Guillaume at Bennelong

By Franz Scheurer

An international icon like the Sydney Opera House deserves a chef of equal standing and Guillaume Brahimi does it justice. He won the Australian Gourmet Pages’ Restaurant of the year award in 2004 when he and his team were firing on all cylinders presenting a dining experience that was unequalled in this town at the time. Commitments elsewhere and a bistro in Melbourne probably took its toll as chef was not there all the time and regardless how good the team, things can suffer a little, and they did. However I also hasten to say that I never had a bad meal at Brahimi’s restaurant but I also realise that it’s hard to disguise my appearance and pass for ‘unknown’. Be that as it may, Guillaume at Bennelong has lifted the bar on fine dining in Sydney with chef’s 100% attention, an incredibly dedicated and capable team and food that deserves the highest accolades, worldwide. I have eaten at 3-Michelin-star restaurants the world over and not one would offer you a better dining experience than Guillaume at Bennelong right now. Different, sure, better: no.

Chef’s new menu is a cracker. Dishes like the ‘West Australian Marron’ served on a bed sealed foie gras, fresh radish and Tasmanian wasabi with mushrooms, oysters and smoked duck consommé is worth every cent of the $60 it costs. This is an amazing combination of textures and flavours. If the initial aroma doesn’t suck you in then the first bit of the succulent, perfectly seared foie gras will and the duck consommé with freshly shucked and diced oysters to serve, has an unimaginable depth. This is one hell of a dish! Another entrée worthy of your attention is something that sounds really simple: ‘Salad of Baby Summer Vegetables’. This dish is made à-la-minute, each type of vegetable cooked separately to preserve total integrity and it’s served with a Meredith goats’ curd that has been marinated in-house. Cost is $30. This dish could turn you into a vegetarian!

For mains I suggest you try the ‘Roasted Barossa Valley Chicken and Yabbies’, $58, which is a chicken breast in half-mourning (with truffle shavings under the skin), deglazed with Vin Jaune and served with corn, asparagus and morels. I have never seen such tiny morels and a bit like the tiny forest strawberries in Europe, they pack a punch. I’ve eaten many a chook in my day but this is a really special dish. Another winner is the ‘Slowly Cooked Blue Eye Trevalla’, $58, served with a superbly light and fragrant lemon emulsion, watercress velouté and a substantial dollop of Sterling caviar. It’s earthy, briny and salty, reminding me of a day on windswept Harris in Scotland. For me, the dish of the night has to be Guillaume Brahimi’s interpretation of a pot-au-feu. Chef realises that he can’t present a peasant dish like pot-au-feu the traditional way but he cleverly takes all the relevant parts and constructs a new, challenging, yet strangely familiar dish: ‘Poached Ranger Valley Beef Tenderloin’ which is a gorgeous piece of meat cooked slowly sous-vide, served with pickles vegetables, shiitake mushrooms and bone marrow, in a beef consommé with an English mustard emulsion. This is an absolute stroke of genius and I would keep returning for this dish and its marvellous mustard emulsion. It’s so good I could lick the pot… did I? Really?

Old favourites like the Tortellini of Peas, Royale of Asparagus (now made with Mud Crab) are of course still available so is the labour-intensive and superb Turban of Scampi with Spaghetti and a lemon and caviar sauce. If you never had the Turban before, please do yourself a favour and try it.

Desserts are stunning and just as generous as the savoury food. Leave some space (or come back for a more dessert-heavy meal).

John Clancy, sommelier extraordinaire, looks after drinks and his wine knowledge and passion is only surpassed by his adventurousness. John really knows how to push the envelope and he’s one of the very few sommeliers I trust 100% and never bother to order wine but leave it in his capable hands.

Service is personable without ever appearing intrusive and what the staff on the floor doesn’t know they will go and find out. No bullshit here.

Did I love it? Totally

Would I recommend it? To friends, visitors, foodies and sundry; YES

Noise: 70 db

That little ‘je ne sais quoi’: The lighting in the restaurant creates wonderful little, personal islands for each table. Unlike anywhere else.

Score: 9.5/10

Guillaume at Bennelong

At Sydney Opera House

Bennelong Point

Sydney NSW 2000

Tel.: 02 9241 1999