Tetsuya Wakuda AO started his restaurant of the same name in a townhouse in Rozelle in 1989 some 34 years ago, it was an immediate hit and he was at the very cutting edge of the Australian culinary scene. His brilliant precision in creating extraordinary dishes that blended fine French food with his Japanese origins were refined in his period of working under Tony Bilson at Kinselas.
In 1992 Tetsuyas won the coveted “Three Hats” from the Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide, in the years since the restaurant has consistently won awards ranking it in amongst the top restaurants not just in Australia but in Asia. In 2005 the restaurant was recognised as No 4 in the top 50 restaurants in the world, and in 2021 The Australian Good Food Guide awarded Testuyas with “4 Hats”.
In 2000 he moved the restaurant from Rozelle to Kent Street in Sydney’s CBD where he created the Tetsuya restaurant we know today, designed like a classic Japanese Tea House, it is a series of rooms, each room in muted stylish tones that feature striking art works and a view through to the beautiful traditional Japanese garden.
A magic space and one that diners have continued to fall in love with for over 20 years, but now the lease is up and sadly Tetsuya has to find a new home for his iconic restaurant. We were lucky enough to snap up one of the few available sittings to enjoy once again the amazing space and the delicious food.
Arriving on a warm Saturday for the lunch sitting we made our way past the enormous imposing gates and the NSW State Heritage listed ‘Judges House’, up the steps and into the restaurant. You really need to check yourself as you enter because this is not a restaurant designed to Australian norms, rather it feels from the very first moment that you are transformed to a ‘Michelin Star’ restaurant in Tokyo.
The service at Tetsuya’s is impeccable, from the moment you enter and are whisked to your table, there is a sense of personal care, attention to detail and professional hospitality. The food is a 9 course degustation menu, but first comes the bread a selection of rye and white sourdough and a kombu scroll which was incredibly delicious. Kombu is a kelp seaweed normally used to make dashi broth, in these flaky pull apart scrolls it delivers a rich hit of flavour somewhere between caramel and Vegemite, so addictive.
The wine list is exceptional with so many choices it is hard to decide but thankfully the sommelier also had an excellent range of by the glass options, which allowed us to sample a couple of exceptional white wines with the fish dishes before moving to a Pinot Noir over the meat dishes.
Order of the dishes
- SA Hiramasa King Fish, Rock Melon and Shiso Vinegar
- NZ Scampi, Sake Bisque, Baby Peach
- Confit of Tasmanian Ocean Trout with Salad of Apple and Witlof
- Koji Patagonian Toothfish, Cauliflower Blossom, Miso
- Bangalow Sweet Pork, Sugarloaf Cabbage, Hay, Black Garlic
- Wagyu Sirloin, Young Oyster Mushroom, Watercress and Sansho
- Strawberry, Hibiscus and Timut Peppercorn
- Yuzu, Nashi Pear and White Chocolate
- Petit Fours
The Ocean Trout is a fixture on the menu, once described as the most photographed dish in the world it is a delight on the plate, melting in the mouth with sweet, sour, and finally the crunch of the apple and witlof.
The Patagonian Toothfish is similar in style and texture to the signature ‘Black Cod’ at Nobu restaurants but where the Nobu dish is caramel the Toothfish is sweet and light.
New Zealand Scampi with the Baby Peach was remarkable both to look at and to taste, fresh different and unexpected full of flavour and quickly devoured.
The Drink Choices
- Dönnhoff – Niederhäuser Klamm Riesling Kabinett 2021
- Domaine Christian Moreau Pere & Fils Chablis 2020
- By Farr – RP Côte Vineyard Pinot Noir 2018
- Kracher – Auslese Cuvèe 2019
The Dönnhoff was a perfect accompaniment to the King Fish and Scampi it is an exceptionally elegant riesling with strong citrus notes of grapefruit and lemon and some stone fruit apricot or nectarine but holding a high residual sugar the acid neatly blended to rounded long finish on the palate. Fresh and ideal.
The Christian Moreau Chablis is a richer creamy chardonnay with pear and almost a hint of honey in the long complex after taste.
The By Farr RP Pinot Noir is a well known quantity and the 2018 was ideal for the Pork and Wagyu courses, its sour cherry and mushroom notes were a perfect offset to the dishes.
With desert the Alois Kracher Auslese Cuvèe from Austria was a sweet sticky it is made from a blend of 60% Chardonnay and 40% Welschriesling. There is passionfruit, tangerine and ripe lemon, enough acid to cut some of the sugar it was ideal with desert and the petit fours.
The building, which has heritage value and was designed to create a peaceful Japanese sanctuary in the city, was sold in 2019 to the Teoh family of Australian telecommunication company TPG for $53.5 million. The family also owns an adjoining site on Sussex Street, which will form part of the redevelopment.
Tetsuya’s will close in August of 2023.
| Food | 19 |
| Atmosphere | 18 |
| Service | 19 |
| Wine List | 20 |
| Wine Mark Up | 2.7x |
LINKS
- https://www.gourmettraveller.com.au/dining-out/restaurant-guide/tetsuyas-7030
- https://www.gourmettraveller.com.au/news/restaurant-news/tetsuyas-to-farewell-iconic-sydney-home-20135
- https://www.tetsuyas.com/awards
- https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Judges_House
- https://cloudwine.com.au/collections/imported/products/alois-kracher-auslese-cuvee-2019
- https://almanak.com.au/archives/2023/drink/by-farr-the-rp-cote-vineyard-2018/