Tetsuya's - The Restaurant

Today marked the end to a long awaited dining experience at Tetsuya's. I made this booking 4 months ago and the earliest booking back then was for lunch in February; if we wanted to go there for dinner, the earliest booking back then was July! So I guess you would understand why I was so excited about this day. We finally made it to Tetsuya's :)

Tetsuya's is renowned for its 10 course degustation menu. The food was brilliant. The whole experience was worth every penny. Expect to pay a minimum of $195 per head (drinks not included) but the hefty price does not just go towards the fresh ingredients that were used but it also goes towards the creativity and the preparation work that go into making every one of the dishes. Last year, the restaurant was awarded the highest rating (Three Chef's Hats) in Australia and was also named Restaurant of the Year. It received many other awards and accolades, one of which ranked it as the 5th top restaurant in the world in 2007.

The restaurant is situated in the city on 529 Kent Street, in between Bathurst and Liverpool Street. It has a big gated entrance. The big gate is sensored and will automatically open when you approach. Stepping through the entrance, you are greeted by one waiter outside the door. When you step inside, you will be greeted by 4 other waiters. One of them will show you to your table. We were seated in one of the rooms with a big wine cellar and facing a Japanese pond. This particular dining room could and did fill around 12 tables of 2, 1 table of 6 and 1 table of 4. The tablecloths and plates are in white, and there is an big artistic ornament placed in the middle of the room. The service is attentive. After the waiter lays your dish down on the table, they will begin to tell you the name of the dish. Your plates will be cleared promptly when you are finished and glasses will always be filled with your choice of drinks. The dishes are perfectly timed so you will never feel like you're being rushed or you are waiting too long for the next dish to arrive.

The first thing they serve us was a choice between 2 types of warm toasted bread - white roll or brown organic sourdough. My husband and I both chose the sourdough. The bread was warm, freshly baked and crusty. It was perfect. Served with this was the most delicious black truffle salsa butter. I usually don't smother alot of butter on my rolls but this time..this time was different. The butter had the most luscious mushroom taste to it.

Warm Crusty Organic Sourdough Roll with Black Truffle Salsa Butter

Here are the courses, as they were served.

Cold Corn Soup with Saffron & Vanilla Ice Cream

Smoked Ocean Trout & Avruga Caviar

Leek & Crab Custard

Sashimi of Big Eye Tuna with Wasabi & Eschallot

Confit of Petuna Tasmanian Ocean Trout with Konbu, Daikon & Fennel
Seasonal Green Salad
(Tetsuya's Signature Dish)

Ravioli of Queensland Spanner Crab with Tomato & Basil Vinaigrette

Fillet of Barramundi with Braised Baby Fennel

Twice Cooked De-Boned Spatchcock with Olive & Caper Jus

Seared Fillet of Veal with Wasabi Butter

Comte with Lentils

Marinated Peach with Vodka & Peach Sorbet
Summer Pudding
(accompanied by Mini Lemon Madelines & Unseeded Grape Skewers)

Banana Mousse & Caramel Ice Cream

Chocolate Terrine with Mascarpone & Cognac Anglaise

Coffee or Tea (Flat White shown here)
&
Petit Four
(Almond Shortbread, Coconut Covered Peanut Biscuit,
Chocolate Macaroon with Lemon Buttermilk filling, Green Tea Marshmallow)

We sat there for 3 hours, eating. It was of pure enjoyment. We slowly savoured each dish, analysing what was in each dish and if we could taste the ingredients that were made known to us through their names.

Our favourite courses were:
- Smoked Ocean Trout & Avruga Caviar
- Sashimi of Big Eye Tuna with Wasabi & Eschallot
- Confit of Petuna Tasmanian Ocean Trout with Konbu, Daikon & Fennel
- Twice Cooked De-Boned Spatchcock with Olive & Caper Jus
- Marinated Peach with Vodka & Peach Sorbet, and Summer Pudding

Both Ocean Trout dishes were brilliant and we both raved on about the Summer Pudding. I think I might try and make this Summer Pudding in the next week or two. It will surely not taste as good but I'll give it a go. I surprised myself for liking this pudding more than the Chocolate Terrine given that I'm a die hard chocolate fan.

The whole experience was absolutely worth it. We were actually glad that we went there for lunch instead of dinner as we had enough time to digest the food for the rest of the day :) After Tetsuya's, we worked it off by playing a round of golf. What a great day.

I said to my husband that we should go to Tetsuya's for our wedding anniversary and make this a yearly thing. If that's the case, I might have to call up and make a booking soon for this coming December!

Tetsuya's Restaurant
529 KENT STREET
SYDNEY NSW 2000
Telephone: +612 9267 2900

Lunch: Saturday from 12 noon
Dinner: Tuesday to Saturday from 6pm

Ten course degustation menu is $195 (GST inclusive) per person
Accompanying wine course is an additional $90 (GST inclusive) per person