Kevin C.

Wow!! Team dinner for 20+ in Sydney. Walkable to the business district. Right on Pitt Street. The colors were fantastic. We ordered Pork Belly, Kung Pao Chicken, Fish, which was incredible. The colors and variety of the dishes were spectacular. The atmosphere and service was world class. Very reasonably priced, about $50 AUS a head.

Lloyd M.

Fantastic and interesting modern Chinese experience. Not one dish was like something I had before but all were excellent. They prepared a Lunar New Year menu for one for me and it was much better than I expected. The highlights were tuna sashimi, Pippas (clams) and beef with eggplant and dumplings, though everything was great. Each dish had layered flavors, some spicier than others, and tasted very different from each other. Also, great service and a modern ambiance. A great meal.

Matt B.

Pretty cool place down underneath Sydney in the basement - very moody. I order the Kung Po Chicken, Fries Rice and Pickled Cucumber along with a nice glass of Pinot Noir. The Kung Po is not your typical Chinese fare - this is dry with no sauce - roasted chicken and cashews and green onions on bed of whole dried chilies - it reminder me of a salt and chilli chicken dish I ate in Beijing at the Szechuan Provincs Communist Party restrauant - a seminal dinning experience buts that another story for another review - The dish packs a punch - hot spicy but aromatic too - this is where the pickled cucumbers come in to cool everything down with a fresh crunch. The fried rice is all bacon and peas - everything tastes better with bacon - it's a hugh portion size. Upscale, great ingredients and attentive staff but with a hefty price tag - sometimes you have to spoil yourself.

Oliver J.

This place is pretentious. It's trying too hard to be cool, and doesn't care about the things that matter, such as cleanliness and polite service. To justify that, just turn on your light (on your phone) and inspect the floor around you and chair you are sitting on. My chair looked like it hadn't been wiped down in over a year... dust everywhere, and it's things light that that really turn me off. See my photo of the bathroom, which doesn't help matters. The waiter was pushy, and the prices are silly. Can't we just buy a small portion of jasmine rice? No, you pay by how many people that have some... this isn't bottomless brunch. The food was fine, and if it wasn't so pricey, I'd possibly give this place four stars.

Paul V.

The atmosphere... the menu... the service... the flavors. I'm quickly learning that Chef Neil Perry can do no wrong, and my experience at Spice Temple was without question one of the best Chinese culinary experiences I've had - maybe ever. Star 1: How were the service and atmosphere? "Is this... it?" is what I asked myself as, after passing it back and forth maybe four times, I saw the small signage on an otherwise nondescript door overshadowed by Rockpool Bar & Grill. It was it, and as I descended down the spiral-esk staircase I had a pretty good idea that I was in for a pretty special experience. The decor an ambiance were almost tangibly classy, and even my full service spot at the bar came across as though it was somehow exclusive. Right from the get-go i was understandably overwhelmed by the Cantonese meets SIchuan menu, and unlike many Chinese places I've been to even at the higher end of the spectrum, I found myself saying to myself "that sounds amazing" after reading the title of just about every single dish. I opted for the Hot and Numbing Crispy Duck, and maybe ten to fifteen minutes later my dish emerged from the kitchen. Star Granted. Star 2: How were the portions relative to the cost? My portion was nothing overwhelming, but it was certainly enough for a single person, and my side of steamed rice made this a full meal. While the $42.00 price tag may have had me cringe a bit if we were talking USD, we're not, and some quick math had me realizing that at only $30.00 USD this was a bargain and even so one of the more expensive single entrees on the menu. Star Granted. Stars 3 and 4: How was the food? I honestly didn't know what to think when I saw the title of my dish. Hot and Numbing? That sounded a bit like blazing hot buffalo wings at some discount dive bar that you later regret eating - but that's far from what this was. I don't know how it's done, but I'd honestly never experienced a combination of flavor and heat like this before. Was my Duck spicy? It was, but certainly not overwhelmingly so and not at all at the expense of unique flavor. However, somehow the dish did indeed, with every bite, briefly give me a numbing sensation that I'll admit I enjoyed, and I ended up putting the leftover sauce on my steamed rice to enjoy yet again. If I haven't yet made it clear, this dish was marvelous - plain and simple. Dual Stars Granted. Star 5: Would you eat here every day if you could? Without question or hesitation. Spice Temple embodies a five star establishment, and is a model for Chinese inspired cuisine on a global scale. Star Granted.

Howard C.

I first noticed this place after my numerous trips to Rockpool Bar & Grill for their immaculate Full Blood Wagyu burger and their steaks. It has a really cool entrance, and at first glance I thought it was Thai food. Nope, it's Chinese. A couple friends went before as well and raved about it, so I figured I had to give it a shot. The fact that it was granted Two Hats this year elevated my expectations a bit. I came here this past Saturday after making reservations for two online on Thursday. Since I made reservations so late in the week, they told me the only available option would be 9:30pm. They called to confirm my reservation the day before, and informed me there may be a slight wait. No big deal...so I thought. Upon pushing open the door you're led downstairs via a curving stairway. The place is dimly lit, so if you appreciate that type of ambience this place is for you. We were told there would be a slight wait before being seated so we grabbed a spot by the bar and sifted through their drink menu. 10 minutes soon became 20, and then 20 became 30. At this point I got up and enquired about being seated and was told that there was an issue with large parties staying at their tables longer than anticipated, and there would be a longer wait as there were several others ahead of us waiting to be seated. No big deal...so I thought. 30 minutes soon became an hour, and I enquired again. The hostess was really apologetic and stated the same. At this point it was 10:30pm, and the thought of going somewhere else was inconceivable...we already dedicated this much time to this place, we were going to eat here damn it! Soon, the hostess approached us apologetically again, and offered us free entrées of dumplings and pancakes and two soft drinks while we waited. Cool, free food and drinks! The food came within 10 minutes and a table opened up just as we were about to finish up. At this point, it was 11:00pm when we were seated. Since this place is called Spice Temple, I figured the food would be spicy. The menu states that the items highlighted in red are their spiciest dishes, so naturally we opted to try one. We weren't too hungry so we opted for the Egg Noodles in the entrées section, and then by recommendation from a friend we ordered the Shredded Duck. We asked our waiter what the difference between Hunan style pork belly and Sichuan style pork belly was, and he was very well informed. We opted for the Hunan style which was twice cooked and crispy, whereas the Sichuan was a bit softer. The food came in a relatively short amount of time; the egg noodles coming first. I was expecting this to be very spicy, but this wasn't very spicy at all. If you've ever had Shin Ramyun, I would compare the egg noodles to a non-soupy version of that...and less spicy. It was pretty disappointing. The Shredded Duck was amazing, just as expected. The combination of chestnuts, fried tofu, and black fungi gave it a very interesting texture and delicious taste. It was combined with some chili paste, but yet again...not very spicy. The Hunan style pork belly was great. Crunchy on the outside, soft, succulent and juicy on the inside. I could probably eat this dish for days...or until I got a heart attack from clogged arteries. However, this dish is eerily similar to the Pad Prik King pork belly you can get at Home Thai...and for $20 cheaper. Since we were a bit full from our free entrées before, we didn't finish all the food and boxed it up rather quickly. Our bill for the three items and a drink came out to $81.50. Cheap right? The only reason it was so cheap was because they gave us a 15% discount due to the long wait. Food - Hit and Miss, and not very spicy if you're accustomed to Southeast Asian food. Service - Outside of the long wait, amazing service and very attentive. The discount and free entrées almost made up for the 90 minute wait after reservations. Almost. Ambience - Romantic-ish, but hard to read things sometimes. Slightly loud. If you're going to go here, reserve way ahead of time to avoid the stupendously long wait.

Amy W.

Amazing Chinese New Year banquet. One of the best in Sydney. Food was delicious with a variety of meat. Spicy chicken wings are outstanding, crispy and just enough spice. The pork belly was tender and tasty. It just melts in your mouth. The dessert was interesting the sweet.

Nat B.

I had high expectations for this place and whilst the service was good, the ambience really pleasant, the food was ho-hum. To be fair, before putting up this review I did get the views of the other two diners. We all agreed that we wouldn't visit again any time soon for dinner. We would consider perhaps sitting at the bar for a few quiet drinks though. We ordered a lot of varied food - probably around 7 dishes not including the dessert we had. Stand out dish was the eggplant from the entree menu, followed by the orange noodle dish which comes entree size even though it's on the main menu. The rest was okay, well cooked but nothing special. The 3-shot chicken we all disliked after a couple of mouthfuls so most of that was left on the serving dish. We each ordered a dessert to try and end on a highlight but again all agreed, wouldn't have them again.

Chris A.

... Always a favourite... Never fails! Fabulous food, service and evening! Kung-Pow chicken is A signature dish... Beware: it's hot... Sexy atmosphere to. Thanks Spice Temple!

Chisholm T.

OVERALL CONSENSUS: Blown away! This is some of the best Cantonese/Szechuan food I've ever had. Please open a location in San Francisco!!! ATMOSPHERE: One of the sexiest restaurants I've ever been to. The restaurant is underground. You get there by going down a spiral staircase. The restaurant is very dark inside, a lot of black & red colors, low lighting. The music gave the place a swanky vibe. This is perfect for date night or girls night out in my opinion. COCKTAILS: Creative, delicious, & pretty! All cocktails are named after the Chinese zodiak signs. FOOD: We ordered: - Cucumbers with smashed garlic and ginger - Three shot chicken - Hot, sweet, sour, and numbing pork (THIS DISH WAS OUR FAVORITE!) - Beef filet in fire water - House style fried rice This is a lot of food for 2 people, but the great thing about Spice Temple is that they can serve some of their dishes in half portions, which allows you to try more items on the menu so that's what we did and it worked out perfectly! We loved every dish that we had. The flavors were big, bold, and spicy!!! The mouth numbing chili oil is what makes these dishes. So if you love a bit of kick in your food, this is your type of cuisine! Service was also great. We really enjoyed everything about this restaurant. Craving their food already!

Isabel Y.

Ok I know the name of the place is called Spice Temple so I should have known better. But omg the food was very spicy, even for my tastebuds which have been groomed since a young girl to eat super hot kimchi! We thought ok it says chilli, but how hot can it be?? Its Neil Perry afterall. We deliberately chose the hottest dishes on the menu to be adventurous. Yeah, we're not the brightest tools in the shed lol. For entree we ordered the fried salt and pepper silken tofu with spicy coriander salad which was beautiful. Tofu when complemented well is really beautiful and definitely not just for the vegetarians! For mains we chose the Kung Pao Chicken and the hot, sweet, sour and numbing pork with chilli, sugar, black vinegar and Sichuan peppercorn. The chicken was a bit unusual because it gave you a really odd feeling on the tongue. It almost felt like I was eating popping candy (remember those?). But you got used to the taste and this ended up being everyone's favourite dish of the night. I think we also ordered some asian greens, but nothing too special. Another thing to note is that the dining room was very loud for some reason. I think its because the room is underground and the noise probably bounces off the walls. There are also cocktails available based on the Chinese zodiac calendar, which we will probably try next time. Recommend if you are a bit adventurous with your food and like it hot!

Mei H.

Came in on a late night based on a friends recommendation. Had the lobster with ginger and scallions. It was soooo good! Highly recommended, was a bit pricy but lobster is pricy.