Annata Restaurant & Wine Bar — Restaurant in Sydney

2025 Jan 28 Dinner

I've been to Annata a few times, and last week, five of us returned to celebrate my mate's birthday and experience Chef Garcia's Tuesday Tasting. As always, the food was exceptional—each dish was packed with flavor and beautifully balanced. Annata consistently lives up to its well-deserved one-hat rating.

The service was outstanding. John, the owner, and his manager, James, went above and beyond to ensure everything was perfect. On a previous visit on Aug 31, we were accidentally charged for an extra drink, but they immediately corrected the mistake and promised a complimentary drink next time. True to their word, when we arrived this time, James greeted us at the reception and let us know that a round of sweet wine would be on the house—before we had even sat down! Their attentiveness and sincerity left a lasting impression.

To start the evening, John recommended the Drama Queen Sparkling, which delivered a delightful bubbly kick—we loved it. The highlight of the night, however, was the complimentary Chateau Lapinesse. It was fruity and well-balanced, with bright notes of yuzu zest and verbena.

As lovers of fine dining, we visit hatted restaurants at least once a month, and Annata remains one of our absolute favorites.

2024 March 19 Dinner

After a remarkable evening at Margret with our friends to celebrate my wife’s early birthday last week, we decided to try something new on her birthday. Wow, what a fantastic by-chance find.

Tuesday happens to be Annata’s Chef’s Tuesday Tasting night. From appetisers to deserts, every dish was delicious and flavourful. My wife does not eat beef. The Chef replaced the first course with a kingfish dish. Absolutely superb and it was her dish of the night. 5+ out of 5. Fun to give direct inputs to the Chef on each dish and got involved with the staffs. The service was exceptional. Special thanks to James who looked after us well throughout the night.

Great meal, fantastic service, $80 for a four-course dinner in a one hatted restaurant. It is a steal. We loved it, and we will be back with...

If you are really into your wines, then this is the place for you as there appears to be a huge selection and the owner and sommelier, John, is truly knowledgeable and enthusiastic. However, if wines are not particularly your thing and you are just looking for a nice place for romantic dinner, there are better options that are less pretentious or expensive.

The food was very nice. The beef cheeks were particularly tender and my husband very much enjoyed the smokey flavour of the pork neck. The horchata gelato with corn husk meringue was interesting though it would have been nicer with more gelato and less of the passionfruit cream. Overall, the food was very enjoyable (though the plating was not particularly inspired) but what I would expect from a hatted restaurant and for the prices that were charged. I did think that being charged $8 for a bottle of non-descript sparkling water (it looked like sparking water from a Zip tap in a recycled wine bottle) was a bit cheeky though.

The service staff were very friendly and efficient. But, if it is possible to be over-friendly and efficient, they certainly were. I had chosen this restaurant based on reviews for a rare "date night" dinner with my husband and in fact told our waitress when she asked us on our arrival. However, between the constant attention of bringing our food, describing our meal, asking if we were ok, immediate clearing of our plates and bringing of our bill, we didn't manage to have an uninterrupted conversation and it certainly was not a slow relaxed meal. We were in and out in just over an hour for a 3-course meal! In addition, despite it not being that busy on a Thursday evening (a number of empty tables), we were seated quite close to 2 out of the 4 occupied tables in the area and we spent the bulk of our evening listening to various wines being described to them for tasting. This certainly was interesting but definitely not the romantic dinner I was...

Lunched here on a Friday.

Absolutely stunning experience all round. One would think it is a sleepy little restaurant on a busy street dominated by takeaway and cafe venues but I learnt not to judge a book by its cover.

I really struggled to flaw this place. I couldn't believe we were the only table occupied at this restaurant.

My wife and I chose the 5 course menu and upgraded a dish to the lobster for $10 (highly recommend) and added, 6 Oysters, bread with salted butter, shoe string fries with bbq seasoning and whipped soy for sauce (pleasant) and a leafy salad with a shaved cheese.

In addition to the set menu we were served a small skewer each that was a smokey teriaki beef cooked over coals and with a side of a pickel.

After that pleasant addition the first course was lightly curved Bonito with smooth avo and wasabi oil. I usally and not a fan favourite of cured fish but seeing as it was lightly cured I enjoyed this dish.

Second course was somewhat miles ahead of a sophisticated cabornara. Home made pasta with smoked eel in a generous serving

Third course my wife and shared the lobster addition and Hapuka. The Hapuka was great but you could ignore the smoke infused lobster. I usally dont appreciate lobster like it should but in this case i but my prejudices aside and enjoyed it.

Fourth course was a lamb. It was tender and cooked perfectly. Couldn't fault it. However the green olive sauce did resonate to well with me.

The fifth course was a delicious dessert. It looked sophisticated and I liked how the chefs didn't try and complicate a dessert with unnecessary ingredients. This dish tasted light and fun. All the components was outstanding. When eating the mascopone I closer my eyes and it brought me back to Rome.

Over all I highly recommend and want to thank the staff for making this...