Quadrant Restaurant

We were off to see the lovely Jean-Yves Thibaudet at the Opera House. Being a Sydneysider, I'd never tried the row of restaurants along "the toaster". On this occasion though, I thought I would show off Sydney. There was a storm brewing, so I chose to sit indoors instead, so that's how we found ourselves at Quadrant Restaurant.

Food

We decided to take up the Pre-Theatre Menu, of 1 course + glass of wine for $35. There were only 3 choices on the menu, so we picked the beef medallion with sauteed spinach on a potato puree, which had the most tender beef I have tasted for a long time, although it was cooked a bit passed the medium I specified, with a lovely rich wine reduction sauce on the potato puree. Viv's pork fillet, caramelized apple, prune and armangac was equally lovely. The pork was tender, the meat sweet and mild, so that the stronger accompaniment of apple and prunes was not overwhelming the pork.

Our accompanying wines were fine but not anything flashy. The bread roll was a safe choice of a soft white roll, but some good butter.

We were having such a good time discussing everything that we decided we had time for dessert. We shared the coconut and mango bombe alaska, raspberry coulis ($16). Those who know me will know that I am not a fan of meringue, so I automatically have a dislike of the outer shell of this dessert. In saying that though, it looked so spectacular with that white dome with browned side sitting in the middle of a pool of red sauce. The inside filling tastes, I have to say, like a weiss bar. It was a bit too sweet for my taste so I'm glad we shared.

Rating - 7

Atmosphere

Well, we did dine on a Monday night, aka "stay at home night", so the restaurant was very quiet. The only other people out and about were tourists. Towards the end of the night we did see a couple of family groups around, but that was it. The restaurant is quite small but very nice, all white tablecloth and formal service, somehow it didn't fit with the type of people going there though.

We were seated in a corner besides the window, where we got a view across Circular Quay and was a great spot for people watching.

Rating - 2

Service

Very polite and "correct". Well, considering they had two waiters serving a room of about 10 people, I expect them to be on the balls. We had no problems with anything at all.

Rating - 3.5

C-factor

$35 for a main and wine, is ok considering the location and that they are using good produce. A normal main course there costs >$30 normally. Enjoying the time with an old friend I haven't seen for a long time? As they say, priceless.

Rating - 1.5

Brownie Points - 14

Info

Level 2, Quay Grand Suites Sydney
61 Macquarie Street
East Circular Quay
NSW 2000
Phone (02) 9256 4000
Website