Glass, Hilton Hotel, George St, Sydney

Glass, Hilton Hotel, George St, Sydney
Thursday 16 February, 2006

Walking into the recently refurbished Hilton Hotel it's easy to see where the restaurant's name came from. All you can see is glass. It's minimalist, not flashy and Glass brassiere is located on level 2 - just take the escalator from the foyer.

You enter the restaurant through two large glass doors and it's hard not to be impressed by the size or the view straight through the restaurant out to the Queen Victoria building - which looks spectacular lit up at night.

There were four staff waiting at the front desk on my arrival and they all recited 'welcome' in unison. A little taken aback by such an enthusiastic response I was led to my table and received a little history along the way - the restaurant has been open for 8 months and designer Tony Chi is responsible for the amazing interior.

I sat down and was looking directly over to the bread bar - they bake all their own bread on site. It smelt divine and I was promptly delivered a basket of fresh bread with soft butter (thank you) to indulge in while I waited.

I read through the menu and was delighted with the variety and fabulous offerings e.g twice baked gruyere cheese souffle with red wine poached pear & witlof salad; Fig tart, red onion jam, blue cheese and lemon dressing; and Rare roasted venison, beetroot relish and mushroom pie. I was salivating.

My dining companion arrived and after looking over the menu stated that a main meal would be more than enough. Great.....here we are at a fabulous restaurant with beautiful, fresh, quality food and....well, I digress.

I absolutely loved the Rare roasted venison, beetroot relish and mushroom pie. The venison was tender and the beetroot relish was the perfect accompaniment. Sure, it's at the upper end of the scale at $37 however it was delicious. I asked the staff to recommend a wine by the glass and was thrilled with the shiraz they produced from the impressive wine list.

The staff were over attentive but with the lack of service I have been experiencing lately - this approach was a welcome surprise. This restaurant was completely wasted on my dining companion however I thoroughly enjoyed it and will definitey return.

Glass - L2, 488 George St, Sydney - (02) 92856068

http://www.glassbrasserie.com.au/