A 6-course Chef's Degustation menu for $65 per person, available from Monday through to Thursday dinner, Friday and Saturday lunch in September only.
1. "Aburi Toro" with beetroot salad, Japonaise dressing
2. Rock Lobster with Spring veges, tomato dressing
3. Lettuce & nutmeg soup with shallot flan
4. Poisson du jour
5. Pork belly confit, pomme puree, cardamon sauce
6. Pannacotta a la Blancharu, strawberry jus
This is a degustation menu designed to be enjoyed by the entire table. Taking Chef Haru to his fine dining roots but with a relaxed bistro feel.
How: Mention Eatability when booking via T - (02) 9360 3555 F - (02) 9360 3556 E – info@blancharu.com.au
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Recommended based on 53 votes
(The Overall Rating is calculated using a Weighted Average)
Awards
2010
SMH Good Food Guide 2010 - One Chef's Hat
Overview of Blancharu
Modern, sleek restaurant located minutes away from Kings Cross station offering Haru's culinary art. Simplifying his approach to food and letting his top quality produce to hit the spot. 4 full courses of your choice is offered at $70 and BYO is only $10 per bottle. How can you go wrong?
Opted for the 7 course degustation menu, and wow, what a magnificent culinary journey it was. My highlight for the night would be the foie gras sauce chawanmushi and the black truffle prosciutto with egg. The chawanmushi is one of the best I ever tasted.
Both were considered entree, but both taste empowered my taste bud more the main dishes. Having said that, the main dishes are beautiful (thought not extraordinary), and the way the chef prepare the spatchcock, their specialty, is no childplay.
Service is impeccable, the staff is knowledgeable and attentive. There was another table on the night that has vegetarian patrons, and asked for 'custom-made' dishes. Most of what they would like to eat were not on the menu. Vegetable dish, vegetable tempura, etc
The chef obliged and specially prepared the 'odd' dish for them. That is what I call service and passion.
I have been to Blanc Haru a few times now (both before and the after the awards). I have found the food and service to be up to the status of a 1 hat restaurant. Chef Haru is a chef with impeccable taste and balance with his cooking. I have had both the degustation and a-la-carte menus and both have been excellent, if you go the degustation menu get the matching wines, it just makes it that much better.
Came here with friends to celebrate a birthday and it was rather enjoyable. We ordered dishes to share and had a main each. This was last year so the menu items are bit different. What stood out for me was the onion pizza. The pizza was simply cooked and the caramelised onions were delicious. I was, however, a bit disappointed when the caramelised onions appeared on various other dishes throughout the night.
My main was oyster risotto and I remember feeling full before the meal was finished. The oysters were good quality but the risotto rice was a bit heavy and thick, causing me to feel full quite quickly. We missed out on dessert but I would be keen to revisit and try their menu again.
My partner took me here for my birthday. The service was spot on from the start and the seven course fusion degustation was amazing. The standout for us was the french onion soup, and the jewfish was melt in your mouth as was the beef. The dessert was the only course that wasn't stellar, a fairly ordinary creme brulee (there's not much you can do with a CB) and a slightly bitter ice cream. But overall the meal was still a 8 or 8 out of 10.
We had the 3 course lunch on a Saturday afternoon. Started ok and we could look past the little things like having to ask for butter for our bread and the waiter, who was new and slow, and didn't know the menu as well, however, it started to go downhill once we found out at least 3 of the menu items were not available! Including food that was still on the street chalkboard sign.
Our Foie Gras with Dashi broth and Grilled King Crab legs with crab meat salad arrived. Foie Gras was lovely but tiny, and the King Crab was average and salad had cartilage through it. I can handle picking crab cartilage from my mouth in a chinese restaurant, but fine dining?
Our mains, what should have been Angus beef, was replaced with grass fed beef, was nice, my Pork Belly dish was not tender enough and tasted like Vietnamese Caramelised Pork, but a terrible version. My Ginger themed dessert was nice and different but the sticky date pudding was a dried out cup cake. All in all, we won't be back. I had high hopes for this place!
High expectations may have contributed to the demise of my evening at Blancharu. I was especially looking forward to trying Chef Haru's new venture and menu, especially since one of my fond culinary memories was that of tasting his sublime Papillote of Lobster with Saffron Pasta at the Iron Chef extravaganza dinner, a couple of years ago at the Galileo.
We opted for the degustation menu, which, unfortunately, did not have any matching wines. One thing that struck me odd about the dishes on offer, is that it seemed more Italian infused than French? Even reading the menu with such options as risotto and ragu, all very Italian inspired.
The dishes were all ok at best, but very unexciting. I liked the Fois Gras with Dashi broth, one dish that was truly Japanese/French and was creamy and delicious. Sadly every other dish was rather mediocre. I only went last Saturday and I am struggling to remember what I ate. A far cry from remembering his food a few years ago from the Iron chef dinner!
Also, the space is very casual and kind of boring. Plus the unisex amenities are rather appalling and dirty, big turn off! The service was ok, but again very casual and more like cafe style service then a hatted restaurant service. There was no elegance or pizzazz, more like “how you going” kind of small talk and casualness.
The value is good for what you get, $80 for a degustation is very affordable compared to most places. Also, I know Chef Haru is a passionate Chef and I do give him credit for his hard work. I did see that there were only 3 cooks in the kitchen including Haru when we dined there, and the food was coming out at a very reasonable pace, so kudos to that fact.
Maybe if things improve and if he relocates, I may be more inclined to give him another go.
Took my family for Mother's Day during lunch and had the degustation menu. Food was great! Service was great too, they prepared a Mother's Day souffle free of charge as well. It wasn't that busy and you may not suspect how the food is here if you walk past it during the day. I imagine at night, the setting wouldn't be so relaxed. For the quality of food this place offers great value.
Got dragged here by a foodie friend raving that this was the new tetsuyas. I don't think so. We were sitting under an awning, surrounded by glass that still let the rain in but lucky there was a drain on the floor. A drain?! Do things get hosed down here...? Overall a lovely Japanese menu with the odd French twist but no fireworks. I was left a little underwhelmed after these expectations. The chef does come out for a meet and greet. Felt more like a local rather than top-end noshery.
I've returned to this place so many times and it never cease to please me. Sure the menu may not be as flamboyant as it was when Haru captained Galileo but it still delivers in quality and taste.
The last time I went had the 7-course degustation a week ago. It was brilliant! Most memorable was the chawan mushi, that compelled me to praise one of my favourite joints in Sydney.
Fantastic restaurant. Went there for Mother's Day, $50 per head for 3 courses. Had the King Crab entree with beetroot, amazingly fresh. Duck and Blue Eye for Main. Duck confit was wonderful, cooked to perfection. Fish was good, although a tad bland. Creme Brulee and Coconut souffle for dessert. Creme brulee was great, although the coffee icecream was not creamy enough. Coconut souffle was ok.
The service was polite, professional and friendly. The head chef even came out of the kitchen to have a chat. A great touch was that all mothers got a freshly baked cookie with 'Happy Mothers Day' written in chocolate. Will definitely be back for the degustation menu, it's fantastic value for money. Highly recommended.