Tetsuya’s Restaurant is an art-filled house overlooking a Japanese garden, and owned and operated by famous chef Tetsuya Wakuda. They serve French-Asian cuisine and have won two Chefs Hats (the Australian equivalent of Michelin stars).
We dined at this $$$$ restaurant on our 5th anniversary last month and had a splendid time.
The course degustation menu was $240 per person.
We dined at this $$$$ restaurant on our 5th anniversary last month and had a splendid time.
The course degustation menu was $240 per person.
entrée
We started with the staple, bread and butter. This was a crispy seaweed infused pastry with creamy truffle butter. My god, this butter was to die for. It had such an intense truffle aroma and the butter itself was so creamy. They also served wheat bread (not featured). We had about 3 of these before we realised we shouldn’t fill up on it 😅.
The first to arrive was the pacific oysters with ginger and rice vinegar; 🦪 a staple for any fine dining experience. The oysters were freshhhh with a creamy texture. The sauce was a rollercoaster, with an overall sour ride, on top of a mildly sweet profile and kicking with an almost spicy ending, thanks to the ginger. Actually, the use of ginger was very different to other fine dining places, and as non-ginger fans, we weren’t in love but impressed by the creativity.
This was tuna with daikon and wasabi. It was a very delicate and beautiful dish. The tuna was slightly fatty, well cut. The daikon added a refreshing taste. It was delicious but there was nothing spectacular about this piece so we voted it as our least favourite out of the course.
The poached scampi with coffee vinaigrette and cannellini bean was really friggin’ good! The scampi was creamy and scrumptious. If you’ve had scampi before, you’ll know how yummy its flesh is. The use of cannelloni bean was very creative, bringing out this earthy profile to the dish. It made us both go mmmm on first taste but sadly, the portion was too tiny to satisfy our gluttony. We wish we could have ordered another one of these.
main course
The most Instagrammable dish of Sydney, the famous confit of ocean trout with a salad of apple and witlof. The presentation of this dish was so delicate and spot on 😍. It looked exactly like what we had seen on our social media, misleading us to think it was a cut of salmon.
The ocean trout had a distinct flavour profile. It was creamy, fresh AF and florally sweet. It’s so hard to describe how perfect the taste was but trust us, book a reservation and try for yourself! 😋
The crumb layer created juxtaposing textures that really brought the wow to this dish. The fish roe added pops of salty freshness and the witlof brought an earthy element to the dish. We absolutely loved it! It was definitely my favourite dish of the night.
The ocean trout had a distinct flavour profile. It was creamy, fresh AF and florally sweet. It’s so hard to describe how perfect the taste was but trust us, book a reservation and try for yourself! 😋
The crumb layer created juxtaposing textures that really brought the wow to this dish. The fish roe added pops of salty freshness and the witlof brought an earthy element to the dish. We absolutely loved it! It was definitely my favourite dish of the night.
This was the Queensland Murray cod with confit fennel and young garlic. The fish was bouncy in texture, fresh and cut away easily with our forks. The seared skin really helped locked in those juicy flavours 🐟.
It was a mildly savoury dish with that delicious charred taste. The garlic added a mellowed sweetened taste. I enjoyed this dish because I’m a sucker for seafood but it didn’t stand a chance after arriving after the famed ocean trout.
It was a mildly savoury dish with that delicious charred taste. The garlic added a mellowed sweetened taste. I enjoyed this dish because I’m a sucker for seafood but it didn’t stand a chance after arriving after the famed ocean trout.
This little thing was the pearl meat with chicken wing and pickled shiitake mushroom and it was really friggin’ good! 🍗 YUM!! It was intensely savoury and full of flavour. The meat was tender and juicy and scrumptious. It was such a compact bite. The only downside was the serving of this piece. We wanted more!!! Mick still talks about this chicken wing dish whenever he reminisces about Tetsuya’s. This was definitely his No.1 favourite for the night.
Our last main was the salt bush lamb rack with watercress and charred leek. The lamb was a thick cut, oozing with juices and tender to our utensils. A slice of it literally melted in our mouths. The watercress on charred leek was such a refreshing element to pair with the lamb.
It was a combination of a delicious caramelized sweetness (from the leek) and a slightly peppery taste (from the watercress). We also loved the little cracker pillow with coriander; it tasted like a simple crisp, contrasting the watery elements. As a whole, this was such a filling and beautiful dish. A++
It was a combination of a delicious caramelized sweetness (from the leek) and a slightly peppery taste (from the watercress). We also loved the little cracker pillow with coriander; it tasted like a simple crisp, contrasting the watery elements. As a whole, this was such a filling and beautiful dish. A++
dessert
For desserts, we had blood orange and beetroot. This was such a bold and experimental dish. The blood orange definitely overwhelmed the tastebuds in this one, with its intense orange flavour with that bitter ending. The beetroot balls were refreshing but were washed out in flavour compared to the blood orange ice cream. We enjoyed the dish but we were not wowed by it.
This was chocolate stone with honey and milk. There was a lot more going on in this presentation. It was so beautiful, we did not want to eat it, aaah! 🤭. The honey was infused in the little crumbs underneath the milk ice cream. It was crunchy and really delicious. The chocolate stone was very delicate and fun to eat. The “stone” was very soft and creamy. This was our favourite dessert out of the two.
This dish was the petite fours, just an assortment of macarons and tarts. The tart with cream was well balanced. The macaron was not overtly sweet. The chocolate ball was rich and decadent. We enjoyed a nice cappuccino with these sweets.
service
The service was spot on!
From the moment we entered to leaving with valet parking, we were being greeted and served. It was honestly top-notch.
The front of house actually saw us taking photos awkwardly in the hallway as we were leaving, so he said “let me show you a better background” and led us through these private dining spaces to the kitchen!! This was our second time seeing the inside of a well-organised kitchen 😍 (first was at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay LINK).
We got to meet chef Josh Raine (on the right), who is the executive chef at Tetsuya’s. Thank you culinary gods for this opportunity!!!
From the moment we entered to leaving with valet parking, we were being greeted and served. It was honestly top-notch.
The front of house actually saw us taking photos awkwardly in the hallway as we were leaving, so he said “let me show you a better background” and led us through these private dining spaces to the kitchen!! This was our second time seeing the inside of a well-organised kitchen 😍 (first was at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay LINK).
We got to meet chef Josh Raine (on the right), who is the executive chef at Tetsuya’s. Thank you culinary gods for this opportunity!!!
review
For the restaurant, the ambience was soothing. There was a beautiful zen garden with bonsai plants, a bridge and a pond with koi fish swimming. The atmosphere was tranquil. You could hear the faint mutter of other conversations and the dings of cutlery touching plates. So classy.
To Tetsuya, Josh and the rest of the staff, thank you for the dining experience. It was beautiful and we can’t wait to come back 😍.
And thanks for reading! Happy eating!
To Tetsuya, Josh and the rest of the staff, thank you for the dining experience. It was beautiful and we can’t wait to come back 😍.
And thanks for reading! Happy eating!
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