Elysian Bar — Restaurant in Sydney

We had originally planned to go on a Saturday night and forgot to book and was fully booked by 5pm!! Excited to go we booked for the next day (Sunday) at 7pm. We arrived to a moderately busy restaurant, the exterior was absolutely gorgeous, straight out of a storybook. The fairy lights were a cute touch and the atmosphere was lovely. We were seated at a gorgeous window booth, although sad we couldn’t see much outside, we imagined at lunchtime it would be a very picturesque place to sit. We were originally served by a lovely man who took us to our seat and explained the menu wonderfully, also mentioning the specials of the night and what he recommends. Another lovely waitress then took our order; Eletos Mexican street corn ribs, Twice cooked potato, Fried Brussel sprouts, and the Kilcoy black diamond beef strip loin. The Brussel sprouts came first after only 5 minutes! What an amazing flavour mix; sweet, spicy, a bit sour and salty! The outside of the Brussel sprouts was nice and charred which was a great touch, and the salty add of bacon was a great touch. Was a little bit salty by the end, we got through our bottle of water in 5mins but would definitely order again. The corn ribs, potato and steak all came out 5-10min after the Brussel sprouts which was a bit overwhelming but nice to have something to go with the steak. The steak was a bit undercooked and the middle of the steak was quite chewy and grissly but was overall tasty. We expected the twice cooked potato to be crispy, but rather was very soft inside and had a little bit of crisp on some of them, we couldn’t taste the nori and the truffle oil was very subtle (which we liked!), it went nicely with the steak. The corn ribs were fabulous, although the mayonnaise/sour cream sauce on top was unexpected. The actual corn was delicious, so crispy and the spices were amazing. I personally didn’t enjoy the sauce as I am not a mayonnaise loving person but a little bit was enjoyable, would order again with sauce on side. The special dessert of soft serve with roasted apple and dark rum butterscotch sounded incredible but was sadly disappointing. It came with the strange white chocolate balls on top which we didn’t think added anything special, the soft serve wasn’t very ‘soft’ rather icy and like sorbet, although the flavour was light and nice. I had falsely assumed the apple was hot and was told by our kind waiter that the apple is roasted and then cooled as to not melt the ice-cream which makes sense but was a bit disappointing. Although it was our mistake, and my partner still finished it off, the waiter was very kind in our misunderstanding and gracefully took it off our bill!! The cocktails were divine, we strongly recommend the Thirst Trap (tequila, chili, lemon and passion fruit), we ended up ordering another! We would...

Review: The Elysian Where Warmth Is Reserved and So Is Human Decency

So, let me paint the scene. It’s 5pm on a chilly evening, and I’m feeling wildly optimistic because I’ve managed to snag the only available dinner booking at The Elysian. Which already sounds like a spa retreat for morally conflicted Greek gods, but never mind. I arrive hungry, shivering, and with just enough hope to believe this will be one of those chic, hidden-gem experiences that makes you feel like you’re in on something fabulous. Well. Reader. It was not.

We walk in and I kid you not there is exactly one other table occupied. ONE. The rest are completely, hauntingly empty, like the ghosts of date nights past. And because it’s a bit Baltic out (by Sydney standards), we sweetly ask the host if we can sit by the fire, you know, the warm, glowing beacon of hospitality that’s meant to say “Come in, be cosy, eat carbs!”

Instead, we get a snappy, almost athletic “No. They’re booked.”

I glance at the fire tables. Two of them. Empty. No people. No drinks. No coats. No reserved signs. Just chairs looking lonely and unloved.

“Can you book fire tables?” I ask, like a rational human trying to understand the flaming injustice.

“Yes.” she snaps.

Now, I’m not saying she was lying, but her nose didn’t grow because even it couldn’t stand the heat of that fib.

Fine. We are seated somewhere roughly the temperature of a cheese cave and handed menus for cocktails only. Because, get this, you can’t order food until 5:30pm. Despite the fact that they took the booking for 5pm. That’s right. They lured us in with promises of dinner, then casually dropped the “kitchen’s closed” bombshell like it was no biggie. So now we’re hangry, fireless, and being low-key coerced into ordering $24 cocktails with names like “Eros’ Regret” and “The Gentrified Negroni.”

Was this a clever upsell? A psychological experiment? Or just a dramatic new form of passive-aggressive hospitality? We’ll never know because we left.

And then I went home and checked their website. And I swear, it’s like performance art. “No tea. No coffee. No children.”

I mean, who hurt them? Were they traumatised by a rogue babycino once? Is caffeine the enemy of ambiance? Is joy outlawed?

Would I go back?

Absolutely not. Not even if they offered me a fire table, a blanket, and a lifetime supply of tiramisu.

The Elysian may be many things, mysterious, minimalist, mildly culty, but warm and welcoming?...

Rush, rushed, rushed out the door. 6:45 pm booking. First visit to the famed Elysian, beautiful ambiance, nice and warm in the dining room on a chilly night. Had just been seated and a lovely waitress came to take our food order, needed a minute or two to look at food and drinks menu. Ordered 4 dishes plus some bread. Literally 10 minutes later, the food arrived… All Of It, at once!!!! Quite generous portions, on a smallish table. Anyway, it was like one of those sliding puzzles where you have to move the water, then the main plate, and the wine glasses to be able to access the starter plate. Cauliflower was nice, but then everything deep fried is good., Pork belly was a bit greasy probably deep fried also. By the time we came to the grilled cabbage it was cold and swimming in its lukewarm warm watery juices, not as appealing as it looked. The most expensive dish we ordered was the hibachi grilled tuna. Massive disappointment.. Under seasoned, cold , no char marks or smoky charcoal flavour. Exotic sounding sauces and flavour combinations that just didn't harmonise. There was obviously no love coming from the kitchen, just pumping the food out as quickly as possible. I know this is a cocktail place, but the wine list was poorly curated by someone who doesn’t know how to pair wine with food. Wine from obscure labels I’ve never heard of, not bad, but not good for $20 a glass. 45 minutes later ( and $232 no tip) we were done, full and bloated after trying to eat something before it became cold and inedible. Asked how the meal was, I informed the Maître de of our dissapointment that the food had come out all together. He explained that this is a “modern dining experience and people today expect the food to be delivered promptly” ..Ha! Not for me thank you. I’m giving 4* because Im not out to destroy the reputation of this place. What promised to be a lovely dining experience, became a very average night out.. driving home at 7:30 we were left wondering what had just happened. Good thing I don’t work for the Good Weekend...