There are many, many fantastic restaurants in Sydney but the absolute highlight of our August visit was dining at Peter Gilmore’s Quay. This is the very same restaurant that was voted number 27 on the San Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants list (2010) as well as being named Best Restaurant in Australasia.
Located at the Overseas Passenger Terminal in Circular Quay, the restaurant offers views that simply cannot be beaten…big tick for location. We booked four months in advance (just after the awards were announced) and had uninhibited views of the Opera House on one side and the Harbour Bridge on the other, which are both magnificent all lit up at night.
Quay offers either a four-course table d’hôte or eight-course degustation menu. Jim and I opted for the four-course dinner, which had several appetising choices for each course. We also requested that the sommelier choose a glass of wine to accompany each of our courses. Definitely not the most cost effective way to order wine, but totally worth it for what sipping the right wine adds to the overall dining experience.
I chose food that was, for me, quintessential winter fare:
- Salad of pink turnips and breakfast radishes, pickled beetroot, goats curd, blood sorrel, olive, pine resin, balsamico
Wine: 2009 Foster e Rocco Sangiovese - Butter poached partridge breast, chestnuts, truffle, bitter chocolate black pudding, milk skin, walnuts
Wine: 2007 Principia Pinot Noir - Poached milk fed Riverina veal, young spinach, kabu turnips, Tasmanian wasabi, morels
Wine: 2007 Domaine Saint-François-Xavier G.S.M. - Eight texture chocolate cake featuring Amedei Chocolate
Wine: Mas Amiel ‘Prestige’ 15 Ans D’Age Maury
This meal was nothing short of amazing! Every mouthful better than the last and the sommelier’s selections were perfect.
For me, the stand-out course was the partridge. I’m not afraid to eat game meat but I’d never tried partridge before and this was definitely the place to do so. The breasts were perfectly pink and melted in my mouth. And the subtle gamey flavour of the bird was beautifully complemented by the chestnut puree—is there anything that captures the spirit of winter more than chestnuts?—which was rich, nutty and creamy. Mmmmm, heaven on a plate!
We loved eating at Quay so much that we hope to make it an annual affair…and definitely an affair to remember.