Quay
Review by Franz Scheurer
Eating at Quay is an experience that is never entirely predictable. You know you’ll get Peter Gilmore’s superb food but there is always something new; a tweak here and a tweak there, some new cutlery, new plates, a different way to plate an old favourite, a subtle change in flavour; it obviously keeps both back of house and front of house staff fresh and interested.
I am particularly impressed with the level of service that ‘just gets it right’; never too friendly, never too aloof. They know their business and I’ve seen most of them somewhere else before, be that Otto, Tetsuyas, Flying Fish, etc. but one thing they have in common: they left an impression. There is no faceless wait staff here. The food is simply stunning and I am happy to say that the wine list with its wide but appropriate choices manages to stand on its own. I am also pleasantly surprised at the price point. Quay’s wines are affordable and they have obviously hade the conscious decision to cut the mark-ups. It works for me, thank you very much.
Today I had the pleasure to enjoy Peter Gilmore’s Tasting Menu with the Premium Wine Matches. It went something like this (after a glass of Bollinger to start with):
Raw native freshwater marron, young
almonds, bergamot marmalade, pomelo, green mango, elder, chamomile
Matches with: 2009 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling form the Mosel, Germany
This dish really did get you salivating with its rather astringent and acidic first bite where the pomelo got full exposure, but as the other flavours cut in the acid faded into a well-balanced, texturally surprising dish and the residual sugar in the Riesling worked magically.
Mud crab congee, fresh palm heart
Matched with a 2004 Señorans Albariño from Rias Baixas, Spain
What a delight! This is a really superb dish with all the flavours contrasting and complementing each other. Loved the crisp, clean palm heart, so unexpected.
Gently poached southern rock lobster, hand
caught Tasmanian squid, golden tapioca, lobster velvet
Matches with a 2010 ‘Le Mont Sec’ Vouvray, from the Loire in France
This had to be the dish of the day! Unbelievably good with the gorgeous flavours of the rock lobster and the squid, the beautiful textural tapioca and the soft, gooey lobster velvet, all perfectly matched by a young Vouvray. I think I’m in love!
Smoked and confit pig jowl, shiitake,
shaved scallop, Jerusalem artichoke juniper, bay
With a 2004 Benedict & Stéphane Tissot Vin Jaune, Jura, France
This is a very clever dish and Peter Gilmore has every right to be excited about this newcomer to his menu. He cold-smokes the pig jowl, confits it and hides it under the other ingredients. It’s sensational. The Vin Jaune works a treat (and I admit to this being one of my favourite wines)
Slow cooked coturnix quail breast, stone
ground semolina enriched with Alba truffle butter, buckwheat, faro, walnuts,
pumpernickel, malt
Matched with the quirky 2004 Vigneti Massa ‘Monleale’ Barbera D.O.C. from Piemonte in Italy
To me this dish was all about textures. It’s different and it works. It’s rich, yet austere, gooey yet crunchy and the Barbera is a good, also textural match.
Pure bred Wagyu, bitter chocolate black
pudding, oxtail consommé
2008 Rockford Basket Press Shiraz, Barossa Valley, Australia
Deep, rich flavours and lovely soft textures make this dish stand out amongst a plethora of other superb dishes; not an easy feat with the last savoury dish of the day. The big and fruit-forward Rockford works perfectly.
White nectarine snow egg
With the 2007 Domaine de L’Arjolle ‘Lyre’, from Pouzolles in France’s Languedoc
Peter Gilmore’s snow egg is world-class and probably his best dessert ever. The inspired match with the sweet but totally clean and never cloying ‘Lyre’ is as perfect as a food/wine match can be. Glorious!
Ewe’s milk ice–cream, caramel, roasted
walnuts, prune, Pedro Ximénez, chocolate bark, pulled toffee, vanilla milk skin
With Mas Blanc ‘Cuvée du Dr André Parcé’, Banyuls, France
It looks like a tiny porcupine and looking at this dessert it’s impossible not to smile. It’s pretty full-on, dense, sweet, bitter and extremely filling. To serve it with a Banyuls is a brave move as the sweetness of the dessert far outweighs the sweetness in the wine. Nevertheless, it works, although it is not the best match. I would like to see something with a far higher alcohol content to finish off the meal and I think a Glenmorangie Signet would be just about the perfect match.
I also want to mention the terrific Sonoma bread served at Quay. It’s every bit as good as it looks.
The above extravaganza is followed by coffee, tea and petits fours, and although the food is not heavy you will leave sated indeed.
Peter Gilmore reminded me that I was the first to review him when he started at Quay (how time flies!) and my review was then confirmed by Matthew Evans’ review a short time later. It’s been a very long time since I reviewed Quay and I am glad to say that every time I’ve been there over the years it got a little better. How do you improve on perfection? Gilmore somehow manages it.
Quay is a restaurant worthy of the world stage and you have the chance of taking a little bit of Quay and Peter Gilmore home with the book: Quay, Food Inspired by Nature; it’s a fascinating read. A signed copy is available at the restaurant for $95. Money well spent.
Would I go again? Short answer: Yes! Long answer: Yes, Yes, Yes!
Would I recommend Quay to my friends? Absolutely.
Best dish: The rock lobster with the golden tapioca
Noise: 74 DB
Score: 9.5/10
For more information and bookings:
Quay
Overseas Passenger Terminal
The Rocks
Sydney
Tel.: 02 9251 5600
e-mail: reservations@quay.com.au