wildfire

On our first night, when trying to find the most expensive restaurant in Sydney, we stumbled upon Wildfire at Circular Quay. After 10 minutes of battling the wait staff for separate billing, the manager instantly gave the go-ahead and showed us to our table. The layout of the restaurant was impressive, with a two storey wall stocked with wine and giant, glowing, pretty chandeliers. Adjectives are fun. So are prepositions, but that’s a story for another time.

The wait staff were a bit too serious and stuffy, and seemingly unimpressed by our casual attire and disinterest in fine wine (‘the cheapest one you have, thanks!’). Our party of nine ordered both entrees and mains… bread was declined. We don’t have time for bread.

The roasted duck was a favourite entree on the menu, and although ‘freeze dried’ mandarins seemed a little off-putting, they were the highlight of the dish. It was a surprising, sensual combination that paid off ;)

The king prawns (100g entree serve) were incredibly fresh, but a bit dull without much of a flavour range. Deep fried prawns can’t really be done wrong, but these weren’t anything extraordinary.

With the menu boasting a large amount of meat, steak was the top choice in our party as a main.

Bec: “Jack, how was your steak?”
Jack: “It was the best steak I’ve ever had in my life. And the knife was fun to use.”

There you go.

Is there anything you can really say about steak? It’s steak. Tastes like steak. Steak.
Doesn’t that word look weird now? Steek.

Chargrilled asparagus made the line caught snapper [pictured] quite amazing, and the way the yoghurt balls burst when you poked them was entertaining. The fish itself was fresh, and the flavours on the plate complimented each other very well. A very nice dish!

Sides that were ordered, however, were disappointing. How appetising does this sound:
“Hand cut chips tossed in rendered duck fat with orange, thyme and star anise salt.”
The answer is very. Very appetising. However the chips were bland and had none of the promised tastes, and were almost too thickly ‘hand cut’. It was just like eating a boiled potato. For $13. And we really do mean ‘a’ boiled potato. The portion sizes were all quite small, but this seems to be the trend in places where you pay over $50 for a main.

Overall, we were impressed with the quality of service, especially the punctuality. All nine meals arrived simultaneously. This is a mark of a restaurant that values it’s customers.

Bullet point time!

Pricey ($50-$70 for mains)
Stuffy waiters
Customer orientated
Good quality food
Small portions
No free mints :(

Rating:

We could’ve gone three and a half cows but we couldn’t be bothered Photoshopping a half-cow. Use your imagination.

Steak.

g & t

19th Jan 2012

wildfire