Sydney's Most Influential Tasting Menu
Tetsuya's on Kent Street has been one of the most influential restaurants in modern Australian cooking history. Tetsuya Wakuda's Japanese-French tasting menu, built around a calm Japanese-garden interior, helped define what Australian fine dining could be, and continues to set the standard the country's better current rooms are still measured against.
The cooking is Japanese technique applied to Australian ingredients: confit Tasmanian ocean trout (the dish that became internationally-famous), considered seasonal vegetable cookery, sauces with the proper restraint Japanese fine dining demands.
What to Expect
Order the tasting, that is the only thing the room serves. The menu rotates with the seasons but the confit ocean trout remains a fixture for diners who request it. Expect ten or so courses, careful sake pairings, and the kind of unhurried pacing that proper Japanese fine dining demands.
The Format
The Japanese-garden setting, koi pond, considered plantings, the calm interior architecture, is part of the experience. The room has barely changed in over two decades. Reservations need 6 to 8 weeks notice for prime dates.
Best Occasion: Anniversary
An anniversary at Tetsuya's is one of Sydney's most sustained celebration moves. The room provides the setting; the multi-course pacing provides the structure; the wine and sake programmes provide the ascent the occasion deserves.