Sala — Restaurant in Sydney

Amid the gloom and doom of interest rate rises and the cost of living crisis, there has been something of a dining renaissance taking place. Sala Dining represents a return to Sydney’s dining heyday, where fine dining was about a sense of wonder, with complimentary bread plates, roving trolleys of martinis, cheese and petit fours, expertly delivered by career waiters. Here your amuse bouche is hand-carved at the table from a fillet of Tasmanian salmon that has had salt, sugar, and seven days of love invested in it. Letting it melt on my tongue in a dining chair not designed to force a rapid table turn watching the lights come up on the Sydney Harbour Bridge reminded me why I choose to live in this expensive ol’ town. A well-made negroni ($24) helped too.

Dragging house-made grissini through an urchin-shaped bowl filled with Western Australian scampi and prawn tartare dressed in bright orange oil extracted from their heads lifted by fennel pollen, was another seminal moment. It’s the centrepiece of the Sala crudo per due ($88). On seaweed foraged by the chefs, this wondrous adventure traverses through 21-day dry aged ocean trout, Hiramasa kingfish, caviar-topped Merimbula oysters, and crumpets bearing tuna crudo and shaved truffle. The same head-oil flavours the standout cocktail sauce sitting alongside pickled rhubarb and apple mignonette. Alternate sauces with each glistening curl of fish and sips of the 2021 Laissez Faire pinot blanc ($80).

I’ve been eating crab-meat stuffed squid ink tortellini ($39) from renowned Italian chef Danny Russo for nearly two decades. This version, in roast tomato, lemon and capers, is his best iteration yet. His cheeky Aussie humour shines through in anchovy-topped potato scallops ($14/3) done with tomato like gnocco fritto, and the ‘Sunny Boy’ pasta ($37). You won’t need scissors to cut into these toothsome, vibrant orange pyramids of wagyu short rib dressed with porcini mushrooms and smoked cocoa oil. As always, Russo’s dishes reflect generosity and respect for the key ingredient, all the way down to the humble flat bean, grilled and piled high under anchovy, pine nuts and ricotta salata ($14). The roving digestif trolley is a wonderful...

I never usually write reviews, but after the experience we had on our wedding night on Saturday I feel I have to.

We had a small, intimate dinner planned with 30 of our closest family and friends. What should have been a special, stress-free evening ended up being incredibly disappointing!

From the moment we arrived, things were already going wrong. The staff told us we were late and that the event had started at 6PM, even though our run sheet clearly showed a 6:30PM start.

We had arranged for canapés to be served on arrival, but they were left out on a table and later brought out as if they were entrees. The team also seemed completely unaware that we had set up an open bar tab, and several guests were told different things about what they could or couldn’t order.

As the bride, I had multiple staff members coming up to me during the night, asking how the drinks were supposed to work. Honestly, that was the last thing I wanted to be dealing with on my wedding day. We’d already confirmed everything with the booking team well in advance — there should have been no confusion. I just wanted to enjoy myself, not spend the evening trying to track down staff or fix issues.

On top of that, there weren’t even basic things like plates on our tables — we had to ask for them twice. No one came to ask us, the bride and groom, if we’d like a drink or what we wanted to eat. It was as if we were invisible at our own wedding.

The service was all over the place unorganised and inattentive. Every guest mentioned how disappointed they were, and the food itself was below average. It’s genuinely upsetting, because we had looked forward to this night for so long, and it was meant to be a celebration. Instead, it was frustrating and awkward.

We ended the night early because we just didn’t want to stay any longer. That says everything.

I would never recommend this venue to anyone planning a special event. No one should feel like they have to manage their own wedding while being ignored by the very staff hired to take care of it. I truly hope this feedback is taken seriously so that no other couple has to go through...

4.5 stars Venue: it's the end of Jones Bay Wharf, beside the water. Very quiet when walking along the Wharf. The entrance is on the lower deck, not upper deck. Renovated into fine dining setting. Wonderful Harbor view. Outdoor or indoor dining. Background music. Live music from 8pm on Fridaynight. Too late. Could it start from 7pm or 7:30pm? --- 8.5/10 Service: My server Mattia was very friendly, professional, and attentive. He chatted with us, introduced food, removed scumb from tables for us. Tap water is available if you like. Normal waiting time for food. I gave Mattia 10 out of 10. The receptionist was nice, too. The manager (I believed the one in blue suit) only served the regular customers happily. --- 8.8/10 Food: Mediterranean inspired food. Glvery good presentation. Smaller portion, or fine dining portion. Price on high side. Free smoked salmon and bread with olive oil. Good food quality. Only 2 option for non cocktails could be changed to non alcoholic, $ 15@. We tried both non alcoholic - White Snapper, and Puccini Bellini. Pretty good. Entrees: Simply crudo, Scallops, tuna, Huon ocean trout, $35: Scallops were small and thinly sliced, and the lemon juice was overpowering. Tuna was ok and not much lemon juice. Trout also had too much lemon juice but slightly better than scallops. --- 7/10 Grilled SA Calamari squid ink sauce, $ 27: fresh and very tender. --- 7.5/10 Mains: Squid Ink Tortellini,$ 39: it need to be finished as fast as possible yummy when it hot. The ink pasta is getting harder. The crabmeat filling was very creamy. The roasted tomato+ caper sauce was very good. --- 8/10 Tasmania slow cooked Lamb shoulder, $ 52: very tender Lamb. Sugar loaf and anchovy were just average. --- 7.5/10 Desserts: Gorgeous. Highlight of the night. Chocolate Mousse $21: with strawberry, basil, Raspberry sobert. Well matched. --- 9.5/10 Piemonte's Hazelnut, $ 25: Hazelnut shaped. --- 9/10 Cappuccino, $6.5: smaller portion....