Tetsuya’s

Restaurant Review by Franz Scheurer

Tetsuya’s is an oasis of peace in the middle of a bustling city. If you’re sitting in the bar and are looking out at the serene Japanese garden that the restaurant is built around, you could be a million miles away. Although the restaurant is always packed there is so much personal space that you are ensured enough privacy to discuss a delicate business deal or take a prospective lover on a first date.

Tetsuya’s food is not about smoke and mirrors, it’s about the quiet meditation on a dish and you can be certain that the dish gets even better with time. This is a style of food that takes guts and conviction. You are easily shot down in this town for not being innovative enough, yet it is the subtle changes that often go unnoticed by the lesser palate.

One thing has changed, though: eating at Tetsuya’s was always a quiet, contemplative affair. People would whisper to each other and the sound of a dropped fork would be like a thunderclap. No more! Now the diners at Tetsuya’s are a boisterous lot, enjoying themselves and daring to have fun. It’s both refreshing and appealing.

Last night we ate ourselves thorough the 15-course degustation.

We started with a ‘Chilled Cucumber Soup with Sheep Yoghurt Ice Cream’, which not only got your saliva going it was utterly delicious. A couple of ‘Pacific Oysters with Rice Vinegar & Ginger’ teased our palates next; creamy, briny with a touch of sweetness. The following dish was a revelation. Not only did no one at the table guess what it was, it mimicked meat in a way that a carnivore would never know the difference. It was served simply as ‘Carpaccio’ and it wasn’t until later that the waitstaff revealed that it was ‘Watermelon Carpaccio’. They freeze the melon, compact it to break the cell-structure, smoke then refreeze it and the eventual effect is very similar to thinly sliced beef, albeit a little sweeter. It was a cracker! ‘Sashimi of Kingfish with Blackbean & Orange’ surprised by the contrast between the blackbeans and the orange flavours and the ‘Marinated NZ Scampi with Avocado Soup & Avruga’ could have been a dated dish, but it was perfectly presented, sweet, savoury, soft, gooey and presenting some bite all at once. Superb. It also proves that you don’t have to call Avruga caviar (as it is not) and the product itself has its uses. I still think that Oscietra would be better, though. The signature dish of ‘Confit Petuna Ocean Trout with Konbu, Celery & Apple’ had evolved into a superlative offering. This is both a cerebral dish and a totally satisfying morsel of food for your tummy. The inherent depth of flavour in the konbu’s natural MGS works a treat. ‘Fillet of Leatherjacket with Onion Petals & Pil Pil’ confirmed that this fish is an underused species. It’s about the closest you’ll ever get, in taste and texture, to fugu fish (without the dangers).

The change to meat was heralded by ‘Braised Oxtail with Seacucumber & Yuzu’ and it was probably my dish of the night. The dark flavours of the oxtail, married to the gelatinous texture of the seacucumber were simply stunning. Yuzu (a member of the citrus family) gave the dish a welcome lift. ‘Pancetta Wrapped Quail Breast with Fresh Sprouts & Onion’ followed the texture-theme and the ‘Slow-Roasted Breast of Duck with Smoked Leeks & Sansho’ cried out for a Pinot Noir, which of course materialised instantly. ‘Braised Beef Short Ribs with Mustard Miso & Watercress Purée’ was the last of the savoury courses and I can tell you that the mustard miso is addictive! I also love the heat that the watercress added to the dish. A duet of pre-desserts started the sweet odyssey: ‘Sorbet of Pione Grapes with Summer Pudding’. Both were real stand-outs and the summer pudding was amongst the couple of best ones I ever tasted. ‘White Peach with Peach Granita’ was next and it was the dessert I liked most. Absolutely superb flavours with gorgeous fresh peach slices lifted this into something extraordinary. ‘Chocolate Pavé with Cream Cheese Ice Cream & Cinnamon Twigs’ fulfilled every chocoholic’s dreams and the meal finished on tiny ‘Chai Mochi’.

Tetsuya’s wine list, put together by Wine Director / Sommelier Greg Plowes (who prefers to stay in the background) is extraordinary and front of house Stuart Halliday and General Manager Jerry Jones do it justice. We opted for the matched wines, giving them a free hand and the wines not only matched the food perfectly, they were excellent wines with some curios thrown in. We started with a Jérôme Prévost La Closerie 2006, followed by a superbly elegant ‘Tengumai Bunseirokunen Sake’ specially brewed for Tetsuya. A Japanese white wine was next (yes, you heard right) with a native grape and a winemaking tradition that goes back over a thousand years: ‘Grace Toriibira Vineyard 2009’ from the Yamanashi prefecture. The ‘Skillogalee Gewürztraminer’ form the Clare was lovely and dry and the ‘Pierro Chardonnay 2003’ proves that stelvin is the way to go. The ‘Mencia Petalos Decendientes de J. Palacios 2008’ from Bierzo in Spain was light, elegant and almost smoky whereas a ‘Foster E Rocco Nuovo Sangiovese 2010’ an unoaked wine from Heathcote showed strong varietal notes with a touch of sweetness. As I said earlier, the duck cried out for a Pinot Noir and ‘The Wanderer 2008’ has to be one of the most Burgundian in style made in this country. The last savoury course was accompanied by ‘Collector Marked Tree Red 2005’ a rarely seen and utterly sublime red from the Canberra district. The ‘Heggies Botrytis Riesling 2007’ supplied both sweetness and acid and the ‘Seppeltsfield Cellar No. 6 Tokay’ from Rutherglen was the perfect finish to a long and satisfying meal.

Eating at Tetsuya’s totally blows you away the first time you eat there and will keep on doing so on subsequent visits. I have eaten at Tetsuya’s since the Rozelle days and I always find it an experience. The food, the wines, the service, the atmosphere and that little ‘Je ne sais quoi’ holds my attention.

Tetsuya Wakuda, despite his fame, is one of the most humble people in this cut-throat industry and his ability to chose his lieutenants is uncanny.

Tetsuya, I salute you.

Would I go again: Of course

Best dish: the oxtail

Noise: 82 db

Score: 9.5/10

For more information and bookings:

Tetsuya’s

529 Kent Street

Sydney NSW 2000

Tel.: 02 9267 2900