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Level 1, 252 George St
SYDNEY, NSW, 2000 -
(02) 9240 3... (02) 9240 3000(02) 9240 3... (02) 9240 3001
- Restaurants
Modern Australian fine dining
Head Chef, Peter Doyle, is regarded as one of the founding fathers of modern Australian cuisine. He's won numerous awards over a 30-year career, including helping est. to the coveted SMH Good Food Guide Three Chef Hats every year since 2004 - including Restaurant of the Year in 2006. With an award-winning menu, extensive wine list and peerless service, as well as the option of a private dining room for up to 16 guests, est. is one of Sydney's unforgettable fine dining experiences. Open Monday to Friday - lunch and dinner Saturday - dinner only
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Reviews of Est.
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The combination of quality dishes, great service and a dining room with a stately presence makes for a pretty impressive restaurant.
This restaurant is pricey, even for fine dining standards, but deservedly so. The restaurant is located on the floor above the Establishment Bar and accessible via the elevators. Stepping out, we were warmly greeted by the maitre'd who took us to our seats. The room is a lot bigger than I expected, with the restaurant split into a main row of square tables in the middle and round tables along the front window, side and back of the restaurant. I took a minute to take in the room - high ceilings and columns with ornate detail, chandeliers, big windows and a big long bench with pots of white phalaenopsis.
We had oysters served with a ponzu sauce which was amazing and an entree of buffalo mozarella with jamon which was good but not overly new or exciting. For mains, the husband had a pan-seared fish and I had an eye fillet with butter. Both dishes were outstanding, but I was especially impressed with the depth and flavour of the butter. While the savoury courses were enjoyable, the highlight for me was dessert. I had the morello cherry souffle and the husband ordered the chocolate delice with caramalised banana and toasted rice ice cream. Both dishes were out of this world and were the perfect finish to a fantastic meal.
Oh and if I may add... BEST. SOUFFLE. EVER. -
phillip84 7 reviews
EST. ... food was to die for. Oysters with a mixed dressing were to start, clean and fresh (I am not a massive fan naturally - but was told to try and I have to say... they blew me away).
Mains are all very nice.... I never order steak when at a nice restaurant as there are usually so many more dishes to try... so the table ordered a few different things and we all have a bit of a mix-up. This brings me back to the steak - juicy, so much flavour... one of the best steaks, rare and perfect... however I think they still have a lot to learn from Mad Cow.... the best steak ever! Ling was tasty.... although the sauce was a little runny.
Was very impressed by the desserts - had the petite four.... very nice... and more than four... there was like 8-9 different little things to feast on. Certainly a great pick if you want to share.
Wine selection - was great.... a little exxxy even for a 3 hat restaurant. Not much in the work-is-paying range.
So staff.... hmmmm - has anyone seen the episode of AbFab when Eddie is shopping for art and the art gallery assistant was rude and Eddie said "oh... and you can loose the attitude... you only work in a shop you know!" Well that times ten... I was afraid to ask for some more sparkling water in fear they would turn on their heals, flick their hair and tut tut me.... wow - there is some atti-TUDE there!
The attitude really dampened the vibe and satisfaction. -
The flagship restaurant in the Merivale group, est. has sat at the top of the Sydney dining ecosystem for years and rightly so. This was the final 3 hat restaurant to be ticked off my list and I was really looking forward to seeing (and eating) what is in store for us.
First impressions are excellent, the dining room is beautifully decorated and appointed, and we were greeted warmly by the maitre'd and shown to our table. Our group had already made the decision to do the full tasting menu with matched wines, so we were soon being served the amuse bouche. (As a side note, I always enjoy the theatre of 4 waiters surrounding the table with our dishes, then all delivering them at the same time. A common theme throughout the dinner was the mini power struggle between the 4 as to who was going to announce and explain the dish to the table, it provided a bit of amusement before each course!)
First up we had a salad of organic radishes and turnips, with seaweed sourdough, served with a 2002 Dom Perignon. If I'm being honest, this was extremely underwhelming, no matter how good the produce is, radishes and turnips just don't excite me. This was really quite disappointing for an amuse bouche, it certainly didn't amuse my mouth the way the chefs intended. Luckily for us, this was the speed bump leaving the car park and we were soon back onto smooth roads.
The nage of Moreton Bay bug was immaculately constructed and beautifully cooked, the bug resting in a lightly foamed nage, scented with bergamot orange and aniseed. This definitely made up for the turnip incident.
Next up was the dish of the night, a steamed Murray cod fillet, shaved abalone, snow peas, oyster mushrooms and a ginger-green shallot vinaigrette. Heaven on a plate, seriously good food, one of the standout dishes of the year so far. 'Insert all the superlatives you can think of here'. Every one of us swooned after the first bite, this was the stuff we'd come for. The Ravensworth Marsanne served alongside was a great match, an under appreciated grape variety in Australia, it was the perfect counterpoint to the delicate cod and vinaigrette. Ridiculously good course.
A vine leaf rolled quail breast, grilled fig, fresh walnut cream with pan juices and amaranth was wonderful, great technique, beautifully presented, tasted divine.can't ask for much more than that.
I have to mention at this point, the incredible service, probably the best I've experienced in all the fine dining restaurants in Sydney thus far. Professional without being too staid, informative, friendly, willing to partake in a bit of appropriate banter. It made the whole dining experience that much more enjoyable, other restaurants of the same calibre should take note.
On to the final savoury course, of which we had a choice between a juniper crusted saddle of venison or a pan roasted rib eye. I went for the venison, served with a spicy Cote Rotie, which was cooked to perfection, but while it was extremely tasty, didn't blow my mind. It was up to standard, but didn't go above and beyond which is what I've come to expect from this level of dining.
The pre-dessert was a surprising highlight of the meal, a green apple sorbert, moscato jelly, cinnamon, dandelion granita and caramel. Absolutely fantastic, so much more than just a palate cleanser.
Another choice for the table, passion fruit souffle or a toasted almond milk mousse. I went for the mousse, with black figs and tasmanian blackcurrant sorbet, with a 2006 baumard dessert wine. Unfortunately this was a bit underwhelming, beautifully plated, but it didn't rock my world in terms of taste. The perfectly risen souffle was given a good report from 2 of the other diners though.
On the whole, it was a great experience, the food was great for the most part, some spectacular highlights, but with a few low lights. The setting and service is magnificent, without those I may have come away slightly disappointed, but I would still heartily recommend this to anyone. It is still one of the best restaurants in Sydney and I left with a smile on my face, as good a sign as any that I'd had a great night out. -
ClaudiaAsc 7 reviews
Est. Is undeniably one of the many great restaurants in Sydney! Head Chef Doyle is clearly the master behind the magnificent cuisine. Mr Doyle has been recognized not only as our Home grown Legend but also as one of the best chefs in the world.
The restaurant serves Modern Australian Cuisine but it is evident the food is inspired by the masterminds Italian and French. The food is delicious, refined and flavorsome although the best part is its presentation. It looks too good to eat!
For a newbie to restaurants and taste buds I would recommend to get a little cultured before stepping into this field. The menu would probably be hard for most people to understand as styles, methods and certain ingredients arent part of our everyday eating habits.
Regardless of what you order you will find it amazing to eat on each bite. I went for the 5 course chefs menu as I thought it would be the best meal size and a chance to get to taste multiple items on the menu. The price for the 5 course chefs menu is $160 each. It may seem pricey but for the quality of the food, service, ambiance it really becomes priceless! I ordered a bottle of 2007 Isole e Olena Chianti $85 which I found quite surprising on the price as its similar as to Dan Murphys pricing so I was happy to see we werent paying much more than the wines worth!
Overall I highly recommend it! Few helpful tips: Go on an empty stomach and a full wallet. Our bill total was $455 although we left a $45 tip rounding it to $500 as we were extremely impressed with our service and food!
I would also recommend grabbing a drink upstairs at Hemisphere to continue your night out!
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Monday:12:00 PM-3:00 PM
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-6:00 PM-10:30 PM
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Tuesday:12:00 PM-3:00 PM
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-6:00 PM-10:30 PM
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Wednesday:12:00 PM-3:00 PM
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-6:00 PM-10:30 PM
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Thursday:12:00 PM-3:00 PM
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-6:00 PM-10:30 PM
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Friday:6:00 PM-10:30 PM
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Saturday:12:00 PM-3:00 PM
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-6:00 PM-10:30 PM
Restaurants
Dining Options
Bookings A-la-carte Outdoor Seating Banquet
Cuisine
Modern Australian
Price Guide
Mains under $50
Licensing
Licensed
Features
Family Friendly
Menu
Degustation Lunch Dinner
Disabled Facilities
Wheel Chair Access
1 of 2
Est. dining room
Est.
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Editorial Reviews
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est.
SMH Good Food Guide 2009
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
A superlative dining experience in a magnificent, heritage space above the generously proportioned downstairs bar.
The tentacles (or should that be vines?) of the Hemmes family's Merivale empire now extend to its latest pleasure-dome, Ivy. But jeepers, creepers, Ivy will have to work hard to eclipse est.'s star - a magnificent, heritage-ceiled space above the generously proportioned downstairs bar.
Source: Sydney Morning Herald
Full review on Sydney Morning Herald
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EST
Ultimate Sydney
Sunday, August 02, 2009
Awarded within the industry as one of Australia’s best restaurants – this foodie temple serves the finest food and wine and $50 will get you 2 courses or $60 for 3 courses.
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