I got a few people asking me where to have dinner on Valentine’s day in Sydney.

Well, I’ve compiled a list of various types of restaurants mainly favouring Italian, French and Modern Australian – but I’ve added a few others.

Astral Restaurant
This would have one of the best views compared to the others in the list. They have a special Valentine’s day thing happening, so you’ll have to give them a call. But don’t be surprised if they’re all booked out. This restaurant styles Modern French and chef Sean Connolly would present a very well cooked meal for the evening. From what I hear, try the Peanut Butter & Jelly sandwich for dessert.

I would suggest pre-drinks at the Astral Bar (and maybe a few cheeky cocktails after dinner too).
http://www.astralrestaurant.com.au/

Summit
Up on Australia Square on level 47, this restaurant boasts Modern Australian and also has a special for Valentines day. Various packages are available for dinning that evening – ranging from $185 to $500 for either a 4 or 5 courses each being a selection from their menu. Additionally, each package includes red roses on the table – a nice touch.
http://www.summitrestaurant.com.au/

Essence
Located on Lime Street near King St Wharf, this restaurant also serves a Modern Australian cuisine. You have views of the water towards the maritime museum. From here, you can either carry on to the Wharf Bar, or head down for a boogie to Cargo Bar or the Loft. Haven’t heard of anything special happening for Valentine’s night
http://www.essencerestaurant.com.au/

L’etoile
Yes, this has to make it on the list as it is one of my favourite French restaurants. They are doing a special at $85pp for a 6 course degustation or $125pp including wine – which honestly, I think is quite impressive. However the only catch is that you can make the reservation for either 6pm or 8:45pm. Call them up to get an idea of the menu. Feel free to as the waiter for their cocktail list – there are a few that aren’t bad.
http://www.letoilerestaurant.com.au/

Coast
This Modern Italian/Australia restaurant at Darling Harbour (next to Chinta Ria) is also doing a special for the 14th Feb, $95pp for a 3 course meal with a cocktail and you can order your wine separate. Unfortunately no matching wine to their food. However, you can make a special request (for a fee) to have roses on the table.
http://www.coastrestaurant.com.au/

Kobe Jones – Teppanyaki at The Rocks
This would be the top of my list favourite if Astral is booked out. They have a great variety for either a Set or A la Carte menus. The only let down is that the dinning experience can sometimes be with a few other people in each cooking room – however, that shouldn’t affect how you enjoy the food. The chef will cook and prepare the food right in front of you – and I would suggest your splurge a little on this night. For pre/post drinks – head out to the Blu Horizon bar at the Shangri-la (try booking early for a window seat with views).
http://www.kobejones.com.au/

Still need more options? Leave a comment below and let me know what you’re looking for.

After having been to Tabou, L’etoile and Vamps, I figured I should try Assiette. After all, there’s no better way to compare restaurants unless you indulge yourself in their finest food.

Making a booking was a breeze – I thought I’d give their online enquiry form a shot, and surely enough, within 24 hours I got a response from a very courteous Rachel McShane, the manager herself.

We arrived as promised, at 8pm. Rachel showed us to our table, and as we sat – the first thing they asked was “Would you like some water or a glass of champagne?”. Clever, I thought. What a way to start off as soon as you sit down. Champagne, of course, was what we preferred and they got back with an impressive wine list – to choose both our champagne and wine for dinner.

After ordering and receiving our glasses of French bubbles, they left us with the menu and gave us ample of time before we ordered.

Just after we ordered, Rachel suggested we move our table a little to the north as she was expecting a birthday group behind us. This allowed us a little privacy by avoiding their loud conversation.

Having cracked open a beautiful bottle of 2007 St Clair Omaka Reserve Pinot Noir (Marlborough, NZ), oysters were presented on the table (I skipped this bit due to my lack of appetite for seafood).

For entree, my plate consisted of goats cheese sprinkled with spices served with tomatoes cooked 3 ways. One of the tomato were presented in jelly form and was quite remarkable – something that I’ve never had before. I’ve tried beetroot jelly – but not tomato jelly that wrapped itself around some tomato puree. Beautiful textures and flavours.

Following my entree, was sliced lamb fillet on top of mashed eggplant, served with onion puree and deep fried pieces of lamb placed on top of wilted spinach. Individually, each of them tasted great. However, I didn’t find that the entire dish came together as one. The onion puree was quite overpowering and deep fried lamb bits were just there for the sake of presentation I think. Although, the lamb and eggplant were perfectly matched. Overall, it was very enjoyable.

I must however say, that the choice of wine did very well suit the main course.

Finally for dessert, we shared a glass of dessert wine accompanied by a serving of vanilla compote. The taste was perfect to end a meal and each bite just melted in your mouth.

The staff were very good at what they did. They paid good attention to your table and knew when to top up the wine and water. They even explain each dish as it was placed on the table.

With each person having a glass of champagne, bottle of wine, entree, main, dessert and a glass of dessert wine, expect to pay about $150-$180 each.

To top it off, I had a good experience – but did I find it better than the others? Unfortunately, yes. I still prefer Tabou and L’etoile. I would have also hopped that Assiette updated their website showing their latest menu, as I went with the expectation of their existing online menu.

Atmosphere – 7.5/10
Food – 7.5/10
Wine/Cocktails – 8.5/10
Staff – 9/10
Value for money – 7/10

http://www.restaurantassiette.com.au/

2 things you need to know about this place before you walk in – 1) it’s expensive, 2) it’s expensive. But we were out to celebrate, so made the most of it =)

Neil Perry set up Rockpool a while back, and this restaurant in The Rocks is very famous for its sophisticated seafood menu. Making a booking wasn’t hard, and they accommodated us with a table for 5. One thing that got on my nerves was the fact that we were served by at least 5 different staff during our dinner. 1 person sent us to our table (that’s acceptable), another got us the menus, the other to take the order, another to send our entree – you see where I’m going with this?

First off, the wine list – it’s impressive. Very impressive. Good selection of French, Australian and Italian wines. Reds, Whites, Sparkling, Champagnes, various other blends and about 2 pages listing just dessert wines. We started with a bottle of white (approx $80 per bottle)… and I then started to stare at the menu.

For those of you who have read my previous post would know that I am not much of a seafood fan (boo hoo, I know)… So my entree was salad with beetroot cooked in 3 different styles - raw, roast and jelly. All this served with roquefort cheese and hazelnuts. The cheese was quite strong, so I had to accompany that with some of the table bread to help weaken the taste. $32 for this entree.

My main course was a confit of suckling pig served with a yam and ginger puree along with some mustard fruits. Again, I’m sure a seafood order would have suited someone with that taste, but I was happy with my pig (I’m referring to my main course). The puree had a nice texture with each bite of pork, but had a slightly over powering ginger flavour. The mustard fruit was nice, but again a little strong. Oh and this main is about $70.

Dessert was Vanilla Panna Cotta topped with Blood Orange Sorbet. This was a perfect dessert for that evening. We had had a couple of glasses of wine already and ending towards a warm night, the sorbet hit the spot. We also ordered a bottle of dessert wine to accompany our last meal. $24 for the dessert.

Now a quick talk about the decor – it’s simple but yet very well lit. The staff were courteous and fairly attentive. The entrance had a good layout and made you feel like you were walking into somewhere elegant. The restaurant seemed to have a few hidden bits, like a floor above (possibly for the celebrities) – and some private tables for your personal quite and romantic experience. There is also a degustation menu at $195 per person (not including wine).

Look if you are a seafood lover, there were dishes there that looked impressive and I’m sure would taste good. And probably also good value for money. However, my confit pork didn’t cut $70 value, and neither did my beetroot salad. But I still loved the overall experience. The company I was surrounded by was what made my night.

Atmosphere – 7/10
Food – 6/10
Wine/Cocktails – 8/10
Staff – 6/10
Value for money – 5.5/10