Est.
Location: Establishment, Level 1, 252 George Street, Sydney
Cuisine: Modern Australian Fine Dining
$$$ per person spent inc drinks: $55 (normally $100+)
Ah it’s Est, darling; A Sydney icon, ooo la la. Right? We had the
highest of high expectations for this well-known, popular THREE hatted
restaurant. The food and wine festival presented a fabulous opportunity to try
a 1, 2, or 3 course set menu at a very reasonable price, and we decided to hop
on board to see what all the fuss was about. Stepping through the door after a
painful wait at the lift to get to Level 1, we were not disappointed by the
elegant restaurant before us. Est. stays true to the name – Establishment. One
feels established just being there. *winks* Want to impress? Here’s the place
for impressing. But if you’re a foodie… well this is why we’re reviewing… read
on fouchbags.
AMBIENCE
Dels says ‘Dining here made me feel like I was in a friends
dining room, being waited on. Nice comfy chairs and homey furnishings.’
DKay says ‘Nice, warm, comfortable ambience. Very pleasant
and lovely but not a wow setting. (Doors open strictly at 6pm via lift. If you
try to get there any earlier, you just ride the lift – doesn’t allow you to get
off on nor is there a sign stating this. Met some nice ppl on my lift ride)’
Kaan says ‘Est. has been around for a long
time and I must say the décor was still spot on! I thought the décor would be
bit out-dated but the main dining area of the restaurant definitely stated that
this is a chef hatted establishment J! The décor had modern influences
but at the same time made sure the historical characteristics of the building
were the main highlights of the ambience. The only thing I noticed that the
restrooms do really need to be renovated. They are really starting to look like
the old Tank nightclubs toilets!’
Bron says ‘My first impression was the lift, which was old
and slow so not on a to a good start BUT, I loved the spacious restaurant, the
elegant furnishings, and my eyes were immediately on their wide variety of
wines – extensive! I was impressed’
FOOOODDDDD
We ordered:
Italian buffalo mozzarella,
heirloom tomatoes, terragon, sumac vinaigrette
Dels says ‘Sadly this dish was nothing special. It was
satisfactory in taste but I expected more from Est.’
Grilled scallops, shaved
fennel, succinic flower, truffle, rocket – dandelion pistou
DKay says ‘A lovely dish. Can’t really fault it. Flavours
came together nicely.’
Kaan says ‘This was a very nice dish. The
scallops were perfectly caramelised but not overcooked. The presentation was
10/10! I honestly think the presentation made this dish worthy of a 3 hatted
restaurant. The only minor let down would be the size of the scallops, if they
were tad bit bigger in size this dish would be the perfect way to start your
dining experience @ the famous Est’
Bron says ‘Really lovely dish, well presented. Went down
well with a glass of bubbles J, but honestly, if I had to pay
the regular price of $45 for this dish, I would have been disappointed’
Pan roasted mulloway fillet, green peas, baby radish, young
turnips, chervil, bonito flakes
Dels says ‘Delicate flavours in this dish. Nice light flavoured
Mulloway with small pasta. Baby radishes were tasty as were the bonito flakes.
Overall very light
Kaan says ‘The selection of fish was very
nice but I don’t think it was the highlight of the dish. Yet again it was the
presentation that was a winner for me and those interesting bonito flakes that
I think made the dish. Overall it was a very nice dish but I might try to have
the beef next time. I kind of did end up having food envy!’
Fillet of beef, edamame,
cucumber, miso-wasabi butter
DKay says ‘That miso-wasabi butter was soooooo good. I could
throw that on anything! My beef was a little overcooked (I asked for medium
rare) which was disappointing. Something I’d expect from a restaurant of this
calibre to get right. Otherwise it was a good dish.’
Bron says ‘This was absolutely delicious!!! The meat was
cooked well, not perfectly like I would have expected, but it was good. The
highlight was the miso-wasabi butter – amazing!! Just melted on the steak… Oh I
could go back for this again and again’
VINNOOOOOOOOO
Kaan,
Bron, Dels ordered the following wine:
2012 villa maria cellar selection sauvignon
blanc – Marlborough, NZ
Dels says ‘Cant go wrong with Marlborough Sav Blanc’
Kaan says ‘Well what can I say I didn’t
expect anything less than great from Est.! The sauv vino was a perfect pairing
with the those yummy scallops.’
Bron says ‘Nothing special, but a nice Sav Blanc
nonetheless’
OVERALL TEAM
VIEWSSSS
Dels says ‘From my one visit, I feel I was let down by Est.
The dishes didn’t have a wow factor; however, I would give it another try.
DKay says ‘It was a good meal. Nice ambience and
comfortable. I’d like to try it again with full menu at my perusal but based on
what I ate, it was nice without being great’
Kaan says ‘Overall this place does make
you feel like you are having an exclusive experience. I personally think the
service and ambience is better than the other well established restaurants like
the ‘ARIA’. At least @ Est. you don’t feel like you have to be on your best
behaviour. I personally recommend this place for big client wine & dine
type situations. The food is very good and well-presented but not mind
blowingly good J.’
Bron says ‘I think this is the type of place where you would
come to impress or spoil yourself with some great surroundings, but based on a
foodie experience, this disappointed me quite a bit. I was expecting 3 hats,
and what I got was my local restaurant’s degustation… it was good, but not
exceptional and I think if you go to an establishment like Est. *wink*, you
would expect exceptional wouldn’t’ you? Perhaps I am hard to please’
KAAN WILL SHELVE (i.e. not very good)
1I don’t think there
was anything worthy of shelving @ Est.
If I had to shelve something it would have to be the restrooms and the lifts!
They really need better working lifts.
If I had to shelve something it would have to be the restrooms and the lifts!
They really need better working lifts.
AND THE March into Merivale Award GOES TO:
Dels says ‘The complimentary bread and butter
DKay says ‘Miso-wasabi butter.’
Kaan says ‘The décor and the ambience for
me and in general the presentation of their dishes!’
Bron says ‘The miso-wasabi butter on that beef! Dear God, if
it was available at a store to buy, I would stock up for a year! Absolutely
devine!’
Team meets soon…
Hint : After G.
Date we
visited Est. 27/03/2013
