Finding somewhere classy yet casual to eat in the city that still offers tablecloths, napkins and good value, can be a challenging proposition in Sydney. Particularly in the Sydney city north end of town.
Silvester's foyer restaurant and bar in the Marriott Circular Quay Hotel offers food and beverage menus focused on showcasing local Australian produce, wine and spirits for its international hotel guests, while also offering the good people of Sydney a nourishing respite in the Sydney CBD.
The hotel bar area beside Silvester's restaurant has just reopened, so cocktails or aperitifs can start the evening there in the adjacent bar area or seated in the wide expanse of the Silvester's restaurant dining table. Best of the cocktails, our pick for winter uses Tasmanian Lark's Australian whiskey.
Silvester's restaurant at the Marriott Sydney Harbour has also recently appointed a new head chef, Abhi Dey. With over 13 years’ experience, Abhi Dey has worked at some of the world’s most prestigious Michelin-starred and hatted restaurants. His winter seasonal menu at Silvester's restaurant was our first taste of his food.
The winning combination of our dinner was the freshly shucked Sydney rock oysters with a new combo topping. Big statement from someone who usually prefers them natural. Gooseberries with lemongrass cut through the minerality of the salty mollusks given a refreshing uplift. Who knew? Similarly the mussels were enhanced by umeboshi, and nasturtiums atop a tuna tartare on nori crisp was the prettiest dish of the night.
Central to the open kitchen is the charcuterie where meats are sliced in the middle of the restaurant to order, with quality cured meats such as LP's hot salami cotto through to the Iberico de Bellota. The sweeping curved upholstered benches also set the scene for more than 80 local wines, many from our state NSW.
We chose the rest of our menu as shared from among the Small plates and Large plates, with our Small plate our salad Ox heart tomatoes, stracciatella, cucumber and watermelon another pretty dish, and a little taste of Summer in midwinter to lighten our working week load. Toothfish avocado whey butter was our top pick from our two mains, and while the flavours of accoutrements Davidson plum ketchup and beetroot were terrific for the local NSW dry aged Wollomi duck, although I should have asked for the duck cooked to my preference, on the rare side.
Citrus, passionfruit sorbet, yuzu, mandarin granita was a wonderful seasonal adventure as well as palate cleanser. A make sure to try must for its zing on our shortest days. Bay leaf ice cream is an enjoyable sweet ending with preserved berries, fig leaf and Hot dark chocolate tart, is a good match with truffle ice cream.
