Garden Court Bistro, Phillip St, Sydney

Garden Court Bistro, Phillip St, Sydney
Monday 2 April, 2007

The Garden Court Bistro is currently offering a '30 minute lunch' special. That's right, you read correctly, served in 30 minutes or a money back guarantee. For $38pp (not including drinks) this is an absolute bargain - the setting is lovely, the decor is new and the food is very, very good. I can only sum this up by saying............make your lunch reservation today!

The Accor Hotels brief states,

"Accor’s Sofitels in Australia will this month launch an innovative “30 Minute Lunch” that will provide a quality four-course meal with the order taken and the meal fully served within half an hour. And the lunch comes with a Sofitel guarantee – if you don’t get your meal within 30 minutes it’s free!

The refined four-course lunch will provide guests and diners from local businesses a sophisticated, beautifully presented meal within half an hour, while not compromising on quality. This complete dining experience will include four courses – appetizer; soup or salad; entrée; and dessert – all beautifully presented and served simultaneously on special crockery, with the dishes highlighting the best local produce.

Menus will change seasonally and dishes will vary to showcase the finest ingredients. The lunch will be complemented by an extensive list of wines by the glass or bottle. Available Monday to Friday, the 30-Minute Lunch menu will be offered in the restaurant/café only (not available via room service) from 12 noon until 2.30pm. The prix-fix (fixed price) meal will range in price from approximately AUD$25 to $38 per person depending on the seasonality of produce.

“Time may be a challenge for today’s busy executives and travellers, but that shouldn’t mean they have to compromise on quality,” said Thomas Van Vliet, Vice President Sofitel Asia Pacific. “The Sofitel 30-minute lunch offers a four-course ‘tasting plate’ that fits into the busiest schedule and offers a new alternative to lunches that leave you too full to concentrate on work afterwards.” “The food may be fast but there is no way you could compare it to ‘fast food’ and I think people will be surprised at the high standard of food they can get at this price and in such a short timeframe.” “This is a fine dining experience that can be served efficiently and with minimum fuss.”

To give an example of the quality of food available, the menu might include such dishes as tropical hot smoked salmon fillet with caper and tomato salsa as an appetizer; duck consommé with wild mushrooms for soup/salad selection; eye fillet of beef with exotic mushroom pie or north Queensland barramundi fillet with baby leeks and lemon myrtle beurre blanc for entrée; and cointreau-infused crème caramel with orange zest or a rhubarb brulee for dessert. Most Sofitels will offer three choices of each appetizer, entrée, soup/salad selection and dessert."

Our party of 4 arrived for lunch and were shown to our window table overlooking the garden outside. It really felt like we were far, far way from the hustle bustle of the city streets below. The decor is minimal and you really get a sense of space - the tables are well spaced apart, the gorgeous silver framed mirrors that line the walls are a wonderful touch that bounce light from the outside, the soft pink/ grey tomes of the furniture are welcoming and the table settings are impeccable.

We were delivered bread sticks and artichoke dip and then another basket with thick sliced bread and a selection of olive oils while we viewed the menu offerings. I ordered the following:

- Grilled scallops
- Caesar salad
- Beef sirloin with potato gratin
- Lenotre lemon tart (Lenotre - the most famous Parisian patisserie was established over 50 years ago by Gaston Lenotre. The Sofitel Wentworth has it's very own Lenotre pastry chef - Mark Stone)

The presentation was first class - imagine a large square platter with four smaller plates placed on top. Each smaller plate housed one course - so everything was delivered together. We were all seriously impressed with the presentation and didn't know where to start. The food was seriously good, the scallops were large and plump, the beef sirloin came to the table medium - maybe a little over cooked for my liking but still very good, and the lemon tart was achingly sweet and just delightful. The best part was the portion size - the servings were small, like tasting plates so we were not full after eating just satisfied.

The staff were attentive and really meant well with their extra touches e.g. individual dishes with lemon & lime slices for your water and a selection of olive oils for our bread - we chose the lemon myrtle and it was delicious.

Make your booking today!

Garden Court Bistro, Sofitel Wentworth - L5, 61-101 Phillip St, Sydney - (02) 9228 9104

http://www.sofitelsydney.com.au/sydney_hotel/bistro.html