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Bentley Restaurant and Bar
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Restaurant
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Sydney
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Open:
Lunch and dinner daily
Price:
Moderate
Score (/20):
17
Reviewed By
Sue Dyson and Roger McShane
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Phone Number:
+61 2 9332 2344
Address:
320 Crown St
Surry Hills, New South Wales, 2010
Country:
Australia
Food Style:
Modern Australian
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The dynamic team of Nick Hildebrandt as sommelier/front of house and Brent Savage as chef has really set the Bentley on metaphoric fire.The food is edgy yet rooted in good produce and excellent technique and no matter how complex the dish there will always be a wine that will perfectly match the food.Hildebrandt is always eager to provide his expert advice. You might find yourself starting with a steely German Riesling then moving on to an Auxerrois from Luxembourg (yes, Luxembourg!) segueing to a Tempranillo from Rioja or an Agoritiki from the Peloponnese before moving to a satiny Chateauneuf-du-Pape and then finishing off with a Jurançon or a Banyuls depending on your choice of dessert.Our most recent meal started with a stunning J.L. Wolf Pechstein Riesling from Germany. This proved to be a seminal wine with a sensational mouth feel and a long, long, lingering finish. One of the signature dishes of the restaurant was bought to the table - two good quality Spanish white anchovies threaded on a stick and coated with pistachio praline in the shape of a lollipop. The sweetness of the praline tempered the acidity of the anchovies and blended with the wine with perfect ease.And things got even better when the lovely measuring spoons arrived bearing a small tartare of tuna that was teamed with clear tomato broth and squid ink. This was followed by a sampling of three gazpacho variations served in squat glasses - a red version made from tomato and pepper, a green version bolstered by cucumber and celery and a white version derived from almonds. These were all stunning.A dish of raw kingfish topped with liquid wasabi was teamed with the most unexpected wine of the night. This was a Clos de Rochers Auxerrois from Luxembourg - and we didn't even know that wine was produced in Luxembourg! This lovely, yellow-tinged wine exhibited some citrus aromas, has a slightly mineral taste and a beautifully long finish. It married perfectly with the fish and the slight heat from the wasabi.And then the dish of the night! The description of "Venison sausage with honeycomb tripe salad and horseradish' belied the complexity of the dish. Some slices of anise flavoured sausage were flanked by two splodges of fine horseradish cream, sitting on top of a layer of jelly made from meat juices. Surrounding this was a drizzle of densely flavoured green basil sauce. Also on the plate was the salad of tripe wrapped in deep fried tripe and cured venison. Adding more complexity were some basil and some shisho leaves. This dish was a riot of textures and flavours and is a dish we hope to try again and again. The accompanying wine was a Herencia Remondo 'La Montessa' Rioja which was velvety, warm, enveloping and beautifully structured. Pan roasted jewfish with a salt cod sabayon, zucchini flowers and a spice broth and slow cooked pork with kohl rabi, chicory and a prune sauce were both fine main courses to accompany the Domaine de Villeneuve Chateauneuf-du-Pape.A pre-dessert of mango sorbet in a lychee soup with lemon foam sprinkled with black sesame seeds was a fitting segue into the sweet courses. We tried the dessert that is causing a buzz around Sydney, namely the chocolate 'Aero' that conjures up memories of childhood chocolates. This slice of chocolate and mint perfection was accompanied by orange 'paper', a sweet basil sauce and bread pudding ice cream. Another dessert saw pineapple 'rings' enclosing blobs of beautiful tapioca and rosemary jelly and topped by an ethereal coconut meringue. To accompany these dishes we enjoyed a Salomon Unghof Noble Belber Traminer from Krems in Austria and one of our favourite sweet drinks, A Les Clos de Pauillies 'Cap Bear' Banyuls from Rousillon in France.We hope that the description of the dishes we have provided will entice you to try this great venue. The only warning we will give is that it can be quite noisy but this is a minor problem when you are eating such great food, drinking such an amazing array of wines and being served with care and amazing attention to detail.Review: January 2007
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