A meal guaranteed to impress a client – Est.

Restaurant: Est.

Location: Establishment, Lvl 1 /252 George St, Sydney NSW 2000

Chef: Peter Doyle

Hats: 2 (2015), #

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Est. has long been a personal favourite. Whenever Pookie has a business meal which needs to impress a client this Meriton stalwart is THE restaurant of choice. The morning of the meal in question a courtesy confirmation call is received as is the norm and the question asked “Can the restaurant offer Sir complimentary transport to the restaurant?”. Such above-and-beyond service is rare in Australia but gladly accepted.

The car arrives well before and the driver happily waits while our meeting is concluded. The driver has the doors open as we arrive to the car (a Rolls Royce no less – our guest is suitably impressed). The car whisks us away to the restaurant, the driver is wonderfully pleasant. Unfortunately the lifts are locked so on arrival we are force to attend the bar downstairs to await them being unlocked at 6pm – possibly we missed a staff member sent down to escort the party upstairs.

Progressing upstairs after a stint standing around downstairs, we are met at the restaurant entrance and shown to our table, right beside one of the large windows overlooking George. The grandeur of the room is only further enhanced by the size of the window. The champagne trolley follows us to our table and Mookie selects a Ruinart Blanc-de-blancs (her favourite) for herself and our guest. Pookie requests the wine list and selects a Mersault from a great year. The sommelier approves and withdraws to draw the wine as we settle in to select our courses.

A flustered Sommelier arrives back as an amuse-bouche is served – “Sorry sir we sold the last bottle of Raveneau earlier this week”. A disappointment as the wine list is not what it once was and it had taken a while to decide on the Raveneau. Pookie selects an unfamiliar producer (Vincent Dancer) for a bottle of Chevalier Montrachet. The sommelier notes the year was not the best and Pookie agrees but is willing to take the chance.

The entrees arrive and immediately the table is struck with the sheer beauty of the dishes (see above photo gallery). The taste of the dishes does not disappoint. The Chardonnay is stark and austere and has heavy sulfides but its citrus minerality well counterpoints the sweetness of both scallops and marron. After the entree’s are cleared a palette cleanser arrives gratis. Its a lovely concoction from the kitchen that is served to the table and then a consomme poured over it – lovely.

Having ordered venison and beef, a glass of Pinot Noir is ordered to accompany the main. The venison is perfectly blue and retains its tenderness whilst the crushed juniper is a welcome accompaniment. The pepperiness of the juniper and that of the wine match well. The lamb that Mookie ordered is also very rare and the presentation again is excellent – she smiles when looking at her plate.

Having eaten our fill we share a dessert simply because of the desire to taste the coconut sorbet. The kitchen, rather than serve a single plate, delivery a plate each with a half portion on both – its such service excellence that make Est. the place to take business associates that you might wish to impress. Coffee and petite fours arrive, the usual beautiful presentation bringing to a close a special evening to be followed by a stroll down George street to the quay.