I’ve wanted to visit Tetsuya’s for a long time now, pretty much since first embarking on the journey of Feeds For Three, so finally getting the chance made it quite special. Fortunately I was able to book a spot only 4 months in advance and no doubt was super excited for that April 30th date to come. Named after chef Tetsuya Wakuda, Tetsuya’s Restaurant serves a Japanese-inspired degustation menu based on seasonal flavors, enhanced by French technique. Fair warning, I’ll be going through the experience one by one, dish by dish, doing my best to describe things. I’m by no means a cook or have much technical knowledge about food at all so bare with me!

Location: 529 Kent Street, Sydney, NSW, 2000
Price: $250pp for set menu, does not include drinks
Website: https://www.tetsuyas.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tetsuyasydney/

James: 5 out of 5 – Once in a bluemoon dining experience that Wow’d after practically every dish. Highly recommend.

Featured above was the menu for the night, a 9 course degustation menu for $250 per person. They offer to start the meal with oysters which are charged in addition, but we opted out. There’s an extensive wine menu, however we went for the Yuzu Green Tea Highball which was refreshing and well mixed so neither yuzu, nor whisky was too overpowering in the drink.

“WOW” – this was how the night begun after trying the first dish, beautiful kingfish sashimi with thin sheets of daikon pickle that blended perfectly with the saltiness of the sashimi and sweetness of the vinaigrette. My experience with kingfish sashimi is typically much chewier and fishier in taste (compared to tuna or salmon), however this particular sashimi was so soft, almost melting in the mouth and had no fishy taste at all. A refreshing start to the menu, and a stand out dish of the night and probably my favourite overall for just how simple but elegant it was. I’ll be dreaming of having this again for a long time to come.

I can’t say I’ve had scampi that often, so this felt like a new experience to me. The scampi here completely fell off the shell with minimal effort and was really soft and smooth, much different to their crustacean counterparts like prawns. It must have been the vanilla, but the scampi were much sweeter in flavor than I expected and the dish would have benefitted if the lemon zest was more prominent as it needed some deeper citrus flavor. Still quite enjoyable and a tough act to follow after the kingfish.

One of Tetsuya’s signature dishes that has been developed over time and served for the past 30 years, the Confit of Tasmanian Ocean Trout. This dish was as amazing as it looks and another highlight of the night, the ocean trout was so soft and smooth that you can cut it up into chunks with a spoon – and that’s how it’s suggested to be eaten! The fish was cooked perfectly and topped off with a delicious seaweed sprinkle on top with an umami character that tasted so damn good. It sounds degenerate but it tasted like instant noodle seasoning, but much lighter and perfectly complimented the fish. Combined with fish roe and a refreshing apple salad, each spoonful was pure joy and satisfaction with all flavors blending perfectly and leaving us wanting more.

Served in between dishes 3 and 4 was sourdough bread and a black seasame scroll. While the sourdough was particularly thick and chewy, especialy the crust, the butter was definitely the centre of attention here and truffle lovers will love it. Smooth, slightly sweet, salty and garlicky from the truffle, this butter could be spread for days on bread and I really enjoyed it with the scroll as the flavors worked well with the black sesame to balance.

A very simple looking dish, the Patagonian Toothfish wasn’t too impressive at first but over time became one of the favourites of the night. The fish was cooked perfectly with a nice char around the edges which added flavor and texture, complimented with a delicious smoked pil pil sauce that was worthy of being licked off the plate. The asaparagus was quite sweet but wrapped around with nori seaweed to balance the flavor but it was nothing that worth remembering. The fish is easily the star here and I would have loved if the piece of fish was a bit bigger, and there was more pil pil but that’s just nit picking.

A dish very different to my palette and the only one of the night that I did not enjoy. A lesson that I don’t like foie gras and don’t think I ever will. Not pictured is the sizable piece of duck liver (foie gras) under the sheet, alongside a flurry of mushrooms and topped with a mushroom broth. While the dish smelt great, the texture and taste of the foie gras was a turn off for me and could not be saved by the other elements.

A dish that proved what fine dining does best – combining unique flavors in one dish to make brilliant tasting experiences. While the sirloin itself didn’t blow our minds, it was the combination of the tender wagyu, sweetness of the pickled shiitake and sourness of the raddicchio that brought this altogether. The wagyu was cooked perfectly and was so easy to slice up into reasonable chunks with plenty of mushroom and raddicihio to compliment. An absolutely delicious dish, a great main and way to top off the night before heading to desserts.

After an amazing way to start and experience the night it was important to end on a high note, and the desserts did just that. The Yuzu Posset (pictured left) was extremely refreshing, espesically the Lemon Verbena sorbet. The posset is certainly unique and not something I’ve had before but was light, tangy, sweet and smooth all in one go. Be quick however as it’s a custardy texture that’s quick to melt!

The chocolate stone was visually awesome especially the ring of chocolate which looked like a Masterchef challenge or something lol. The stone is cracked open like a creme brulee with a similar texture inside. While the chocolate itself was quite dark and bit bitter on its own, it perfectly balanced with the dollop of honey flavored icecream and crumb. Get everthing together on the spoon for this one to really stand out.

Finally the petit fours as the official last dish of the night, 2 mini black sesame macarons and 2 mini hazelnut, mascarpone and vanilla financiers. Wow, what a send off because these were both really good. Bite sized sweets that weren’t overpowering or heavy and did not take away from the rest of the exquisite menu. Like a mini snack that was shown grace and care in preparation and a perfect way to end the dining experience at Tetsuya’s.

No doubt that if you’ve read up until now, you’ll know how much I enjoyed eating at Tetsuya’s, from start to finish, each dish (barring 1) were exceptional & unique. Certainly one of, if not, the best experience with food I’ve ever had and if you get the opportunity to, I highy highly highly recommend giving it a go. While the cost may not be for everyone, I’d say it’s worth going to celebrate an occasion and once in a while enjoying the few luxuries in life. I’ll be dreaming about the day I can go back or try Chef Tetsuya Wakuda’s other ventures around the world. Until next time.