Rise, Craigend St, Darlinghurst

Rise, Craigend St, Darlinghurst
Sunday 4 December, 2005

I first experienced Rise back in March. It was touted as the next Tetsuya's and whilst I thought it was good - it was no match for Tetsuya Wakuda.

Chef Hideki Okazaki offers the OMAKASE - special selection which comprises of 7 signature dishes. It is typically $70 per person but more recently has been available for between $35 - $42 per person. This is a serious bargain and consists of:

Appetiser - prawn & cauliflower salad with orange cream, pickled plum tomato salsa
Soup - potato soup with oyster tempura & tofu
Sashimi - assorted 5 varieties of today's fresh market sashimi
Seasonal plate - Rise style crispy fried soft shell crab tacos; miso - flavoured duck sushi; simmer eel fresh spring rill, cucumber, gochujang mayo
Pasta dish - zucchini flower on polenta cube with chunyung chilli sauce
Main course - braised 'kakuni' pork with asian green vegetables & chinese five spice jus
Dessert - pannacotta with black sesame ice cream & tuile

The food is beautiful, it is artfully presented and fresh. For the discount price of $42 this place is a must - there is no way this deal will remain in place for long, so take the initiative and book your table now.

The downside is the service - the staff are well-meaning and very pleasant however they are not polished & have a long way to go. They need to make more of an effort to explain the dishes as they are presented to the tables and interact with their guests; and the location - parking is a premium in this area and there is no parking station in the near vicinity - if you can score a park on the main road where the parking is free after 6pm - take it.

Rise - 23 Craigend Street, Darlinghurst - (02) 93571755