Black Bottle — Restaurant in Sydney

an unassuming French eatery and wine bar sits in the quiet backstreets of 📍Darlinghurst, waiting for discovery! and trust me, you'll be in for a real treat when you step in...

we started off with house-made flatbread dipped in dukkha and olive oil, and pastis flambéed prawns in garlic and chilli butter 🧈🦐 very yum!

vannella stracciatella w rock melon & bresaola 🍈 a fresh, simple combination of premium ingredients. no complaints for this perfect starter!

beef eye fillet tartare w confit egg yolk & pureed eggplant easily one of my top rated tartares in Sydney! perfectly balanced, smooth and rich, loved the addition of the eggplant. going ham on the parmesan is always 10/10 for me 🧀 so i polished off majority of this easily

Aylesbury duck breast w daikon, radish & jus 🦆 succulent duck breast cooked well with a signature crispy skin, and paired with a rich, clear jus. i thought this was really delicious on its own, and didn't care much for the radish or daikon as they were a lil flavourless. we paired this with a round of truffle fries and were fully satisfied!

creme brulee & berry compote 🫐 cracking into this was the perfect ending to our dinner; the hardened sugar was thick, caramelised and sweet, the custard filling was soft and smooth. tartness from the sour berries relieved the palate and had me begging for more.

overall, i really enjoyed by time here and would definitely be interested in returning to try out some different menu items.

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There are two ways to cook calamari chef Raphael Szurek explains when I praise his cooking, either very fast or slow. He’s opted for the quick method in grilled calamari ($24) where translucent white loops mingle with Brazilian kiss peppers, chorizo and lemon puree under a tapioca cracker. It’s a faultless dish and a fine way to kick off Sydney’s al fresco dining season.

We’re dining in the Victoria Street courtyard of Black Bottle. It’s a Sunday evening and we were lured in by both the reputation of the chef and the fact that the bar offers five buck BYO in Darlinghurst! Szurek, who trained under Paul Bocuse, does not disappoint across a trio of plump prawns flambeed in pastis ($12) with just the right amount of chilli. We scoop them onto thick-cut, crusty grilled bread. Also from the well-priced snack menu, a pot of pickled baby octopus ($12) in preserved lemon is enjoyed the same way.

Celebrating the seasonal bounty of spring, West Australian coral trout ($44) catches my attention from the short list of four mains. The crisp-skinned, flaky white fish sits on shaved asparagus, green beans and sugar snaps in a burnt lemon butter that makes the crisp greens extra delicious. Carbohydrates are not forgotten with texturally perfect pillows of gnocchi tucked within this eye-catching cornucopia: it made for a...

My partner and I wanted to try a French restaurant. He found black bottle and I read through the reviews, 90% of them were positive but like all restaurants there will be the 10% that are negative. We thought we would try it out for ourselves….. must I say it was truly such an incredible dinner. We were greeted and sat outside which was such a beautiful and cute scene. Our waiter (she wore a white top and had blonde hair) she was outstanding, very welcoming and very informative. We ordered our entrees and mains all at once and they knew when to bring out each item at the right time. Wait time for food was at appropriate timing to a hospitality standard. Oysters were fresh and very meaty, their drinks were fantastic. The ambiance was beautiful when it got a bit darker with the fairy lights around us. Food was perfectly cooked and had beautiful flavouring, highly recommended the lamb and duck. Lastly the dessert, my partner and I both love the classic crème brûlée. It was one of the best and most consistent crème brûlée’s that I have had before. As a soon to be pastry chef I had to give my compliments to the chef as many restaurants fail to perfect such a beautiful dessert.

Definitely will be...