Ester Restaurant
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I recently dined at Ester Restaurant in Sydney and overall had a great experience, though it didn’t quite meet my high expectations given the price point. Here’s a detailed breakdown of each dish I tried: 1. Blood Sausage Sanga: One of the restaurant’s highlights, but it fell short for me. The bread was too soft and disintegrated when picked up, which made it challenging to enjoy properly. 2. Pork Belly: This was my personal favorite. The pork was perfectly cooked, tender, and flavorful. It stood out among the dishes we tried and left a lasting impression. However, they initially forgot my pork belly order and had to rush to make one for us in the end. 3. Duck Dumplings: These were a close runner-up. The dumplings were well-prepared, with a rich and savory filling that complemented the delicate wrapping. 4. Oyster Mushrooms: Another highlight, these mushrooms were deliciously prepared and full of umami. They were a pleasant surprise and a must-try. 5. Brussels Sprouts: While the flavor was decent, I expected them to be more crunchy. They were good, but not exceptional. 6. Potato Bread with Garlic Butter and Anchovy: This dish had a unique texture and was quite delicious. The garlic butter and anchovy provided a nice balance of flavors. 7. Roasted Oysters with Chicken Fat Butter: These were divine and a standout for many diners. The oysters were perfectly roasted and paired wonderfully with the chicken fat butter. The restaurant itself has a rustic and modern ambiance with a cozy, intimate setting. The service was attentive and professional, enhancing the overall dining experience. Despite some minor disappointments, the innovative and well-prepared dishes, along with the excellent service, made it a memorable meal. For the price, I did expect a bit more, particularly in the execution of some dishes. The high-end location likely contributes to the elevated prices, but it is still a great spot for a special occasion. Overall, I would rate Ester a solid 4 out of 5 stars.
Evan TanEvan Tan
10
Ester is a must eat at place! I had such bland and flavorless experience at Nel. Ester has 3 options. 2 chef's tasting menu and an ala carte. If you choose the tasting menu, the whole table has to agree to the same menu. We started off with a warm potato bread with salmon roe and kefir. Yum! Good start. It just got better and better from there :) Next was oyster. The horseradish finger lime dressing was just divine! Pity we had only one each but the whole menu will fill you up unlike Nel's. We then got shrimp, squid ink dumplings and blood sausage which were all good. The foodgasm part was the wagyu with the magna cauda butter. It came with some sort of mustard dressing too and combine it all was out of this world. The melt in your mouth wagyu was cooked to perfection! A baby cauliflower was served as well. The dressing with the salad was so delicious! I wish they'd bottle and sell it. For dessert, it was a surprise. We got a cruller with a sauce similar to sticky date pudding with the yummiest cream! The other dessert was a yuzu sorbet that left me wanting more. What a fabulous experience! I can't wait for other menus to try. Now if only Nel staff would come here and see what they're missing out on. Bonus part was we weren't charged $43 for service like Nel did for 2 people. The Ester staff were wonderful, patient and happily answered any of our questions. Looking forward to another dinner or lunch at Ester's!!!
Spooky EmerSpooky Emer
00
Very excited to visit Ester for a very special anniversary. A tad let down by a few small but important details. Upon arrival we stood just inside the door for ten minutes before the floor staff even acknowledged our existence. While we totally appreciate the delicate balance of exceptional customer service to all patrons I think this just took me a little by surprise given the high standards this establishment is known for. Even a simple nod or quick hello on the way past would have been so lovely and much appreciated. Instead, we just kind of awkwardly loitered across the front door feeling pretty out of place as one particularly efficient floor staff member brushed past us several times whilst staunchly avoiding eye contact or making any interaction with us whatsoever. Sigh. Still, our enthusiasm buoyed us up until we were seated and then looked after by a second staff member who was warm and lovely and quickly made us feel settled in and well informed. Happy days. All is good. Each dish was divine, excepting one. The famed blood sausage sanga. All of the individual elements were impeccably produced, the flavours unique and intriguing. BUT. (And it's a big but!) That soft, delicate, fluffy slice of steamed bread - it was served hot and placed directly onto the plate. And it was a wet, sweaty, soggy mess that stuck to the plate and had to be coaxed up before breaking apart and dropping the contents onto the plate below. The wet squishy texture and experience was pretty awful to be honest. Particularly given the passion with which Chef Lindsay discusses this very issue as "The stuff of nightmares" in that gorgeous Ester tome. My partner and I kept trying to understand the issue and make excuses for it because we thought, perhaps we don't know any better? But given the fact that our meal for two with just one beer and one glass of wine came to $360.00 I would call this the stuff of nightmares indeed. It's not the price but what you receive for that price that is the issue. Unfortunately, as much as I wanted to be over the moon with our experience considering this was a bucket list destination I was left somewhat underwhelmed and more than a bit disappointed. Walk the way you talk Ester. Every single time. No excuses. And NO soggy bread. EVER.
Rebecca Van GemertRebecca Van Gemert
10
The food was interesting, delicious and exceptional. However, let down but the staff here not that I expect this review to have any impact. Our waitress didn't have the best knowledge of the wine menu which was OK but made ordering a bit difficult as we weren't familiar with a lot of the options. My friend had booked the early 6:30pm sitting for our table of three. When ordering the extended tasting menu we were not reminded of our 2hr restriction (apparently this was covered in the online booking multiple times which two at the table didn't make). I did think the food was coming out quite quickly but was oblivious that the clock was counting down as naturally we were chatting and enjoying our meal. Before dessert we were asked to move to a small isolated table down at the front window because another couple needed ours. I was a bit shocked and expressed that I'd never been asked to move prior to finishing a meal in a nice restaurant before. Instantly we were all made to feel it was our fault. We were told by the maitre d that we some of our party were late (by 5mins) and that we should have known because of the online booking terms and conditions. To be honest it felt like being totally gaslit : (. Both my partner and I have worked in the hospitality services before and all it would have taken would have been some politeness and either an extra drink or some offering but instead we got "rules are rules" and everyone at your table should know the rules so there you go. Although the food was incredible we all left with a bitter taste in our mouths served up by the front of house that night. So if you want to enjoy Ester give the early booking a miss or maybe don't have the extended courses option....
Dervla McgrannDervla Mcgrann
30
Excited to try this place after seeing the good reviews but left with much disappointment. Ordered the set menu which came with the oysters and nicely warmed potato bread with kefir and dashi jelly. The dashi jelly turned out too salty. The ratio of the steam bread to blood sausage portion is a little too much. The bread could be smaller to have a better balance. Pickled cucumbers with macadamia & kombu was interesting but the ricotta gnudi was just soft and flavour wise, I felt that flavours were muted, the sesame in (I assume) chilli oil did not pack a punch and should be drizzled on rather than hidden under the gnudi. My bbq flank steak came with a hair on it, so they came back with another plate. The consistency of the cut of meat and plating is different. As you can see, one is thicker and the replaced plate’s meat is thinner. This also attributed to a change in taste of the steak as the smaller piece had more marinade around it and hence tasted much saltier and somewhat like char siew. The placement of the black garlic sauce and bone marrow aioli is also different. Rosti looks good, crispy on the outside but it is very salty. Should have came with some sauce accompaniment. Lastly, the mandarin orange that came with a yuzu syrup left a very bitter aftertaste which was very unpleasant. Crepe brûlée was okay. All in all, I felt that the flavours of the dishes were very simple and so were the presentation of the dishes. Nothing exciting nor mind blowing.
Nathalie HuangNathalie Huang
30
I had been wanting to try Ester for long time, but you have book way in advance to get a table. Finally I made a booking a month in advance. My husband and I were really looking forward to it. We ordered a few dishes and checked with the waitress if those were good dishes to start with. The waitress mumbled something like they were heavy dishes, but didn't make any recommendations or suggestions. I was confused as the dishes we ordered were mostly seafood and how could them be heavy. Our first course came, tuna cigar. It wasnt bad apart from it was filled with gluey stuff and you couldn't taste any of the tuna. When the Moreton Bay bug came, it looked good. Then the waiter poured a thick layer of rich source on it. I tried a piece without the source, the bug was beautifully cooked. However when I ate it with all the source and the wrap, it was very rich and again, you couldn't really taste the bug anymore. Then the blue Fin tuna, deep fried dough with a thin layer of tuna on top, again quite heavy. The potato scollops, just average potato scollops. I wanted to try other dishes, but because those dishes were all rich and heavy both of us were full. I wish we were given suggestions and advices regarding the dishes we ordered. I have seen so many great reviews and thinking probably we just ordered the wrong dishes. We might give it another try in the future.
Shirley HunterShirley Hunter
00
Nearby Attractions Of Ester Restaurant
Broadway Sydney
Central Park Mall
Mercure Sydney
Central
Central Station
JB Hi-Fi Broadway
Prince Alfred Park
The Great Southern Hotel
Victoria Park
YHA Sydney Central
Broadway Sydney
4.3
(5K)Click for details
Central Park Mall
4.2
(2K)Click for details
Mercure Sydney
4.1
(1.9K)Click for details
Central
4.3
(1.7K)Click for details
Nearby Restaurants Of Ester Restaurant
Spice Alley
Ho Jiak Haymarket
Mjølner
KOI Dessert Bar
Metro Pita Kebab
Keg & Brew Hotel
Matsusaka Backstreet
Bornga Korean BBQ Restaurant
The Eight
RaRa
Spice Alley
4.4
(2.1K)Click for details
Ho Jiak Haymarket
4.4
(1.9K)Click for details
Mjølner
4.6
(1.3K)$$
Click for details
KOI Dessert Bar
4.5
(1.3K)Click for details
Learn more insights from Wanderboat AIBasic Info
Address
46-52 Meagher St, Chippendale NSW 2008, Australia
Map
Phone
+61 2 8068 8279
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Website
ester-restaurant.com.au
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Reviews
Overview
4.6
(731 reviews)$$$
Ratings & Description
Description
Trendy restaurant executing eclectic dishes in a concrete-walled space with a wood-fired oven.
attractions: Broadway Sydney, Central Park Mall, Mercure Sydney, Central, Central Station, JB Hi-Fi Broadway, Prince Alfred Park, The Great Southern Hotel, Victoria Park, YHA Sydney Central, restaurants: Spice Alley, Ho Jiak Haymarket, Mjølner, KOI Dessert Bar, Metro Pita Kebab, Keg & Brew Hotel, Matsusaka Backstreet, Bornga Korean BBQ Restaurant, The Eight, RaRa
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