Ennui — Restaurant in Sydney

Honestly, what a way to start the new year! I stumbled upon ENNUI and instantly fell in love. A 190-year-old heritage building in the heart of Sydney, stylish yet effortlessly cool interiors, flirty and fun waitstaff (we love a little charm with dinner), an incredible Aussie wine list, and cocktails with a modern twist. And the food? Creative, refined, and downright delicious. From the moment I stepped through the doors, I knew I was in for a good time.

We went for the $95 set menu, which felt like a beautifully choreographed show—each dish building on the last. The polenta with sage mayo was light and crispy, the seared scallop with dashi butter had that perfect umami hit, and the confit carrot with Stracciatella was unexpectedly addictive (who knew a carrot could taste this good?!). Also, let’s talk about their sourdough with whipped yogurt butter—simple, but so mind-blowingly flavorful that I could eat a whole loaf.

For mains, the MB5+ Wagyu tri-tip steak was cooked perfectly—juicy, flavorful, and with a pepper sauce that had this addictive, almost pickled chili-like kick that caught me by surprise (in the best way possible). The tempura mushroom with porcini risotto? Absolute fireworks in my mouth—the crunchy oyster mushroom paired with the rich, creamy risotto was pure magic.

We wrapped it all up with the chocolate cremeux with hazelnut and orange—smooth, nutty, indulgent, but not overpowering. If this is Ennui, then I never want excitement again.

But the magic didn’t stop at the food. The owner’s taste and attention to detail are reflected in every corner of this place. After dinner, we got to explore the upstairs space, and it honestly felt like stepping into my dream home—warm, intimate, and effortlessly stylish, with the perfect music and the kind of atmosphere that lingers in your mind long after you leave.

I’ll be back....

Affordable fine dining with quality food. I ordered the Grand Banquet at AUD 145 pp, even though I showed up alone the restaurant still took my order.

5/5 Food: Every dish has it's own flavor, season perfectly and at the right temperature - here are my top 3 favourite from the Grand Banquet list:

Duck Ennui - it indeed lived up to its name as the signature dish of the restaurant. The bone marrow sauce complements the tender meat, and you're able to finish off the meal with the juicy part of the thigh.

Beef tartare: Temperature control was good - neither too cold nor hot. The restaurant added a generous layer of pommes frites which gave the dish a cripsy texture that is generally not found in other beef tartare dishes

Sourdough with confit carrot, fresh cheese and whipped duck fat butter - I'm genuinely surprised with this dish - a good mix of smooth and light butter taste from the whipped duck fat butter, complemented by the sweetness of the confit carrot, and a slight sourness from the fresh cheese

Steak was good as well, however I found that the Cafe Ennui butter can be a bit overwhelming. I personally prefer plain steak with less condiment - so to each it's own!

4.5/5 service: Staff were extremely friendly. Services are generally fast and prompt, but given that Ennui has advertise itself as a fine dining restaurant, I was expecting a bit more explanation of the dish. I was given more details for about half the dish, but I was left guessing for the others.

Overall, I'd recommend this place for it's value-for-money fine dining food. Easily my go to restaurant alongside with Gidley whenever I...

Dimly-lit French restaurant serving interesting fusion food, but everything that can go wrong went wrong today.

Don’t recommend this restaurant.

Here are the reasons for 1 star review:

Took 1 hour and 30 minutes for the second entree to be served, only after notifying the staff. Staff told us one of their chef had an injury and went to hospital, and the kitchen had a shortage of staff. Despite that, other tables that came into the restaurant similar time as us were served and left before our second entree was served.

Ordered the Duck menu that was recommended, but never got it served, and completely forgotten. Staff had no idea about the order. Maybe they deleted our order and forgot about it, hence our order wasn’t served in time?

Got our first Main before getting the second one entree. After notifying the staff of delay, our main was served first before second entree being served. Never had this experience…

Second floor echoes a lot and becomes noisy very quickly. Not ideal for a quiet dinner.

Steak was dry and tough to eat. Perhaps it was cooked in hurry to make up for their mistake.

The level of service I’ve experienced was not a reflection of well-organised, fine dining experience. Came to this restaurant after reading many good review for a birthday dinner but left with the worst dining...