Tetsuya’s is a place that restaurant fans often read, hear or enthuse about, but never go. We all vow that we’ll get there one day, but weeks, months and even years pass by without sampling Tetsuya Wakada’s modern fusion cuisine. We deprive ourselves even as the accolades continue to flow in, like Tet’s being named the fifth best restaurant in the world in 2007 by Restaurant Magazine.

In December 2006, we decided the excuses were over, and secured a booking at arguably Australia’s most famous restaurant in late March 2007 (yes, you do need to book ahead). The months passed and finally the time arrived for our pilgrimage to Sydney. With fame and glowing reviews come expectations, and we certainly had ours. After one sublime evening for dinner, Tet’s met and surpassed some of these expectations, but fell below on others (more later).

The first surprising element of Tet’s was its location in a quiet section of Kent Street. From the outside, the restaurant resembled an embassy compound, complete with electric security fence. Not knowing if we had arrived at the correct address, we nearly walked past it. Only when the fence automatically opened for us did we realise that we had indeed arrived at the right place. A short driveway led to the front entrance, where we were greeted warmly by the maitre’d.

The second surprising element of Tet’s was the boisterousness of the place. Perhaps owing to Tetsuya Wakada’s background, we had half expected a serene, tranquil and Zen-like ambience. Instead, the restaurant was filled with the din of patrons enjoying themselves. We didn’t mind it though, and liked the somewhat informal vibe that Tet’s exuded, helped by the friendliness of the wait staff.

Tet’s is divided into two main dining areas, with several private rooms. A lovely Japanese-style rock garden provided a beautiful outlook for diners. An impressive wine storage facility is obviously a main attraction, with patrons constantly popping in for a look at the array of amazing wines. We were seated in the second dining room, which provided our first quibble. We were seated on a table designed for four, and sat facing a wall. It felt a little strange to not sit facing one another, or to face out into the room. This was a minor point, however, and did not detract too greatly from the experience.

We plied ourselves with glasses of Winston Churchill’s favourite bubbly, Pol Roger, whilst perusing the extensive wine list that lists the wines by label. Unable to choose, we consulted the very friendly sommelier, who recommended a few glasses of wines to accompany the degustation to follow.

To keep the hunger at bay whilst waiting for first course, a choice of rolls - crusty Italian or sourdough - was served with a black truffle and parmesan butter. The scent and taste of truffle was amazingly pungent, and paired excellently with the faint blush of parmesan. As the butter was unsalted, one couldn’t help but add an extra sprinkle of salt flakes.

First course was a chilled sweet corn soup with a small quenelle of basil ice cream. The soup itself was incredibly silky and tasted entirely of young sweet corn, and a slick of pouring cream added an extra dose of decadence. The basil ice was mild, but an interesting flavour combination. And it looked a treat served tall in a martini glass.

A tartare of tuna on sushi rice with avocado was wonderfully interesting. The tuna was top notch - despite being diced tartare-style you could tell there was excellent fat distribution. The pile sat on a puck of sushi rice, which itself lay in a lake of the most velvety, luscious avocado cream studded with small islands of caviar.

We had been given instruction by the waiter “…get your fork in there, break it up and make sure you get a bit of everything.” As much as one wanted to be ever so dainty in deconstructing it, we did as directed. The entire mouth feel was fantastic - the silky avocado cream, the meltingly tender tuna, the soft sticky sushi rice. And then the real delight - little pops of salty caviar that exploded between the teeth. It was absolutely divine.

Next course paid homage to our fishy friends, and was (mostly) a wonderful example of keeping things honest. To the left, a skewer of rolled tuna marinated in a soy and mirin dressing, topped with a curl or two of spring onion. In the middle, a sliver of ocean trout, heady with the flavour of smoke, draped languidly over a spear of crisp asparagus. Finally, marinated NZ scampi sitting on a chicken and walnut parfait.

Now whilst the scampi was enjoyable, we felt it wasn’t honest to the integrity of the dish. The parfait was perhaps a little too overpowering considering the simplicity of the prior two examples. It obliterated the subtle flavour of the crustacean with the overwhelming tang of parfait. It just didn’t make sense.

Next up was the dish that Tetsuya is renowned for - his signature - confit of Petuna Tasmanian ocean trout with konbu, daikon and fennel. The first mouthful was almost too much; too flavoursome, too salty, too umami. The konbu (dried kelp that coats the trout) was a real kick to the tastebuds. It was actually quite disconcerting. But the sensation soon died down, and the other flavours - that of the trout itself, the daikon and fennel soon came through. It was visually stunning on the plate and a nice play on textures, again.

The ravioli of Queensland spanner crab with tomato and basil vinaigrette was the dish that most impressed us. The tender pasta parcel contained flakes of sweet, sweet crab meat which sat on a concasse of precisely diced tomato flesh (no skin, no seeds) and then garnished with a chiffonnade of basil and a piquant balsamic and olive oil dressing. It captured the essence of its’ ingredients in a very clean and fresh way. Its simplicty was exquisite.

A twice cooked de-boned oh-so-tender spatchcock was the next impressive dish that obviously showed the amazing skill and technique of Tets merry band of chefs. The bird itself balanced precariously on a thick disc of braised daikon, and to the side, a serving of wonderfully green edamame and a hand turned potato. A light but flavoursome bread sauce finished off the dish. It was lip smackingly good.

By this stage we were both feeling rather full, but one certainly has to suck it in for the grilled wagyu beef with asian mushrooms and citrus jus. The wagyu had been sliced ever so thinly and rolled into a divine little scroll, and cooked to medium rare. The dish was quite stunning, but we don’t know whether it was the wagyu, the mushrooms or the amazing jus. All the flavours was merged, and it was a partnership that worked superbly well.

Our first course of dessert acted as palate cleanser, which was a good touch after the last two full-on dishes. A mouth puckering pineapple sorbet was served to the left, and to the right, Tetsuya’s take on the Strawberry shortcake - a fluid deconstruction of the classic.

Second dessert course was a vanilla bean ice cream with white beans, dates and a sprinkle of praline. Now this was interesting. You can’t go too wrong when you play around with voluptuous flavours like cream, vanilla and dates. The white beans didn’t provide too much flavour in the taste department, but they offered a density and bite to something that would otherwise just be melted in the mouth. And the praline added another textural and taste (nutty toffee) component to the dish.

Our third course of dessert was a floating island (meringue) with a well executed praline and vanilla bean anglaise.

Inside the floating island was a vein of dark chocolate and raspberry coulis, which was a stunning visual surprise. Unfortunately the surprise didn’t follow through in the taste - the expected bitterness of the chocolate or sourness of the raspberry, which would have been a welcome delight, was just too lost in the sweetness of the anglaise. The dessert ended up tasting rather one-dimensional.

The petit four were rather disappointing too; sweet potato balls coated in dark cocoa powder and coconut date balls. Now it wasn’t that they were inedible or foul tasting - it just appeared that they could have been knocked up by a five year old kid. There wasn’t a lot of skill, and there wasn’t a lot of taste. One expects to be delighted with petit four (..and anyone who has been to Vue de monde will know this). In this case, there was just no “eyes-closed and pursed-lips in absolutely delight” moment, which is so how you want to end a great meal.

Despite this, Tetsuya’s was an amazing dining experience. The floor staff were suave and professional and worked the room smoothly and with a minimum of fuss. The food was exceptional and creative, the only real disappointment being the dessert/petit four. But perhaps one does need to wonder whether this creativity is stagnant, as he appears to be serving pretty much the same dishes as he was serving two years ago.

The pilgrimage was well worth it though, and we were so very glad to have finally had the Tet’s experience.

Entry written by ElegantGourmand and Mellie