggles & I like to have a quiet celebratory lunch....celebrating another year of putting up with each other and managing not to kill each other. Usually this lunch is at Bistro Moncur however, after my lunch at Spice Temple (sans Buggles...and yes she is VERY jealous), I felt I needed more Neil Perry, so we decided to head to Rockpool Bar & Grill.

Review: Ventuno

21 Hickson Rd
Walsh Bay

Mon - Sun  12pm - 11.30pm

Squeak and I have been haunting the Walsh Bay area now for some years, and in that time have seen a number of restaurants open (and close). It is, no doubt, a prime spot due to the fact that it really is the hub of the Sydney Theatre Company's productions. One place that we regularly return to is Ventuno. This place is in some ways an oddity for this part of town - top location and view, stylish decor, consistently good service and some of the best pizza we've had in a long time.  Oh, and I forgot to mention.... really reasonably priced!

Review : Quay

Overseas Passenger Terminal,
The Rocks, Sydney 2000

Lunch:
Tuesday to Friday
12 noon - 2:30 pm
 
Dinner:
Monday to Sunday
6:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Cuisine: Modern Australian
Licensed

Quay is the perfect spot for that special occasion or for impressing interstate & overseas visitors.

Buggles and I are celebrating our 9 years together, so surely an indulgent dinner at Quay was in order.
We have decided that Quay is our 'anniversary' restaurant, we were there last year & again last night.

The night started well with a parking spot virtually outside the door.

On entering the restaurant we are greeted warmly & then swiftly guided to our uptairs table. To say the 280 degree view is spectacular would be an understatement, you feel as though (were it not for the glass) you can reach out & touch the water.