S’more — Restaurant in Sydney

have been wanting to dine here for a while since i've seen it on my socials a lot and reviews are glowing.

our waiter for the night was well spoken, polite and attentive.

we chose a la carte over set menu.

prior to my booking, i had received a text message advising i could pre-order, so i responded to the text, just to find out on the night that the restaurant didnt actually receive my response. no drama since they could still provide me the pre-ordered items.

but i am a bit confused over the price of their signature lobster pasta dish. goes from standard $258 for the whole, to pre-order discounted price of $232, and then on the night special price of $198?

we had the theatrics of BSY taking the lobster out of its shell. we ordered extra pasta for $30 (non-dairy sauce option). both pastas were full of umami flavour, lobster was succulent but the pastas were inconsistent. one was firm al dente and the other really soft.

the lobster roll with caviar, pre-ordered $35 per roll. maybe they could change the roll type, so its not a brioshe roll cut in half, but a whole mini roll. would feel less like i'm eating half a roll. lobster was cut into nice chunks. could i taste the lobster, not really as its pretty sauced up so this could be crabstick for i knew. dont get me wrong, it is a nice roll.

Scallop crudo has great flavours, just wish they cut the scallop less paper thin. being that thin, the scallop texture blends with the cucumber slice.

i would skip the shallot bread with miso butter, the Okonomiyaki cabbage salad and Sweet and sour pork ribs. flavours are nice but dishes are not memorable. the ribs barely had any meat on them, plus my mum cooks better.

there was something about the 2GR Beef Tartare that was missing. not sure if it was the texture, being too soft or that it was the flavour? wouldve been nice if the chips were seasoned.

1kg multi award winning Jacks Creek t-bone, worth the $228? no. it was not evenly cooked. some parts juicy, some dry, parts of this beef was veiny and hard to cut through. definely not a "melt-in-the-mouth" moment. again, it is tasty but i wouldnt say its the best steak ever.

the soy honey butter sweet corn, sansho pepper was on par (with the lobster) the highlight of the night. cant go wrong with a sticky sweet glaze.

Housemade XO Clay pot fried rice - did not enjoy this and definitely do not recommend. tasted like Ben's original packet rice popped into a clay pot. there was no aroma of the charred crispy rice, also not seasoned well enough. like uncle roger would question where the MSG is.

maybe i should have chosen set menu, would've been cheaper and probably would still feel the same about the food.

overall this restaurant is an expensive vibe with room for improvement. cause the price is steep and reviews are high, my expectations were...

After contemplating over the weekend, I found it necessary to share my feedback, despite my aversion to writing negative reviews that could potentially impact a business. However, considering the negative impact it had on our anniversary evening, I feel compelled to express my concerns:

After ordering our food, 3 of the dishes arrived at our table at pretty much the same time and about 5-8 minutes after ordering. It felt rushed and little care was taken in the dishes (little to no seasoning) and after seeing other reviews, being felt rushed seems to be a common occurrence. Unless specified by a patron, no one wants 3 dishes at their table at the same time unless stated. We aren't there for fast food, we were there to dine in.

Your Shallot bread entree which you offered us to replace the oysters off your set menu were burnt.

You never asked how we wanted our steak cooked so it arrived rare. Never been to a venue that doesn't ask how a customer wants their steak cooked? I could tell it was a nice piece of steak however no one bother to care how we wanted it cooked.

Your signature dish, the Lobster Pasta, was disappointingly lacking in an adequate amount of pasta. It is perplexing that such a basic and inexpensive ingredient would be skimped on, particularly considering the high price tag of $158 for this dish.

The Smore's dessert was inedible due to being burnt, and we were forced to leave it on the plate, departing your establishment feeling frustrated. Furthermore, we observed peculiar elements in the presentation of the dish, such as slices of deep fried potato slice on each end, which only added to our confusion and disappointment.

The dishes weren't even properly seasoned, this is basic stuff guys. Tell the chef that before he/she tries to be clever/creative they should get the basics right.

PS Can you tell the owner that no one wants to see a dude walking around in a skin tight shirt, shorts and dirty Nike air maxes when they trying to have a romantic evening with their partner. Put some pants on and have some professionalism, you are in hospitality (especially with the prices you charge).

It is very evident that this is your first venue, you may have come from Merivale but you are very far from being a Merivale venue (sorry). I would put this down as a top 5 worst dining experiences I have personally had in Sydney.

I wont go into the service inaccuracies, I think I have said enough.

We had pre-drinks at the Botanist at Kirribilli for our anniversary and then came to you for dinner, we should have stayed there. Very disappointing...

Located on Edinburgh Road in Castlecrag. I would classify this as a destination dining venue as not much surrounds it. It was buzzing and full during our midweek dinner.

The service will centre around Big Sam Young (BSY) who is larger than life and displays an exuberant sense of hospitality. He’ll make sure you’re looked after. The other staff are just as pleasant and very welcoming. Grace works in the kitchen and will pop her head into the dining room too.

The food is not to be underestimated here. Quality fresh produce is served in an uncomplicated way. Flavours rule the rule the roost here and we were extremely pleased with our meal. It was a multi course affair and were very pleasantly full and satisfied.

We started off with Oysters. Fresh as can be and served with kombu and desert lime. Next were the Sea Scallops served with a tasty butter. They were delicious. Next were the Potato Cakes that oozed salted egg yolk when cut into. Topped with caviar it was very decadent. These tasty morsels of food were just a taster of what was to come.

The 2GR Beef Tartare was delectable and prettily presented as topped with an egg yolk and served with potato crisps. The next dish was XO Pipis and tonight it was served with potato dumplings and peas. Absolute smashing combination. I’m not usually a fan of pipis but the way it was cooked and the flavours made it so moreish.

The highlight of the night came next. The Live Local Lobster Pasta stole the show. A half lobster served with pasta each was very decadent. The meat from the lobster was sweet as it was very fresh. I understand now why Smore is known for this. Not much needs to be done to make it an extremely pleasing dish. We were then served an A5 Japanese Wagyu. The marbling of the meat was stunning and it melted in your mouth when you ate it. To accompany this dish was Claypot Fried Rice. Topped with a solitary egg yolk, it was perfect accompaniment to the steak. Very tasty. Honey Butter Sweet Corn rounded off this part of our meal. This was lovely as provided some crunch and sweetness.

We nearly bursting at the seams but alas dessert was served to us. It was a Creme Brûlée and Creme Caramel. I love all custard based desserts and these did not disappoint. It was a classic Creme Brûlée done well however the Creme Caramel had a milk tea flavour to it which was both interesting and tasty.

Overall I would highly recommend a visit as you won’t be disappointed both by the amazing food and the awesome service...