Thursday, December 29, 2011

Bennelong Restaurant - Sydney Opera House

This is a very special place right in the world famous Sydney Opera House looking out onto the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the boats on the Harbour. I am sure there are not too many locations as good as this around the world. Add to this a master chef in Guilluame Brahimi and you have the recipe for a great restaurant and dinning experience.

It's Friday in December and the place is rocking inside and out with people everywhere taking in the sites of Sydney and great weather to boot. We are seated not too far from the window so we have a great view of the bridge and the Harbour. We don't have a lot of time because we have to be out by 3pm as my guests have a plane to catch.

For entree I have a lobster salad with foie gras which was absolutely delightful, freshly shucked oysters and shallot vinegar, and we washed this down with a lovely savingon blanc from NZ. 


For mains we had crispy barramundi on a bed of pureed cauliflower with a Shiraz jus, Waygu steak with mushrooms and confit of shallot merlo sauce, and Blue Eyed Trevalla with summer vegetables.



Some of the guests had desert which consisted of a chocolate mouse cake, chocolate souffle with white chocolate and cherry ripple ice cream and petit fors. everything was delicious and delivered flawlessly. service was a little slow and they got one of the dishes incorrect which reduced their score.




I would always recommend this restaurant and I scored them a 8/10 for food and 6/10 for service for the reasons above.

Guillaume at Bennelong on Urbanspoon

Monday, December 26, 2011

Sea Level - Cronulla Sydney

Taking time out to dine in your own area can sometimes prove to be a good decision. So when I had some business colleagues from the UK out I decided to local and show them something other than the city.

One of the best restaurants in the Sutherland Shire has been Sea Level however I have had some poor experiences there but I thought I wold take the chance. The restaurant is located right on the beach at Cronulla and has a terrific outlook and a relaxing ambiance without being too casual. The menu of course is mainly seafood but they have some meat, duck and chicken options. The prices are quite reasonable and best of all their wines are not over priced.

There were 9 of us and many had different dishes for entree like scallops in the shell,
Vitello tonnato; thinly sliced rare veal with beans, anchovies, shaved lemon, baby capers & tuna mayonnaise, Fried zucchini flowers stuffed with four cheeses, tomato ragout & pounded basil dressing.







for mains We had Green lobster tail roasted in cafe de paris butter, creme fraiche herb potatoes, watercress & citrus salad,Baked atlantic salmon fillet with baby beets, persian fetta, quail eggs, crisp pancetta & hazelnut dressing, Char grilled fillet of beef with sweet corn puree, potato fondant, fried shiitake mushrooms & asparagus.




Overall the food was very well presented and cooked just right with excellent service being provided. The restaurant was busy but timing of the dishes was good and all in all an excellent night was had by everyone. The bill was also fair and reasonable.

This is one place you should put on your to do list during summer and have a lazy breakfast on a Sunday, a long lunch or just a romantic dinner as the sun sets over the beach. Great for people watching if you are into that and watch the world go by. I rate them a 7/10 for food and a 9/10 for service.


Sealevel Restaurant + Bar
2 The Kingsway
Cronulla NSW 2230

P. (02) 9523 8888
F. (02) 9523 9518

Trading Hours
Breakfast
Sat & Sun,
8am-10:45am

Lunch
7 days, 12:00pm


Dinner
7 days, 5:30pm