Altitude Restaurant

By Franz Scheurer

The panoramic views over Sydney from Altitude Restaurant, and the adjacent Blu Horizon Bar, on level 36 of the newly refurbished Shangri-La Hotel are amazing. Décor is unmistakably modern 5 star hotel, table- and flatware are excellent and glassware is Riedel. The restaurant seats 105 and there is a private dining room to the east for 12. Interesting light fittings brake up the otherwise stark interior and a wine wall at the back of the restaurant is a great visual feature, although you would need a high turnover to justify the exposure to light and temperature changes.

Scottish Head Chef George Jardine’s menu is an interesting read. You can eat a-la-carte, the 3 course menu du jour or the 8 course degustation. The bar has its own bar menu. The wine list is comprehensive and very competitively priced and a lot of thought has gone into it.

Trying the degustation we start with a ‘Pea Cappuccino with poached foie gras’, an attractive looking demi-tasse of foamed broth, rich in texture and under-seasoned. The ‘Chilled scallop with baby leek and caviar dressing’ again presents very well, has good texture and lacks salt. The ‘Slightly warm confit tuna with Eringi mushroom and zucchini’ is well crafted and a superb dish. A dish of “Ravioli black marron, butternut and lemon verbena’ is unctuous, with dark flavours lifted up by the scent of the lemon verbena and the ‘Vanilla roasted John Dory with Port reduction’ is pretty, perfectly seasoned and much better than I expected from the description. The ‘Wagyu “marble score 10” with cauliflower’ is served blue and well rested. Being Australian Wagyu, though, it should be rated 9+. In Australia beef marble scorers are only accredited to score to a maximum 9 out of 12, hence the term 9+ in the Australian Wagyu industry to describe marble scores 10, 11 or 12. The ‘Gorgonzola piccante, poached pear’ turns out to be an excellent mousse with pear on the side and the ‘Raspberries and cream’, the dish of the night, are raspberries topped with a cinnamon crackling and cardamom ice cream. The bread served throughout the meal is from Fuel and it is superb.

Service is friendly but unpolished and uninformed. The food is good but doesn’t reach the heights of the location at this stage. The private dining room is gorgeous and I can see it booked for corporate dinners on a regular basis. Value for money is good and the sommelier knows his wines.

Score: 7/10

For more information or bookings:

Altitude Restaurant

Level 36

176 Cumberland Street

The Rocks, Sydney

Tel.: 02 9250 6123