I had a lunch reservation at Quay, arguably Australia's best restaurant, the day after eating at sushi e. Dinner reservations for Quay are pretty hard to make, as the restaurant is booked out months in advance. However, lunch reservations are far easier. I booked about a week ago when I was in Wellington. (Then again, maybe I just got lucky.) The food at lunch and dinner are apparently very similar, so I didn't mind that I was going for lunch and not dinner. Both lunch and dinner serve the same tasting menu option, which is great for those who can only make lunch but want to try out the best the restaurant has to offer. (Also, the lighting's better at lunch!) I ended up being seated at a table facing the Sydney Opera House, which was pretty awesome. The building is pretty majestic. It's one of those things that looks awesome in pictures but ends up being even more amazing in person, even though you've seen it in pictures and on TV several dozen times already! Food: Amuse-bouche: Shaved black truffle, potato, and hot oxtail soup. 1. Salad of albino and Chioggia beetroots, preserved wild cherries, goat's curd, scorched beet leaves, sourdough bread soaked in pomegranate molasses, and violets. 2. Brined raw and smoked Australian Wagyu from Blackmore (near Queensland), fresh John Dory roe, horseradish juice, soured cream, and milk skin. 3. Red claw yabbies (crayfish in Eastern Australia), garlic-scented custard, yabby velvet, and yabby consommé. 4. Thinly-sliced green lipped abalone, ginger milk curd, rare greens, and "earth and sea" consommé (seaweed, anchovies, mushrooms, chestnuts, and other ingredients). Bread: Mixed-grain bread with black sesame seed. 5. Roasted goose, forbidden rice (black rice), black miso, and hatsuka radish. 6. Smoked confit of pig cheek, shiitake mushroom, shaved scallops, dried Jerusalem artichoke (sunchoke) leaves, bay, and juniper. 7. Pasture-raised veal, bitter chocolate black pudding (chocolate brioche), slow-cooked wallaby tail, salsify, smoked bone marrow, and chestnut mushrooms. 8. "Jackfruit Snow Egg" Jackfruit "fool" (jackfruit puree mixed with vanilla cream) is at the very bottom, and jackfruit granite is on top of that. The egg is composed of jackfruit ice cream (as the yolk), poached meringue (as the egg white), and blowtorch-melted maltose tuiles (as the snow). 9. Jersey cream, Pedro Ximénez grape, salted caramel, prune, and confetti of different types of pulled toffee. --- I requested a third dessert because I wanted to try another dessert that Chef Gilmore was famous for, his "eight-texture chocolate cake". 10. Quay's "Eight-Texture Chocolate Cake": 1. Chocolate mousse 2. Caramel, vanilla, and chocolate ganache 3. Chocolate and hazelnut dacquoise 4. Cake base 5. Milk chocolate praline discs 6. Chocolate caramel cream 7. Dark chocolate top disc 8. Hot chocolate sauce 9. DIABETES Quay Petits Fours Conclusion: This meal was pretty amazing. Some of the courses were average for what you'd expect from a restaurant of this caliber, but the courses that were amazing were truly spectacular. The smoked confit of pig cheek course was to die for, and each dessert was outstanding. I can see why the snow egg and eight-texture chocolate cake are the stuff of legend! I'm happy I was able to try this restaurant, and I highly suggest anybody visiting Sydney to make reservations. The restaurant's pretty amazing. Notes: If you want to see pics and my thoughts of each course, you can check out my blog in my profile! read more

It is always a challenge when reviewing a restaurant that holds itself to high esteem. Do you compare it to your favorite restaurant down the street, or your local fish and chip shop? The answer, at least for me is no. None of the food was bad; but when I'm paying over 200 AUD per person for this meal, my standards are much higher. The atmosphere was lovely, and the presentation of the dishes was good. Yes the best dish of the 4 was the snow-egg, what Quay is famous for. But the other three dishes showed surprising lack of ingenuity or just tasted awkward. There were a couple plates that I didn't feel the need to complete. It was interesting to taste, but it wasn't delicious. Far too overpriced for what you get, I would urge other yelper's to try many of the other fine dining establishments of Sydney before they try Quay. And a side note to Quay (if they actually read this), I would urge you to invest in better teas, or at least be familiar with the proper brewing methods. As the tea I received was over-brewed and bitter, and I could have received a better tea from Starbucks. read more

Was here for a wedding function on a Tuesday night. Bartender at the bar offered my partner a shiraz when she asked for a white wine. Waiter subsequently offered a choice between red and white whilst serving tables, a choice of Sauvignon blanc and Riesling. Wedding cake was served in a pile, with no cutlery being brought out until I questioned the maître d. If this is 3 hat, I would rather eat at no hats. Service has gone wayyyy down since my last visit a year and a bit ago. The food was okay, nothing to write home about, but presentation was a bit lacking in flair, even if it was a function. Deserves less hats, or maybe even to go the way of the dodo as so many have in the past few years. Better restaurants have closed. Take your money elsewhere, wedding or dinner. read more

Disappointed. It was just not as good as I imagined. Everything tasted salty. The snowy egg was alright but just not that impressed. Only the chocolate in petite four surprised me. read more

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Quay has claimed three hats from the SMH Good Food Guide Awards for 2017. I've never had the pleasure of dining at Quay however when MW's birthday recently came up, he suggested we go to Quay. MW really wanted to taste the snow egg (which was show cased on Masterchef). After looking at the Quay menu, we settle on the 4 courses for lunch for $175. One of the highlights is the Roasted local octopus, slipper lobster with pickled endives in an XO sauce. As a seafood lover, I absolutely fall in love with this dish. The octopus is perfectly cooked and is soft in texture. The XO sauce is light so you can taste the natural flavours of the octopus and lobster. I also think there is a nice portion of the lobster to enjoy. Now to the highlight of the meal which is dessert. This signature dessert has always been popular however it got even more exposure on Masterchef in 2010 however it's legendary experience lives on. The Snow egg has a centre of ice cream which is encased in a poached meringue (which has a marshmellow like texture). There is an additional crack to the snow egg which is malt biscuit that is blow torched to encase the egg. I also order another Quay signature which is their famous eight layered chocolate cake. Eight is my lucky number so I've got full confidence that this dessert is amazing. When the eight layered chocolate cake is served, the Quay staff add the final layer by pouring the chocolate into the centre of the cake. I love a bit of food theatre. read more

Quay like most restaurants of it's caliber is about the experience, not just the food. I found Quay to be an outstanding establishment and a great value. My trip to Quay was rather unprepared due to a surprise Aussie trip from NZ. As soon as I learned of Sydney being a destination I immediately thought of Quay and made online bookings. A few days later I just happened to be in Circular Quay area and popped in to see the status of my reservation. They made accommodations for my girlfriend and I at 9pm on a Friday night. I was excited with this good luck, no six month wait like the French Laundry. When we arrived that evening, the stroll along the water to the restaurant was breathtaking. The lighting of the exterior is welcoming, polished, and sexy. As we walked in we were immediately greeted and asked if we would like our coats taken. Since we were 30 min early and our table was not ready they sat us at a table to have a drink and wait. The interior of Quay is something I imagine a James Bond movie to be filmed in. Its decor is rich in black and white, with glass all around. Very modern. From where I could see, EVERY seat in the restaurant had views of either the famous Sydney opera house, the gorgeous Harbor Bridge, or if your super lucky both!!! The ambiance and views alone were the best we experienced anywhere in Sydney. When we were seated at our table, we were promptly greeted by our wait staff. I was as excited as Agustus Gloop at Willy Wonka's Factory. I knew everything i wanted to order. We ordered the eight course tasting menu, and subbed out one dessert for the famous eight texture chocolate cake. For wine, I did the premium match and my gf did the local match. The staff was attentive to our dietary restrictions and made all the required adjustments flawlessly. THE FOOD: I took notes throughout the meal, and I could type pages and pages about the food, but that's probably not necessary for this review. Simply put the courses were great, some better than others, but were all great. The pacing of the courses was flawless. The first few courses came out quickly with shorter gaps than the later ones, as diners tend to be hungrier at the start of the meal then towards the end. The portion sizes were spot on, never too big and never too small. Also the ratio of protein to starch was balanced when applicable. The diversity of flavors, textures, and temperatures was apparent in every course. The food was delicious and inspiring. As far as wine went, Amanda the sommelier was on top of her game. I know she has a very difficult job being the sommellier of such a prestigious restaurant like Quay. The selection of wines for both premium and local were very pleasant. She did a fantastic job of giving a brief introduction of the wines. The pours were generous and fair. The wine list is huge and well diversified, I would have loved to see a bigger California representation, but hey I'm a biased San Diegan. Truthfully the entire beverage experience was a treat. Very professional without the pretentiousness. IN CONCLUSION: Quay is a great special occasion restaurant for dinners who value all the work that goes into fine dining. The service, food, and ambiance all reflect it's ranking in the top 50 restaurants of the world. and most importantly, I can't wait to come back! P.S. Check out Quay & Chef Peter Gilmour's book Quay. It's amazing, if you can afford the book, get it, and if you can afford two send me one :) read more

Came here in early December 2012 with 5 foodie friends with the intention to splurge - and splurge we did. We opted for the eight course degustation menu ($220) with matching wines ($95) which is unquestionably the most I have ever paid for food in my whole life. It was worth every bit. I can be a pretty picky eater and when I read the menu I was a little dubious about some of the ingredients (yes, I am THAT picky) but I thought, what the hell, I'll give it a try since I am paying TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY DOLLARS for this. Annnnnnd yup...my plate was clean after every single course; every morsel was delectably divine. The highlight of the main courses for me was the beef cheeks which was to die for. When we were deciding on desserts, we reached an impasse, because half our table wanted the eight texture chocolate cake which was not on the degustation menu. Our waitress was extremely knowledgeable about the whole menu and said we could opt to swap out one of the desserts for the chocolate cake, but warned us that the chocolate cake was particularly dense and heavy, and would require the order of the menu to be varied. She then suggested we go halves on the Andalucia with the chocolate cake, and serve it alternately with the snow egg. Best. Recommendation. Ever. I'm not knowledgeable about wines at all, so all I can say is it all tasted good to me. I like my wines really sweet, so a few of the red wines in the savoury courses I had to offload to another friend, who paid me back during dessert when the dessert wines turned out too sweet for him. For about a week afterwards, all 6 of us just craved snow egg endlessly. In fact, I'm still craving snow egg. I would eat that every day if I could. Oh yeah, the view is great too. But honestly, we weren't paying any attention because the food stole the show. read more

Completely agree with James O. In short, I found two out of the 4 courses nothing special. There's a word in chinese that describes exactly how I felt about these, but what it is in English ugh. Basically means I got sick of the dish half way through and.... they're really not that big. The signature dish is wonderful though, but still wouldn't pay $200 for it alone amirite! Oh and great view, perhaps that's really what you're paying for. The last fine dining place I've been to was sepia and I couldn't help compare them. Sepia kicks ass all the way. read more

Wow. Simply, wow. I place my experience at Quay as one of the finest dining experiences I have ever had (top 5). Alot of people from Chicago want to know how it compares to Chicago's top restaurant Alinea, and I would say it is extravagant, inventive, yet maintaining a more focused standard in traditional excellence. I did the full 8 course tasting with a substitution to try the Mud Crab Congee, and added the eight texture chocolate cake. Both were worth it. If you're going to go to a place like this you might as well splurge and try it all. It would be impossible to compare the different courses because they were each exquisitely chosen and arranged, yet contrasting each other wondrously. The Australian wine pairings were the best wine pairings I have ever experienced. I love wine but often find pairings with meals somewhat hit or miss and so I usually avoid. In this case I am so happy I did not. I think if you forced me to admit a favorite dish it would be the mud crab congee. The flavors were light, balanced, and exotic. I will never forget it. The crab was beautiful. Simply tasted beautiful. Desserts were awesome as well, the last highlight being the 8-texture chocolate cake. By this time in the meal I was pretty full, but worth the effort to try. I ended the meal delighted, impressed, and inspired. The staff were wonderful, the view breathtaking, and overall excellent in atmosphere. Words can't describe how wonderful the food was and what an awesome "foodie" experience this was to put in my books. Next time I am in Sydney I will be making my reservations here before my flight! A+ and worth every penny. read more

Look, I loved it. Great food, and it's pretty obvious as to why it has the reputation that it does. We went there for a work lunch, of all things (Yes, we agreed to chip a bit in on the budget.) A stand out dish for me, was the pork with maltrose crackling. I don't eat fat at all, but I ate every bite of that! It was spectacularly good. Sweet, crunchy, soft, beautiful. People complain about the serving sizes, but for me, they are perfect. Not being a big eater, I like not having to send a half eaten plate back, it embarrasses me, and sometimes I know I have offended the chef. That won't happen in Quay, and if you are like one of my companions, you may find yourself stopping for a burger on the way home. Don't do that, don't be a pig, just enjoy what you were served, because it's all bloody marvellous! Do have the snow egg, or, if you are a chocolate lover, that dissolving ring thing that had a colleague clutching her heart she was so excited! Give it a go, at least once to see what all the hype is about, but Sepia is better. read more

Okay this place had THE BEST VIEW of any restaurant I have ever eaten at... It was incledible to sit outside and look at the lit up Opera house and be so close to the Sydney Bridge. Had a glass of wine here and just really enjoyed the company I had with me. Aussies are such great people on whole and are very good hosts. I was planning on going out by myself for some sushi and they wouldn't let me..Instead they took me here and I was blown away. I had the steak that had some onions and quail eggs cooked on top and it was very good. Everyone at my table was happy and my only problem was that the people next to me never got up to use the restroom so I could grab a bite of thier food! I wanted to trust me... Wine was awesome, food was awesome, company was awesome, and getting a picture of the opera house at night standing on the hardbour was priceless. I will be back as long as I am on an expense account or with my wife! read more

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE. This restaurant is the epitome of fine dining. From the moment my boyfriend and I entered the restaurant, we understood how classy our dining experience was going to be. The three hostesses stood up immediately as we walked through the door, and exchanged our umbrella for a fancy key for "coat" check. We were seated at one of the tables that are elevated on a platform on the first floor in the corner, which allowed us to enjoy a beautiful view of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. Aligned with what fancy dinner experiences dictate, we were given an aperitif menu and each ordered a cocktail. The waiter watched until we were almost done with our drinks to serve our first course. We ordered the tasting menu with original wines, which had 6 entree courses with 2 dessert courses and an accompanying glass of wine for each course. As expected of a upscale restaurant, small servings, beautiful arrangement, large drink portions. Don't be fooled by the small portions, however-- by the end, you will be absolutely stuffed and drunk on wine. I'm sure they wanted us to get our money's worth with the wine, but being a lightweight, I actually had to ask them to serve me a little less because I didn't want to be super drunk at this kind of a place! With each course, the waiter cleared the utensils and laid down new ones needed for our next dish. Every dish was explained, as was each wine. Even the bathrooms are fancy-- yay for actual towels! The only negative part of our night was when we asked our wine server to take our picture. She was a little older, so I can't really blame her for taking bad pictures even with bursts. Overall, definitely 5 out of 5 stars. read more

The location is perfect. Opera house on one side and harbour brige on the other. But was not too happy about the crane obstructing the view. The service was perfect. Always looked after you with a smile and knew when you wanted attention without hesitation. Has a great selection of drinks. Enjoyed the deserts most of all. Some dishes were a bit tasteless. But I would give definetly 5 stars. Was lucky that night with the fireworks. read more

Quay Restaurant - Rum cocktail - Modern Australian Near Me - Sydney, NSW

i came in with high expectations since we had to make a booking a few months in advance. i was somewhat disappointed since we waited so long to eat here. for the price i felt like every dish should wow me, but i would say every other dish wow'd me while others would leave me wondering why? the atmosphere is what you'd expect for an upscale restaurant. every dish that came out was beautiful, but not all tasted that way. we had this very strange bacon jelly dish that was served in a shot glass....i wish i could totally forget this dish. it was so odd that this is the only dish that i strongly remembered. though the snow egg was amazing and i would go back just to have that again. as for the main, i recommend the lamb (if available) as it literally melted in your mouth. perhaps it just happened to be that night's menu, but i'd be willing to give this place another chance.....obviously because i need to have another snow egg.. read more

Quay Restaurant - Modern Australian Near Me - Sydney, NSW

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This restaurant ticks all the boxes in terms of wow factor: outstanding food, faultless service, and stunning views of the Bridge and the Opera House. The white nectarine snow egg was every bit as good as I'd hoped it would be. The other dessert on our tasting menu - preserved wild cherry compote with coconut cream, chuao chocolate crumble, sugar crystals and chocolate sorbet - was so delicious my brain exploded. As for the savoury courses, my favourites were the quail and the wagyu. read more

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We didn't expect to be a prefix menu but it was good and their view of the bridge and opera house is beautiful.

Interesting and had to do it because of the reviews and recs from fans. we did the 4 dishes for 175. I liked the menu opening to the 4 options. very cool Ambiance 10/10: I can't think of one place in the world that I have had better views of anything. Romantic table with a direct view of the opera house. Food 7/10: beginnings and ends great but entrees were so-so (at least the duck). felt very asian influenced. also felt food with drowned in sauce. Service 6/10: maybe we had the late night shift and everyone wanted to leave, but the service felt robotic. no one seemed genuinely nice or helpful (or maybe that's the formal environment they are going for). read more

Best meal I had in Australia. Went for my honeymoon and it was awesome. The view is simply amazing looking over the Sydney Opera house and the good was awesome. I loved how there was a choice in the tasting menu. My wife and I both got different things, skip the XO Seafood dish if you can avoid it. I'm blanking on some of the meals but everything was awesome! I am not a huge dessert guy but the 7 chocolate cake and the snow egg were freaking awesome!!! This is a must if you go to Sydney and can get reservations. read more

Hands down the best dinner I've had in Sydney. We arrived at the restaurant and were warmly greeted by the wait staff who took our coats and umbrellas and were then shown to our table. The ambiance and view of the restaurant is unsurpassed - our table had a complete view of the Opera House and Circular Quay. Each of the four courses we had were beautifully balanced and tasted fantastic. My favourite dish was the gently poached southern rock lobster, hand caught Tasmanian squid, golden tapioca, lobster velvet - the lobster was poached impeccably. The main course (wagyu beef) was also cooked to perfection and just melted in my mouth. We shared various choices of desserts and they all tasted wonderfully, the Guava snow egg was especially memorable. While the restaurant is pricey, the view and the quality of the food and service justifies the price tag. Overall we had a wonderful experience at Quay and would return should we get another reservation. read more

The short and sweet of my review is this. For the price I paid at this restaurant, I found the food somewhat forgettable. I can see by the numerous positive reviews that many do love this place, but don't share that sentiment. For the record, I think paying this kind of money for a meal isn' t my cup of tea (but someone important insisted) ;) If I am going to pay this kind of money for a meal, I'd like it to make an impression outside of the pricetag. I found by the 3rd course of a 4 course tasting menu I was forgetting what the 1st course was. Bottom line, I've had many a better meal at more modest restaurants. I think if you took the view of the opera house out of the equation the popularity of this restaurant would suffer. I give it 3 stars because the food was alright, but the view was great. Without the view... 2. read more

the scenery is truly amazing, with the opera house in the background all the dishes are nicely crafted, the dish we liked the most is the snow egg read more

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I watched masterchef. Saw that globe thing for dessert. That was amazing. Definitely worth thr price tag. I was rushing out that night so they packed my petite four to go. I had an amazing seat right next to the window unbelieveable view to the harbor bridge and opera house The view alone was worth the cost of the degustation menu. read more

Food was good and service was excellent. ambiance and the view was is beautiful. My favourite out of the four dishes i had was definitely the dessert read more

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I just have to say two words and its enough to send me to a happy place - snow egg. Mmmm. But I guess I'm starting at the icing on the cake when really, the entire experience that is Quay by Peter Gilmore is just as good. Well almost. The first time I dined here I had the 4 course degustation menu and it was unbelievable and worthy of its 3 hats and the title of best Australian restaurant. The crab congee, scallops when on the menu and the wagyu were all beautiful presented and cooked perfectly. You know you are onto a good thing when you can say, "how the hell do people think up those combinations of flavours to create something so delicious??". But then comes the snow egg. OMG. By now everyone knows about it due to its appearance on Masterchef but tasting it is another thing altogether. AMAZING! The food is a distraction from the view which is spectacular (not the other way round)...opera house, harbour bridge, water view, perfect. My second experience here was 2 days ago when my friend had her wedding reception in the 2nd floor dining area and it was just as good. Highlights include the beef main which was cooked perfectly to medium rare and melted in your mouth, and secondly the raspberry cream dessert. Service was attentive and professional as always. This is still my favourite restaurant in Sydney and a must for everyone who loves food as much as I do. I love love Quay! read more

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I was taken here for my birthday. Perfect location, attentive and professional service. Highlight was none other than the snow egg, a dessert worth the visit. read more

Quay Restaurant - Modern Australian Near Me - Sydney, NSW

For $165 you can get a delicious four-course meal where you choose from a variety of options for each course. Yep, that's pricey but it's worth it. Not every weekend of course, but if you have a friend in town or a special birthday, this is a great place to go. Without doubt it has some of the best views in Sydney, you can observe all of Sydney's biggest icons while munching on some Wagyu. Well don't munch it, it's a classy place, delicately slice it. The head chef has his own cook book, if that many people want his secrets he must be good! It's all about being organic and fresh at Quay. No need to ask if your meat is free-range, it is! The desserts are unique and delicious, you may totally not understand what it's in them but just ask for a recommendation and go with it. You won't be disappointed. read more

Quay has consistently been rated as one of the top restauraunts in Australia an honor which it has truly earned with impeccable attention to detail in food and setting, the location is perfect and this is a must try for a special occasion. Being so highly regarded does unfortunately lead to an over analysis by the masses and I can only base this on my humble opinion. The food although perfectly presented some dishes showed more creative flair than refined flavor and that is not a bad thing as a restaurant is not all about taste but the mood placed over and around the meal and at this there is no denying a pleasurable ambience. My only real critisim of the place is that on requesting gluten free for my gf she unfortunately had an allergic reaction and as soon as the last spoonful was finished I had to help her to a taxi and rush her home - sounds dramatic but a lot of the top restaurants don't have the knowledge or flexibility to adjust the meal on the spot due to the controlled environment and the tendency to utter Yes Sir to almost any request. One more positive note the cocktails are amazing and the view stunning, great to relax before or after the meal. read more

Came with a friend for lunch, and had the testing menu with Australian wine pairing. Everything is amazing, however the mud crab congee, poached lobster, snow egg, and jersey cream were outstanding. Wish I lived in Sydney so that I could see how the menu changes with the seasons. I've been to some of the best restaurants in the states, and I see why this is #29 in the world. Well worth the money, but you have up be able to appreciate world class food. Also, don't wear jeans or they'll sit you in the back corner. read more

This has by far been the best restaurant I have been to. We have traveled a lot and ate many different things and this place really sticks out. We opted in for their four course meal which was a delight! Everything was on point with flavor. You really can't go wrong with any food item you chose here. I'm not a fan or ordering dessert because I'm usually too full, but dessert is a must here as well! Place is very fancy, so dress the part, make reservations a head of time, and have your credit card handy! read more

Every time I book a trip home to Sydney, it's true...I'm probably more excited about putting together the "hit list" of Sydney's best eats then actually seeing my family and friends. Shhh... Quay Restaurant, of course, has featured year after year without any availabilities while I've been home, but this time...it seemed as if the food gods from above cleared their schedules to let me in. Recently voted Number 26 (up one place from 2010) on the coveted S.Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurant's list, Quay has become the number one restaurant in Australia and also named the Best Restaurant in Australasia. And if there was an award for Best View in Australia, I'm confident that Quay would have been a serious contender... Situated by the Overseas Passenger Terminal in the dress circle of the harbour, our table was in the tower block offering the most spectacular views, sweeping from the Opera House to the Harbour Bridge - WOW!! With my belly still stuffed from my late lunch, and some time constraints, our table of six opted for the 4-course menu for $155 which had 5 choices per course. There was definitely no food envy for me...I think I nailed it with my choices :) With a lychee martini in one hand, the waiter kicked off our 4-course menu with a sumptuous display of chef Peter Gilmore's culinary genius, offering us an amuse-bouche of eel jelly with carrot puree topped with crumbs. Next up for me were the Sea Pearls, a signature dish which I had read much about, made up of sashimi tuna, sea scallop, crab, and smoked eel with octopus. Four perfect spheres were presented like gems on a plate. Our waitress suggested that we dissected these pearls and ate half at a time to really enjoy the flavours, before coming around the plate again to devour the rest.This seemed to work...and dare I say, my two favourites of scallop, and the smoked eel and octopus pearls seemed to balance out the blandness of the tuna and crab pearls... Then there was the black lipped abalone. Served with pearl oyster mushrooms and rare breed pig belly. This was absolutely delicious, with all the gorgeous flavours infused in the earth and sea consommé. If anything, the pork belly probably wasn't necessary - not because it didn't come with crackling ;) but because I was having the Berkshire pork jowl as my main course. Oink Oink. The jowl is the fleshy part under the jaw of the pig. Coated with a maltose crackling and served with a cauliflower puree and prunes, this incredibly soft and tender piece of meat was certainly a highlight for me. And then the finale. The main reason for my wanting to get a table at Quay. The Snow Egg. A poached meringue egg, with a yolk of custard apple ice-cream, coated in a crunchy golden praline maltose shell, and sits on a bed of guava granita and a slick of guava fool. "Heavenly" sums up the taste quite nicely, and I would go as far as saying that this is probably THE best dessert I've ever eaten, and more scrumptious than Noma's "Snowman" - but only just... At just over $200 a head for the 4-course meal including cocktails, wine and coffee, it's difficult to say whether Quay steps up to my belly's expectations. Service was as good as any medium priced restaurant I had been to in Sydney, and the dining room lacked the grandeur I was hoping for...but I guess the magical views compensate that. Food wise, it was very good. I particularly enjoyed the Asian influences throughout the menu, with a Modern Australian flair. Like all the "hot tables" right now, the trend seems to be about the nature based cuisine movement which is centred on the idea that we can save and protect diminishing or disappearing plant and animal species by eating them, mixed with molecular gastronomy. Noma's head chef, René Redzepi, and Fat Duck's, Heston Blumenthal probably demonstrate these best. Definitely worth going to if you fancy splashing out on the most incredible dessert ever, and a view to match. For full review and pictures, please go to http://www.gourmetbelly.wordpress.com read more

Made reservation to this restaurant few months in advance. This restaurant live up to it's standard. Amazing view of Sydney's harbour, beautiful ambience and atmosphere inside the restaurant. The food was exquisite and delectable, food was of very high quality and only the freshest produce was used. Excellent service, staff was very polite, friendly and attentive. Overall, a fabulous and memorable dining experience at this restaurant. read more

Quay Restaurant - Modern Australian Near Me - Sydney, NSW

Was there with my parents! The view is stunning! We were lucky enough to sit on the table right at the window with the view straight to the harbour bridge! The service was outstanding so was the food! Was a wonderful experience! read more

Quay is a great place! It has stunning view. Really vast wine menu and staff always happy to pour that into your glass. We had degustation menu which was really good. Lovely evening, great food and wine, I guess in that case it was exactly what we expected. read more

Service good, but the food did not appeal to me and my stomach felt a bit sick from too many different and unusual ingredients. Too much seafood on the 10 course option (maybe 5 dishes had seafood?). The duck was tough and chewey. I liked the non-alcoholic drinks pairing. read more

For our first night in Sydney, we had decided to eat at Quay - we knew the view would be spectacular (and it was), but it was also on the 51-100 portion of the best 50 restaurants in the world, so we figured we would be remiss if we didn't pay a visit while we were south of the equator. We arrived right on time and were seated promptly on the circular nook upstairs. From our seat, we could see both the Harbor Bridge and the Sydney Opera House with ease, and it was great to see the opera house light up in its subtle lighting once it became dark enough. While we were seated quickly, the timing of the service was absolutely dreadful. I can understand that some people want to take their time - and that is totally fine. But for an 8-course dinner to go over 3 hours, with only the amuse-bouche and the first course taking up the entire first hour, is neearly unacceptable in my book. It was clear that we were not going to simply chew the scenery the entire time, and the fact that the pace remained inexplicably slow was difficult to understand. We were quite exhausted by the end due to waking up early to fly to Sydney, and both my wife and I were barely awake the last few courses as a result. The servers themselves were very personable and nice to chat with, but the timing - yikes. The other reason that I don't give Quay a perfect rating is that the price definitely does feel high relative to what you are served. The biggest dishes by far are the dessert dishes, which to me is puzzling...one would expect the mains to be the biggest. While the ostensible mains (the crayfish and the duck) were both delicious and expertly prepared, they were quite small. On the other hand, the snow egg is quite large due to the quantity of shaved ice utilized in the dessert, and it was definitely more filling relative to the other parts of the meal! The food was absolutely delicious (which I will talk about next), but I question whether the value proposition was here for this meal, even if it is a higher-end restaurant. Perhaps you are paying for one of the best views you can have, but I did not feel like the amount of food matched up. As for dinner itself, we started off with a couple of dishes utilizing sheep's milk. The amuse-bouche was sheep's curd served with nitrogen-frozen sorrel, making the dish an interesting contrast between the warmth of the curd and the cutting coldness of the sorrel. I really liked the first official course, which was the summer salad with sheep's milk feta and young almonds. The feta was delicious and not overly heavy, and the young almonds really added an interesting texture and a lighter, less developed flavor than regular almonds do. The smoked Wagyu with the fermented rye chips and mushrooms was an interesting take on a tartare-style dish; the beef was very smoky, but the rye chips accentuated, rather than complemented, the more bitter aftertaste of each bite. I liked it quite a bit, but as with almost all dishes here, it was too small. The rice dish with uni and prawns, topped with thinly-sliced salted yolks, was also very well-done. The uni is mixed in thoroughly into the rice, giving every bite that nice, slightly salty creaminess that sea urchin is well-known for, while the yolks give it a bit more saltiness, but on the more subtle side. Abalone paired with pig jowl confit was next; the abalone was well-prepared, albeit it not as soft as I would have expected for a 'slow-cooked' dish; I did however really like the succulence of the pig jowl. The grains added a nice bit of crunchy texture to each bite, but it paired more naturally with the pig. The aforementioned crayfish was very good, in large part due to the slight heat from the XO sauce. It's really the only dish that has much spice in it, and it was a welcome brightening to the rest of the menu. The duck was also very well-done, with the breast meat being very juicy. However, the skin was not as crispy as I would have preferred (i.e. it was a bit chewy). The pickled cucumber was okay, but I would have just preferred the sorrel sauce on the side alone with the duck, as that added a nice leafy overtone to the duck's flavor. Unsurprisingly, the snow egg was spectacular; this take on shaved ice, with a ball of white nectarine as the 'egg', was absolutely delicious and probably my favorite dish of the night. I also really liked the last dessert, a honeycomb-based dessert served with cream that had the texture more of melted marshmallows - a very light but very sweet finish to the meal. Petit fours were 4 tiny truffles with different flavors; my favorite was the dark cocoa powder-dusted crispy rice version. The view is what to come for, and the rest of the meal is extremely good as well. However, relative to other superlative dining experiences I have had, it comes up a tad short due to the length of the meal and the value proposition. It's definitely worth the experience, but make sure you have more than enough time for it... read more

Excellent service and delicious 3 course menu! They were very accommodating and even noted our request to sit with a Harbour view. They helped us pair the perfect wine with our meals. Thank you for such an enjoyable experience our first time in Sydney! read more

With great anticipation my fellow diners and I, a party of six, arrived at Quay after a four month wait for a table, in expectation of being delighted like never before. Our table had stunning views of both Sydney icons, the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. Outstanding. We opted for the Chef's Menu, the degustation with matched wines, a journey of eight courses. Our first dish arrived, wonderful sashimi, presented with a fine attention to detail. Magnificent and crisp, the nasturtiums and Tasmanian wasabi providing a wonderful counterpoint, with the matched wine completing the symphony. Even the plates, a lovely glittering contrast in textures. The next dish, an exotic salad of endive, kohlrabi, purple carrots with rhubarb, beetroot and violets, imbued with pomegranate molasses. The flavours and textures were a delight, despite the lack of animal protein. With relish I anticipated next course, poached southern rock lobster with golden tapioca, squid noodles and lobster velvet. Actually, rather bland. Beautifully presented and prepared, without doubt. Never mind, our taste buds are not all alike, and the previous courses forgive much. Next course, slow cooked partridge breast, pumpernickel, walnuts, quinoa, truffle, chestnuts and milk skin, promised some interesting flavours. The tiny morsel of partridge breast rested on a creamy substance the colour of stuff we don't normally eat. Perhaps it's just me, but I am not sure serving anything that looks like a small plate of stodgy poo, is a good idea, no matter how good it apparently tastes. And sadly, the taste also was a little underwhelming. Slow cooked seems to be a trend at the moment, but the partridge was difficult to cut, chewy, and, well, bland. Tasteless, even. Several dishes left the table unfinished. Our next main resonated with my carnivorous nature; confit of milk fed Suffolk lamb, purple garlic, Jerusalem artichokes, sheep's milk curd, salt bush shoots, fennel pollen and Pantelleria capers. The plate arrived before us, the presentation again faultless. But, I was asking myself, where is the flavour? Where is the lamby taste? Some lovely ingredients, without question, but a theme was beginning to unfortunately resonate with me. Our last main is slow braised Berkshire pig jowl, maltose crackling, prunes and cauliflower cream perfumed with prune kernel oil. Pork, and cracking in particular, is one of my guilty sinful pleasures, the rich fatty flavours and crunchy texture of well roasted cracking filling a special place in my heart. A square of delightfully presented pork was served, resting on a bed of puree and a couple of prunes and their juices. The crackling looking very finely wrought, the pork skin washed with maltose to give it a unique texture and flavour. With great relish, I tucked in with anticipation of the rich flavours of pork and crackling. Clearly my palate is insufficiently educated to appreciate the refined flavours, because for the life of me I could not get it. Perhaps the maltose is too subtle for me, the ordinary diner, but I don't get it. Why play with perfectly good crackling. The prunes completely ruined any hope of this dish resurrecting the meal for me. I could not eat them, and to me the flavour was so overpowering that one might as well have not bothered with the pork. The first desert was named Jewels, and comprised of a collection of small hand made sweets, sorbets, raspberries and other sumptuous and glittery nibblets, served in a bowl cleverly crafted to be held, nay cupped in one's hand. It looked delightful, and it was indeed. A masterly mix of tastes and textures on the tongue - hard and soft, sweet and tart, lovely. Exceptional? Hmm, perhaps not. But it was without a doubt beautifully crafted. Finally, the fabled Snow Egg, for those that had ordered it, and for the others, Ewe's milk ice-cream, caramel, roasted walnuts, prune, Pedro Ximinez, chocolate bark, pulled toffee, vanilla milk skin. The Snow Egg was truly a delight to look at, however our particular variety was created using star fruit, which is not my favourite fruit. Unlike the ice cream and chocolate, which for me book-ended the evening - first and last by far the most memorable in my personal opinion. The flavours of chocolate and ice-cream, with the caramel, pulled toffee and Pedro Ximenez, was for me a winner. The chocolate bark was sublime, and th esheep's milk ice cream far surpassed expectations. We all agreed that none of the dishes made us stand up and shout excitedly "I can eat this all night! Bring me a hundred of them!" which was, I think, what some of us were hoping for. Perhaps we had built our expectations up to an unreasonable level - yet, with a much-lauded restaurant, crowned with three hats as sublime amongst the many in Australia, and a four month wait, what else would one expect? Hardly calls for a lasses-faire approach, really, does it? So, that was our experience. Like a fine wine, knowledge is best when shared. read more

This gorgeous restaurant impressed me with its creativity and impeccable service. The sommelier came to our table to talk about each wine pairing and answered my our questions passionately. I would return and encourage others to visit! read more

Interesting and innovative food coupled with great views served with what we felt was a bit of an attitude from some of the staff on a slowish Tuesday night. We also felt that the docked Queen Elizabeth in all her majesty contributed to the views rather than detracted from them. Our impression was that the consistently high reviews and accolades heaped upon this venue have had an effect on all the staff and not just the talented chefs. We were treated derisively by some of the staff while others were friendly and helpful. To summarize the service, inconsistent would probably be the most accurate descriptor. Yes, it's a destination restaurant in a destination location, in a destination city. Realise this and embrace it to make it special for everyone nonetheless. There are far more interesting and worthy venues in Sydney. If you're on Yelp you can find them. If you're into box ticking by all means go, but accept the potential for disappointment as part of the journey. At a cost of around $700 for a table of four just for food it's a disappointment we won't be seeking out again. read more

Great location, great space, with one of the best views in the world. But they are the only positives. This restaurant seemed to have a good buzz about it, but I couldn't find anyone who actually liked the food. Personally I haven't eaten food this bad in many years. Everything was fatty, overly creamy and phlegmy. I couldn't even swallow my pork dish and had to spit it out in the rest room. How one could make pork taste like the fatty foam that you clean out of the dishwasher filter is beyond me. Even the desert tasted like it had cleaning product cooked into it. Someone else described it as tasting like urea. Service was also bad. The wait staff knew nothing about the dishes and took people's half full wine glasses when they were not watching. I talked to the chef who was pleasant and earnest in the food he was creating, but his intention and my food experience were polar opposites. It saddens me to be leaving such a negative review, and I held off to regain some objectivity, but the food was terrible and experience lacking. read more