Brass Bistro & Bar

9.3 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  9      Service  9      Value  9     

Just had breakfast for Mother's Day at this new Potts Point bistro. They were totally full yet the service was attentive and friendly. I had the Moroccan eggs and my wife had the scrambled eggs with salmon, which both hit the spot. The "kids" ate the walnut fig loaf with ricotta and the banana pancakes. It was a fight to let me try them as they woofed them down!

I then found out that their chef has done many fine dining restaurants, all hatted. This shines through in the food, including the pastries we had with our coffees afterwards, made by this very friendly Italian barista. Only Italians can make coffee so perfectly. We are coming back for dinner this week.

May 13, 2012 

1.5 Not Recommended

Food  1      Ambience  3      Service  1      Value  1     

Breakfasted here once. Never again! Male waiter with ponytail had an arrogant attitude and walked away when I hadn't even finished ordering as if too busy, strangely the cafe was empty. He never came back.

Received generous amount of pancakes but roughly 1 tablespoon of maple syrup arrived in a dish and I had to ask for more as pancakes were dry. Lovely location sitting on the outside terrace but the italian stiff formal service and arrogant attitude of the staff member ruin this cafe.

May 03, 2012 

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  9      Service  8      Value  8     

My husband and I ate lunch at Brass Bistro in Potts Point with an Ouffer Voucher. The images on the deal page made each dish look delectable and beautifully crafted. I lived in Paris for two years and it has been difficult for me to find a French restaurant in Sydney with authentic French cuisine.

I’m not crazy about French food, which is almost always overwhelmed with butter and cream. However, it has been 6 months since I left Paris and I was drawn to give Brass Bistro a try.

The Ouffer was 56% off of a meal for two, consisting of a selection of several entrees, mains, and shared dessert. The offer included 2 glasses of red or white wine and a bottle of San Pellegrino. My husband had a glass of the white pinot grigio, and I had a glass of the red pinot noir. I was wearing red that afternoon and only felt it appropriate to sip a glass of red wine in a sultry red dress. The pinot noir was very light and perfect to compliment lunch.

The first major kudos that I have to applaud Brass Bistro for is that they serve a basket of fresh homemade rolls with olive oil, salt, and pepper at no additional charge. The rolls were warm and delicious, and reminded me of high quality French bread. In Paris, the servers bring bread to the table before every meal the way servers in Australia pour tap water for customers. One of the least enjoyable discrepancies between Australian and French dining experiences is that the Australians almost always charge extra for simple dinner rolls.

More often, the expensive bread is quite terrible. Even more impressive was that they have gluten free bread as well! My husband has celiac and they served him 3 slices at no extra charge.

For our entrees, we both ordered the Buffalo mozzarella with pesto, extra virgin olive oil and caramelised balsamico. The mozzarella tasted extremely fresh and the texture was perfect, whereby you could slice through each piece smoothly. The mixture of the fresh mozzarella with the mélange of savoury pesto, sweet balsamic, and oil took me back to Paris.

It was by far the best caprese-like mozzarella dish we have ever eaten in Sydney. It was so good that we were tempted to ask if we could have another round of the entrée and skip over the main!

For our mains, we ordered the Escalope of Salmon Troisgros, served on a bed of fresh sorrell and watercress. The salmon was a very large and thin filet in a bowl of buttery cream sauce and topped with sautéed greens. I could have done without all of the butter and cream. You could hardly taste the salmon because it was doused in the sauce. My husband lightheartedly commented, “Have a little salmon with your cream sauce!”

The dish would definitely appeal to a French palate and was extremely resembling of some of the salmon dishes that I had at highly rated restaurants in Paris. Personally, however, I would have enjoyed the dish more had the sauce been lighter. I couldn’t finish my entire piece of fish because the heavy cream began to overwhelm my palate.

For dessert, we shared the Brass Trifle with compote, fresh berries and cremé deglaz. Now this dessert was Unbelievable. It was served in a large glass, certainly big enough for two people to share. The trifle was multiple layers of crème anglais with a mixture of raspberry compote and a buttery sponge cake. Fresh raspberries and blueberries were mixed into the layers.

The top of the trifle was a white fluffy layer of crème anglaise, toped with fresh strawberries. These were the freshest strawberries I had tasted in quite some time.

I left the restaurant very full and satisfied. Even though I had an Ouffer voucher, the staff treated us very well and did not cheap out on any portions or make us feel inferior to other customers. The ambience was charming and romantic, yet casual and chic.

I would definitely recommend Brass Bistro to anyone who has an appreciation for French style food.

Apr 29, 2012 

8.8 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  9      Service  8      Value  9     

Had a great evening for 10 for a friends birthday. Fantastic new spot. Recommend withhout hesitation. Surprisingly for Macleay Street, we all found parking spots readily and nearby, especially being a very wet evening I happened to be greeted by owner Chef, Darren Taylor, warm and very personable.

Loved the ambience and decor, perfect lighting easy on the eye, simple, brassy!, moderne and comfortable. Love a banquette. The chairs were perfect seating. The complimentary and plentiful seeded bread rolls (not often seen anymore) were delish and perfectly fresh accompanied by butter and Murray salt, pepper.

Notably, and with a full house, the meals came out with great speed! I opted for the Minute Steak Borderlaise cooked to rare/medium perfection, hitting the spot. I will return to have it again. The table shared numerous Sides and must rave about the Mashed Potato and Parnship.

We shared many Desserts. Do not miss the sensational Hot Apple Galette and Muscat I/Cream and fab and not sickly over the top, Brass Chocolate Tart. The coffee was perfection, Single Origin Roast, the Wine List extensive.

I am glad they are open all day and look forward to also returning for brekkie and lunch! Try it, you will not be sorry.

The staff were attentive and helpful, with all glasses continually refilled.
The place was buzzing and fully booked . Just goes to show after only two months open. Great air con for a hot steamy night! We opted for mains and desserts, wine.

Mar 02, 2012 

3.8 Below Average

Food  3      Ambience  3      Service  5      Value  4     

In short, an average and typically pretentious Potts Point eatery. Incredibly overrated by Terry Durack, Brass offers fairly ordinary bistro food enveloped by painfully noisy ambience. I ate there on a Friday evening and no one at my table wanted to repeat the experience. There are frankly too many tables in this place, adding to the unnerving claustrophobia. In the end, it's all just pure greed, isn't it?

Feb 18, 2012 

9.3 Highly Recommended

Ambience  10      Service  8      Value  10      Drinks  8     

Ate there today, on their second day open! Great food from a great chef, and at a really good price, finally a place to get 2 hat food and pay normal bistro prices! The design is very cool, worth a look.

Dec 20, 2011 

7.7 Recommended

Ambience  9      Service  7      Value  7      Drinks  8     

Great ocean trout croquettes, deliciously light and perfectly seasoned parcels of trout packed loveliness.

Good service, though probably not great for the waiter to admit he hasn't seen any of the food. It was opening day, but you would expect a little more.

Dec 19, 2011