Celebrated our 10 year anniversary (and 1 year engagement) at the prestige Lumi Dining, a 2 Chef’s Hat fine dining restaurant in the heart of Sydney. Their culinary story is a fusion of Italian and Japanese techniques and ingredients.
Reservations opens 40 days before desired date so this lunch date had been staring at me from my inbox for a longggg time 😂. We got the Tasting Menu for $255 per person. Mick also got the Wine Pairing for an extra $120.
Reservations opens 40 days before desired date so this lunch date had been staring at me from my inbox for a longggg time 😂. We got the Tasting Menu for $255 per person. Mick also got the Wine Pairing for an extra $120.
Originally we filmed our lunch and was planning to edit/post it, as we had an amazing 9/10 June visit however….
We dined again in September, with the Omakase Menu. The second visit left a sour taste in our mouths due to slow service and a few words muttered by the staff (see below under “Service”) so now our rating has dropped to 7/10 and it’s not even worth posting our review from the second visit.
Notes: The Omakase Menu is pricier, at $355 per person.
We dined again in September, with the Omakase Menu. The second visit left a sour taste in our mouths due to slow service and a few words muttered by the staff (see below under “Service”) so now our rating has dropped to 7/10 and it’s not even worth posting our review from the second visit.
Notes: The Omakase Menu is pricier, at $355 per person.
Tasting Menu
Started off very strong with a sterling caviar on top of an oyster, in a squid ink shell gunkan. We were both rolling our eyes in our seats after this bite, to the point where I couldn’t function and operate my camera properly. It was sooooo good. The ultimate crème de la crème of what the ocean and cooking skills had to offer, or as Mick described it: “symphony of oceanic taste and textures” 😘🤌🏻.
This was the pie tin, a simple sea urchin gunkan. There was another ingredient underneath the urchin (not just rice) but we were still in a daze of glorious food spasms to catch on to the ingredient. And also the creaminess and rich umami of the urchin kind of overpowered everything in that mouthful. The urchin was fresh with that enjoyable oceanic sweetness.
It doesn’t look like it but this was amaebi; a mix of finely diced sweet spot prawns on a crust with fried shredded carrots on top. Yes, you read that right… FRIED shredded carrots, in delicious umami ebi oil. It looked like candy. And tasted like it too, with all the sweetness oozing through from the vegetable and crustacean. The texture was distinct, fine strings.
We have been seeing this brioche all over Instagram for years and finally, we got to try this for ourselves. And it was worth the hype! The crust was so flakey, with intricate layers, and the softest, butteriest middle section. The butter was smooth and fluffy too.
This was bluefin tuna. On top is carefully placed crispy chicken skin seasoned with yukari (red shiso leaves and salt). It added a fragrant and tangy taste to the savouriness of the bite. And the tender mush of the fish contrasted nicely with the crispiness of the tart. Overall, absolutely fantastic 🤤.
On to the entrées, this beautiful dish was the crudo. This was a bonita fish in a diced cucumber well, swimming in a kiwi-cucumber sauce. The fish had an almost neutral / mildly fishy taste, complimented by the sweet and refreshing flavours of the kiwi and cucumber. The sauce made the fish taste even fresher.
Wine: Anthìlia, sicilia doc, Donna Fugata 2022 – white flower and fruity notes that dispersed the fishy taste nicely into an echo chamber.
Wine: Anthìlia, sicilia doc, Donna Fugata 2022 – white flower and fruity notes that dispersed the fishy taste nicely into an echo chamber.
This is Mick’s new favourite chawanmushi, although it was lobster 🤤. It was the softest and smoothest chawanmushi, with strong umami flavours. It was very distinguishable that they used young ginger and the lobster head to give it that delicious OOMPH. The roe gave it a textural element. Automatically awarded best dish of the meal.
Sake: Kizan Sanban, Chikuma Nishiki, Nagano – a junmai sake with a high sugar content that elevated the sweetness of the lobster.
Sake: Kizan Sanban, Chikuma Nishiki, Nagano – a junmai sake with a high sugar content that elevated the sweetness of the lobster.
Next was a toothfish, specifically a Glacier 51 with potatoes, scallops and corn. This was creamy and sweet. The clean and sweet taste of the fish was elevated nicely by the sweetness of the corn. And the fish’s fatty oils was absorbed by the potato balls, which added this soft texture to the bite.
Wine: Paul Kubler Gewuerztraminer Nuances de Neroli 2019 – A balanced fruity white wine that paired nicely with the umami and sweetness, leaving a refreshing residue in the mouth.
Wine: Paul Kubler Gewuerztraminer Nuances de Neroli 2019 – A balanced fruity white wine that paired nicely with the umami and sweetness, leaving a refreshing residue in the mouth.
We got the WA marron on top for an extra $50. And there was no regrets because this was DELICIOUS!!! The sweet marron was tender, charred yakitori style and swimming in blended snap pea sauce and foam cauliflower. It was a balanced umami and sweet bite, made more tasty with the beautiful presentation.
Wine: De Fermo Le Cince Cerasuolo dAbruzzo Rosato 2021 – This was a see-through light red wine, with berries and floral tones.
Wine: De Fermo Le Cince Cerasuolo dAbruzzo Rosato 2021 – This was a see-through light red wine, with berries and floral tones.
For our first main, this was the agnolotti. This was a strong umami-savoury dish with the silkiest pasta and frothy mouth feel. We really enjoyed the crispy leaf – the texture was dehydrated but the taste was not.
Wine: Pietro Caciorgna ‘Ciauria’, Etna Rosso Doc 2022 – this wine spent an extra 6 months in French oak, giving it this spicy taste of fruits and minerals.
Wine: Pietro Caciorgna ‘Ciauria’, Etna Rosso Doc 2022 – this wine spent an extra 6 months in French oak, giving it this spicy taste of fruits and minerals.
To finish our second main was an impressive wellington, with extra shaved truffle for $25. This was no beef. It was duck!!! 🤯
We absolutely loved this version. The duck had been rendered perfectly, giving us a punch of flavour without the over consumption of fat. The jus was simmered down into a plum-like sweet and savoury viscous sauce.
Wine: Cantina Sociale della Vernaccia ‘Corash’ Cannonau di Sardegna Riserva 2020
We absolutely loved this version. The duck had been rendered perfectly, giving us a punch of flavour without the over consumption of fat. The jus was simmered down into a plum-like sweet and savoury viscous sauce.
Wine: Cantina Sociale della Vernaccia ‘Corash’ Cannonau di Sardegna Riserva 2020
Our first dessert was blueberry and rose. This was aromatically sweet and refreshing.
Wine: Poderi del Paradiso Vin Santo 2018 – an Italian wine with apricots, floral and honey notes. – sweetness
Wine: Poderi del Paradiso Vin Santo 2018 – an Italian wine with apricots, floral and honey notes. – sweetness
Our second and final dish was a coffee and ricotta, with a bonus chocolate sign because we have been together for a decade 🥂. This dessert was perfect. The aromatic coffee and creamy cheesy flavours paired well, and gave a refreshing mouthfeel, ending the meal of a light note.
Service
The service was great during our first visit. The lunch sitting was full, everything was coming out at an efficient pace, and the conversations were flowing and fun. Looking back in hindsight, we wonder if it was like this because we spent so much money on the wine pairing……
Our second visit was on a Thursday night, a classy “hens” with 10 girls booked for 5:30 pm. We were sat at 5:45 pm and didn’t get to order drinks until 6:10 pm. I find this odd that they would have a “5:30pm” slot but not even start service until 6pm with the rest of the other slots….
Secondly, our drinks did not come out until 6:45pm. Due to the slow service, we all decided to only have 1 cocktail. Also, the wedding was the next day so this was not a “wild hens” as per tradition.
Angelo made a comment around 7:30 pm saying “this is a boring hens, you’re not drinking more. Order more”. And it was very clear from then that because we were not spending more money, they wanted us out faster – which we wanted out faster too but at that point, we only had the first main. Our meal did not finish until 9:30 pm. Service was really slow despite half the restaurant being empty.
Another reason we did not want to have more than 1 drink was because as a big group, it is mandatory to order the Omakase Menu $355, compared to Tasting Menu $255, and there is a 10% service charge on top. We knew this so we were conscious of our bill. Being told we were boring for not spending more money seems a little counterintuitive to their previously-believed “great service”. Overall, it left us feeling ICK.
Our second visit was on a Thursday night, a classy “hens” with 10 girls booked for 5:30 pm. We were sat at 5:45 pm and didn’t get to order drinks until 6:10 pm. I find this odd that they would have a “5:30pm” slot but not even start service until 6pm with the rest of the other slots….
Secondly, our drinks did not come out until 6:45pm. Due to the slow service, we all decided to only have 1 cocktail. Also, the wedding was the next day so this was not a “wild hens” as per tradition.
Angelo made a comment around 7:30 pm saying “this is a boring hens, you’re not drinking more. Order more”. And it was very clear from then that because we were not spending more money, they wanted us out faster – which we wanted out faster too but at that point, we only had the first main. Our meal did not finish until 9:30 pm. Service was really slow despite half the restaurant being empty.
Another reason we did not want to have more than 1 drink was because as a big group, it is mandatory to order the Omakase Menu $355, compared to Tasting Menu $255, and there is a 10% service charge on top. We knew this so we were conscious of our bill. Being told we were boring for not spending more money seems a little counterintuitive to their previously-believed “great service”. Overall, it left us feeling ICK.
Review
I had this post sitting in my drafts for the longest time, with a final statement “best restaurant in Sydney for 2024”. That is no longer the case. We give it a 7 out of 10. And will probably never return. I’m sure they’ll get plenty more money from less boring customers.
Thanks for reading. Happy eating!
Thanks for reading. Happy eating!
