Author: bleekong

Bentley Restaurant + Bar – Sydney City – Tuesday 6 June 2023 – Dinner
by

Bentley Restaurant + Bar – Sydney City – Tuesday 6 June 2023 – Dinner

It doesn’t matter how much I love an experience at an expensive restaurant, the chances of me going back are slim because of my propensity to try something new. As I approach Bentley Restaurant + Bar, the question is have I ever really been here?

In a different building, in a different suburb, with a distinctly different feel, the past decade (and a bit) since I have been here must have some stories behind it. Some aspects are similar with a seven course menu offered, and the same team behind the food and wine leadership. It goes to show how important the brains behind a restaurant are, and the ability to change and adapt to a restaurant scene that is incredibly demanding.

I didn’t see Sydney during the pandemic; it was hard enough to leave my postcode in Melbourne! As Vivid Sydney goes on in the background, there is no obvious impact of the pandemic in the numbers moving around the CBD, or in this dark, restrained, dining room.

Dining alone, and not being a huge eater, I decide on the three course menu (plus snacks, and petit four for good measure) at $150. For me, the amount of food is more than enough, and the variety is superb. But let’s start with the wine given the long time celebrity of Nick Hildebrandt’s wine lists.

Exceeding my lofty expectations, I drank extremely well tonight, and took home some extra knowledge too. In particular my extra learnings about the Savoie region of south eastern France, with its tiny plots, and particular love of wines made from the Altesse / Roussette white grape. The 2020 Maison Bonnard ‘De Montagnieu’ Roussette is stunning, and from my searches since is clearly a wine that is difficult (not impossible) to put on a list (or find for home!)

Not to be completely outdone, the 2015 Keith Tullock ‘Museum Release’ Semillon, grabs me on the list of white wines by the glass. Aged Hunter Semillon is a thing for a reason, and I think should be an option at more bars and restaurants. Later with my pork neck, the 2022 Murdoch Hill ‘Vis-A-Vis’ Cabernet Franc from the Adelaide Hills is a wonderful demonstration of a varietal that too often is smothered by Cab Sauv. As another option, a Dolcetto d’Alba was also provided to taste, which was a nice touch.

Speaking of the pork neck, it comes from Bangalow, served very generously with an unusual Chinese lettuce called “celtuce” with a macadamia puree. The pork neck is strong and rich, cooked delicately. I find myself going for some of the celtuce with each bite to temper the indulgent neck, and the macadamia allows some complimentary softness.

Earlier I’d started with snacks that were mainly superb. In particular the tender kangaroo striploin could be served at the end of a banquet and you’d still want more, and more. The tiger prawn, finger lime, and grilled hispi (cabbage), combination is also delightful. On the flipside, I didn’t appreciate the pearl meat, which may be an acquired taste. It was definitely enhanced by the charred grape underneath, but it was the lowlight of my entire meal.

In between the snacks and pork neck, coral trout is barely touched, prettily sitting in a disk with bright orange roe, and a jamon broth surrounding. Helped along by the Savoie, I enjoyed the combination of flavours, but found myself wanting for some contrasting texture towards the final bites.

Wait service, especially wine service, had been great through the evening. The dining room is full, but nicely spaced, and there are diverse groups, including some young adults with their parents (lucky things!) There is nothing awkward about dining alone, and gladly the staff do not try to compensate by spending more time at my table than others.

For dessert I am served the liquorice custard. Inside is white chocolate and mandarin. Here the softness makes complete sense; the sweetness is balanced; and the flavours all work with each other. Even better is the cold petit four following. When has ice cream covered in chocolate ever been passe?

I’m back at Bentley after a long time and just like the last time I want to come back again. It’s when not if, but with so many offerings in the stable of Brent Savage and Nick Hildebrand the question is whether I will make it before I try Monopole, Yellow, or Cirrus, on a future trip to Sydney?

Bentley Restaurant + Bar
https://www.bentleyrestaurantgroup.com.au/bentley-restaurant-bar
27 O’Connell Street, Sydney
(02) 8214 0505
Dinner Tues – Sat; Lunch Thurs & Fri
info@thebentley.com.au

Reine & La Rue – Melbourne, City – Friday 11 August 2023 – Dinner
by

Reine & La Rue – Melbourne, City – Friday 11 August 2023 – Dinner

Much has been written already, early in the life of this Queen (Reine) & Street (La Rue) restaurant, that could perhaps become a temple of gastronomy for the Melbourne dining scene. The confidence I had in booking a Friday night weeks out from opening, was almost purely on the reputation of sister Nomad.

Having started to write about our experience at Reine (the restaurant part of this venture) what I’m left with now is a sense of longing for more. More oysters; more Savoie; more Coral Trout; more eye fillet; and more of everything.

We had three courses of food that was supposed to be four. The oysters and hors d’oeuvres are very enticing, and also very expensive. Catherine thought her roasted scallop with black truffle was quite simply astounding. I tried two oysters from Pambula, and I haven’t had oysters that fresh and beautiful since we were in New York at Brooklyn’s Gage & Tollner. Somehow I can say that the elevated price tag ($8 an oyster is about as high as it gets) is actually worth it. I really couldn’t work out which snack I felt like, and even though the confit rabbit sounds fantastic, going with the anchovy pissaladière was excellent. This is a take on a Niçoise pizza.

During the second course was the moment where we realised that service really does need some time to settle. In such a large restaurant, it often is a roll of the dice as to how good your service is going to be, and sometimes one experience is not representative. In our case we had someone who is reasonably competent, but clearly under the pump. She was friendly too, but just not up to the standard showing through in the food and the venue. Besides being very clear about wanting to space out the dishes, we also saw some growing pains in getting glasses of wine, but one of the sommerliers was extremely attentive and helpful.

We had asked for the coral trout as a separate course to share between the entrees and main, but realised all too late that it would end up coming with our eye fillet steak, pomme frites, and beautifully dressed leafy house salad. It didn’t make a massive difference, but we did feel like it on its own. In any case, it was sensationally cooked, taken off the heat at the perfect time, with a beautiful, deeply rich, lobster beurre blanc, and juicy mussels to complete.

The eye fillet steak was superbly treated as well. Whilst it is not necessarily a steak lovers cut, it was beautifully tender, cooked to order as medium rare, with the right amount of seasoning, a beautiful béarnaise, and tremendous Dijon mustard to accompany. For Catherine and I, it is the right amount, but for others you would need to invest in a heftier option.

By this stage we knew the kitchen was operating at a high level already, very early into the life of this restaurant. There is something about doing classic food extremely well, and this is the place to try that very food. With multiple experiences at Nomad, we are big fans of Jacqui Challinor, who cemented our respect with her fund raising efforts at a Starlight Ball, where she and her team managed to pull off the olive oil ice cream sandwich in spectacular fashion to hundreds of diners for the dessert course.

Wine service here is exquisite with a tremendous list by the glass. It is my kind of list. It’s not purely experimental and on the edge as such, but it does have wines that you cannot easily get, especially the ones we tried. The ‘Marestel’ Altesse from Savoie producer Dupasquier is joyful. This 2017 white wine has such gorgeous texture and weight on the palate, with elegance that has you reaching for another mouthful as you finish your current one.

The Malbec, and the Cabernet Franc, straight varietals, were so good! The former, made in Cahor by Chateau du Cedre, is according to our waitperson the best area in the old world for Malbec. The latter by Philippe Alliet in Chinon is also an example of a part of the Loire that specialises in this varietal. Starting off with a glass of champagne is always a treat, and the Ruinart is one of three to enjoy. We had drunk French all evening and there is nothing wrong with that!

When we got to desert, we had some difficult choices to make. Catherine ended up going against the signature soft serve, and tried the ruby grapefruit which she was very happy with. I had a tough decision to make as well foregoing the chocolate espresso tart. Instead, I had the caramelised apple. It was served in a manner I didn’t expect, a little bit of a deconstructed tarte tatin, but still with the perfectly crisp pastry on the bottom, and surrounded by indulgent caramel. The buttermilk ice cream was needed to contrast the sweetness, but this is a nice dessert, and a meal of its own.

The venue is magnificent. This is a dining room fit for any truly great dining city. Melbourne has some superb restaurants across the spectrum, and this is a compliment to the offering. Reine feels like it has belonged in Melbourne for a very long time and I really hope it is here to stay. There will need to be a tremendous amount of dedication, and the building blocks laid by the owners and senior staff make it realistic to expect it will continue.

Reine & La Rue
https://reineandlarue.melbourne/
380 Collins Street Melbourne
Tues – Sat lunch and dinner
+61 2 9280 3395
reservations@rlr.melbourne