Sepia Restaurant — Restaurant in Sydney

Last year, Sepia won Sydney’s Restaurant of the Year. It’s popularity since that win has deservedly increased to the point that it now opens for lunch on Saturdays. You can only order the tasting menu which includes some signature dishes but the chefs are also given carte blanche to create new dishes that may one day make it to the permanent menu. I was expecting foam to make an appearance and I was not disappointed.

The restaurant itself is elegantly refined, an ode to the fine dining establishments that were once Sydney’s mainstay only to be replaced by the post-GFC comfort food evolution. It’s a testament to Sepia’s head chef that the restaurant has become so popular having spawned during that transition. The unusual location of the toilets in the food court next door is the only glitch in Sepia’s impressive design. But to the food.

The chargrilled miso beef tenderloin with nameko mushroom and braised barley (pictured below) was a highlight. The garlic chips, miso mustard and especially the smoked bone marrow made this dish linger on the palate long after the plates were cleared away. Intriguing to admire and exceptional to taste, the sashimi of yellow fin interweaved with Iberico Jamon into a cube of mixed flesh and topped with a poached quail egg bordered on a work of art. It was showy, thoughtful and surprising at the same time and it was the reason we were here.

The only problem with experimentation is that sometimes it doesn’t come off. Other times, though, it works perfectly. Take for instance the roasted New Zealand scampi with shellfish custard (top picture) that was paired with aniseed-type flavours through the use of fennel and licorice. It was beautifully multi-textured and the flavours worked gently with one another, a yin to each of their yangs.

Compare this to the butter poached marron tail with yuzu emulsion combined with flowering garlic chives, sprouting lentils, watercress… you get the idea. The focus of the dish appeared to be the contrasts, the textures. The result was too busy and too obviously aesthetic to be considered truly a culinary achievement. That’s not to say that it wasn’t tasty, it just wasn’t restaurant of the year tasty.

The matching wines were nothing short of incredible with the sommelier very much stealing the limelight. Presented knowledgeably and with nerd-like love, every wine enhanced and enriched the food. The story behind each inebriant was especially memorable and pushed our lunch from just eating to joyfully experiencing.

The final dish of the day, excluding the petit fours, was also the best. The now famous Summer Chocolate Forest (pictured above) is the food equivalent of exploring Machu Picchu. The first thing that strikes you is the view: an egg of sour cherry sorbet balanced on blackberry candy, green tea, licorice and chocolate masquerading as twigs and leaves. As you dig deeper, richness abounds with soft chocolate, praline and lavender cream truly redefining your depth of flavour. Taking only small tastes is the only way to reduce sensory overload.

Sepia did not disappoint. However, if I had my time over again, I would choose the standard degustation rather than the Saturday lunch special to avoid the odd blip. It remains a dynamic showcase of Martin Benn’s talent, which is remarkable, and it will undoubtedly retain it’s high regard in the foodie community. Mr Benn even came out afterwards to say hello and ask what we liked: brownie points...

Over $1000 for two people and to walk back to our hotel feeling like I could head to a McDonald’s drive through is pretty bad. I have never written a review before however With such high expectations after eating at so many of Sydney’s other great establishments... (Quay, Marque, Becasse, EST., Rockpool et al) I was so disappointed that I feel I need to say something. I’ve been involved in the seafood industry for a long time and been around food all my life and I’d have to say that I have never had the micky taken out of me so much. Oysters were great... not rocket science.... abalone and pork dishes quiet nice, most wines and cider great matching choices but it was nowhere near a value for money experience. Almost all wine pours were lucky to be a finger full and most of the time our glasses remained empty while either waiting for the accompanying meal or after finishing the dish waiting for something to happen. We also had more than one occasion where my wife was still eating as the staff came and started clearing my plates and glasses....and Can I add here that we also chose the premium matched wine option for 190 pp.... I’ve wanted to go to sepia for a long time and just hadent gotten there. I’ve talked it up as I have worked with the owners (seafood contingent) and respect them immensley and I’m sure if they were sitting at our table they would be embarrassed by the poor table service and the exceptionally high price for what was delivered. As an aside, We went to lunch on Saturday to Mr Wong’s, it was a third of the price and far more enjoyable with respect to food, service and atmosphere. I know Sepia has a lot of great reviews and had many awards but Friday night the C team must have been on as it left a very bad taste in my mouth... with no change from $1000. Could not recommend this place even if it was a $300 night based on what we received, George your so much better than this, remember the milliondoor dinner at the pier probably no different...

Me and my husband have been to Sepia for our last dinner in Sydney and we thought that it would be nice end of our visit, But it was a huge mistake. After dinner we back to our Hotel I started to feel bad, I was shaking and feeling weak, it happened in 30 min after we left this restaurant. I called to reception of 4 Seasons and told them about what happens to me, they called a doctor. Thanks God doctor came very fast in about 7min. During I was waiting for doctor I started to feel worse and worse, I had a vomiting reaction twice! The doctor checked me and said that it is a food poison. I was shocked. That day I had a breakfast at 4 Seasons and then I didn't have any lunch or snack at all. Then we went to Sepia. Soon as doctor left our room, we wrote to the restaurant to inform them what just happened to after their food. The answered that I got a poison somewhere else, but not in their restaurant. So as understood the restaurant Sepia decided to give their fault to 4 Seasons? Because I didn't eat anywhere else! But strange fact is that after breakfast and dinner at Hotel I never felt bad. Next day we needed to fly to other city, therefore I couldn't go to Hospital to make analyses and prove that it was fault of restaurant Sepia. Also no one form the restaurant wrote me again to ask how do I feel. It shows that they don't care at all. It was the worse experience in my life and I am not exaggerating! Pay 300 dollars per person for food and get such symptoms its unacceptable! And after that I needed to pay a doctor 250. WE are extremely disappointed and still shocked! WE DONT RECOMMEND TO EAT AT...