OzV

Reviews

Restaurants, Cafes, Fusion, Seafood, Tapas

Overall 7.2 46

2.3 Not Recommended

Food 1 Ambience 4 Service 2 Value 2

Warning: Patagonian Toothfish has changed hands and the standard of the food has plummeted severely. They used to serve good quality tapas and a reasonably good paella - but no more. The deep fried squid (once succulent and perfectly cooked) is now scrappy and overcooked. Other than being served in the traditional pan, the paella was not even recognisable as paella.

Mushy, over-cooked rice. Bullets of chicken breast, rather than chicken on the bone. Bland chorizo, that hadn't been fried off to release any flavour. Flavourless (presumably) frozen prawns. Chunks of carrot, rather than peas. And the whole thing topped off (bizarrely) with a watery fried soft-shell crab. We ate about a quarter of it, felt queasy, complained, received no hint of an apology, and left, intending never to return.

Mar 16, 2012

Tetsuya's, Sydney

Restaurants, French, Japanese, Modern Australian, Fine Dining

Overall 8.1 520

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful

6.5 Recommended

Food 7 Ambience 8 Service 8 Value 3

I first dined at Tetsuya many years ago when it was still a tiny restaurant in Rozelle. I still remember that meal, which was sublime from start to finish. By contrast, I was seriously disappointed when I returned hoping to repeat the experience this week. In a ten course meal, only three of the courses were in any way outstanding, and one of them was the confit ocean trout "signature dish" that's been on the menu forever.

Aside from those dishes the food was bland. The menu seemed to be more about texture than taste, and even there I was disappointed that everything seemed texturally similar, from the egg custard soup to the silken tofu to the braised veal.

By the end of the meal we were joking about eating gourmet baby food. Oh, for a crispy crust or some crunch along the way. At these prices (upwards of $500 for dinner for two), it's certainly not enough to entice me back again any time soon.

Nov 05, 2011

Rise Restaurant, Darlinghurst

Restaurants, Asian, Fusion, Japanese, Family Dining

Overall 8.4 153

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5 Average

Food 5 Ambience 7 Service 5 Value 3

The $68pp degustation menu we had was decidedly average, and conspicuously designed around the cheapest possible ingredients. We couldn't escape the feeling that the new management were somewhat desperately trying to increase the profit margins by cutting costs. Consider the confit chicken leg (real cost about 30 cents). Or the appetizer plate featuring agedashi tofu, a tiny pile of somen noodles with a few slices of okra, and two miniscule slivers of toothfish (an expensive fish, to be sure, but not at about 0.5g per serve).

Only the sashimi and the sushi courses featured real quality ingredients, but they were no better presented or prepared than at any number of considerably cheaper restaurants. In short, we left feeling somewhat ripped off.

May 07, 2011

Hurricane's Grill & Bar, Sydney

Restaurants, Steak House, Has Bar, Licensed, Serves Dinner

Overall 6.7 137

5.5 Average

Food 7 Ambience 6 Service 4 Value 5

Good ribs, but the service leaves a whole lot to be desired. I wish restaurants wouldn't put martinis on their drinks menu if their bar staff really don't know how to make them. I ordered a "very dry" martini stressing the very dry twice "straight up with a twist". The waitress was bemused, so I explained what it meant.

The drink that arrived must have been about 30% vermouth and had an olive. I sent it back, reminding the waitress that I'd asked for "a twist", not an olive. She returned with a marginally drier martini with a slice of lemon floating in it.

I would have thought a restaurant in a tourist district, where they must get a lot of martini-drinking Americans, would have done better. But apparently not. Sometimes going out in Sydney is a lot like taking a trip back to the 1960s.

Apr 07, 2011