Est, George Street, Sydney

Est, George Street, Sydney
Thursday 6 April, 2006

You know you are in for a great night when the birthday boy is a personal friend of Peter Doyle and John Hemmes.

Est was awarded three hats in the 2006 Good Food Guide and is worthy of four. The entire experience is hard to fault. From the minute we arrived, which was champagne night downstairs at Establishment, we knew the night was going to be special.

As you exit the lifts on the first floor, the staff are impeccable. They are courteous, discreet and seem to know what is going to happen before it does.

We indulged in a very fine champagne after being seated at a fabulous table near the huge front windows - the dining room is minimalist with crisp white tables cloths and cream chairs - the lighting is varied and it works. The entire look and feel is elegant.

We enjoyed our champagne as the restaurant filled with eager diners. The menu is concise and some items require explanation. As we perused the menus, Peter Doyle himself arrived at the table to express his birthday wishes - nice touch.

I didn't take long to decide what I was having - sashimi of king fish with salmon caviar for entree and pan roasted lamb rib eye, green peas, chanterelles, sauteed sweetbreads and rosemary for main. The birthday boy stayed true to his regular order of freshly shucked oysters from today's market and mignonette granita for entree and pan roasted lamb rib eye, green peas, chanterelles, sauteed sweetbreads and rosemary for main. The birthday buddies ordered grillade of prawns, scallops, calamari and asparagus, red chilli and almond salsa; freshly shucked oysters from today's market and mignonette granita for entree and a special request for one of the tasting menu options - raviolo of prawns on snow peas, lemongrass and shellfish vinaigrettes - they were happy to oblidge. For mains the birthday buddies selected the crisp skin john dory fillet and grilled white scallop, sauternes - carrot juice -oloroso emulsion and the grilled black angus fillet of beef, asparagus, portobello mushroom, roasted shallots and tarragon.

The food was exquisite - everything was cooked to perfection and beautifully presented. The wine, ordered by the birthday boy, was sensational - Scarborough chardonnay that we enjoyed all night. The white wine glasses were spectacular - large bulbous glasses that looked like you only had a small amount of wine in them.

After the mains were cleared we were provided with dessert menus - not a chance. However, some of the birthday buddies did indulge in the bittersweet valrhona chocolate torte, liqueur muscat jelly, hazelnut praline ice cream and the caramelised apples on pain d'epice, cinnamon ice cream, vanilla - caramel sauce. I had a mouthful of both and all I can say is WOW!

Est is a wonderful experience - the food, service and atmosphere are hard to fault. And....what a thrill to meet Peter Doyle

Est - L1, 252 George Street, Sydney - (02) 9240 3010

http://www.merivale.com/establishment