Happy Valentines! We hope you spent the weekend doing something you love, whether that be dining out with your significant other or at home, in PJs, watching Bridgerton 💕🤗.
We had the Valentines menu at Cirrus Dining on Saturday. This restaurant is one of four under the Bentley Group, located along the wharf in Barangaroo. The menu was $180 per person.
We had the Valentines menu at Cirrus Dining on Saturday. This restaurant is one of four under the Bentley Group, located along the wharf in Barangaroo. The menu was $180 per person.
Entrée
The entrées arrived all at once.
We started with the charcoal grilled bread with pumpkin puree and goats curd. There was a strong goat flavour that put Mick off the dip immediately 😂. I found the dip mildly sweet and well balanced. Its smooth, chilled texture contrasted perfectly with the charred, salty flavours of the bread. The bread itself was dense and doughy, on the heavier carb side.
We started with the charcoal grilled bread with pumpkin puree and goats curd. There was a strong goat flavour that put Mick off the dip immediately 😂. I found the dip mildly sweet and well balanced. Its smooth, chilled texture contrasted perfectly with the charred, salty flavours of the bread. The bread itself was dense and doughy, on the heavier carb side.
This spanner crab with carrot gazpacho, coriander and black lime was refreshing and good 🤤. The crab was well picked, with its juicy, sweet flesh having soaked up all the flavours of sweet carrot. This was balanced by the touch of lime, making us want to lick the bowl clean. The choices of sliced onions, coriander and capsicum brought a crunchy element to the bite.
This was the fried potato puff with whipped ricotta and Yarra Valley trout roe. Having tasted the roe recently on our domestic trip, we thought it was the perfect accent to an otherwise bland bite. The potato and ricotta combination was delicious but fattening, so having the earthy chives and salty roe really livened up this dish.
We love raw fish but the raw yellowfin tuna with preserved lemon, nectarine and kombu was surprisingly average. It arrived with this giant puffed up cracker that we thought was too salty and disproportionate to the size of the dish.
The tuna was chilled with a moderate fishy flavour. On its own, it was kind of hidden between the sweet nectarine and salted kombu, and when combined with the heavily salted cracker, the tuna almost disappeared completely. We never give up on finishing our food but for this cracker, we threw in the towel 😔.
The tuna was chilled with a moderate fishy flavour. On its own, it was kind of hidden between the sweet nectarine and salted kombu, and when combined with the heavily salted cracker, the tuna almost disappeared completely. We never give up on finishing our food but for this cracker, we threw in the towel 😔.
Back to another pleaser, this was the Morton Bay bug with ginger, smoked sour cream and finger lime. The smokiness of the cream was really nice because it added an interesting depth of milky flavour to the sauce. This seeped into every crevice of the sweet bug, elevating the crustacean’s moderately rich taste. The bug was very tender and luscious, almost like eating melted butter 👌🏻🤤.
Main Course
Our first main was the Murray Cod with charred onion, pickled wakame and citrus brown butter. This was another tenderised seafood, cooked amazingly to perfection. It was even softer than the previous dish, with the smooth textured Murray Cod melting into the creamy sauce and our mouths 😋. This bite was really delicious with dimensions of flavour from the sublime saltiness of the seaweed, sweetness of the charred onion and the squeeze of lime.
Our last savoury dish was this Black Tyde striploin, with bone marrow, fennel and red wine sauce and wow, this sauce was fiyahhhh 🔥 (as in good, not spicy 😂).
It was an aromatic mix of garlic, pepper, salt and wine; beautifully cooked to a moderately thin consistency and drizzled unsparingly over this tender piece of cow. The steak was medium rare and had a buttery-like texture upon contact with our tastebuds. The bone marrow was well-seasoned, elevating the beef and fat flavours without overwhelming our senses.
The portion appeared small at first glance but we were unbuttoning our pants by the end of it. This dish was created specifically for Valentines so hopefully Cirrus Dining adds it to their tasting menu in the future.
It was an aromatic mix of garlic, pepper, salt and wine; beautifully cooked to a moderately thin consistency and drizzled unsparingly over this tender piece of cow. The steak was medium rare and had a buttery-like texture upon contact with our tastebuds. The bone marrow was well-seasoned, elevating the beef and fat flavours without overwhelming our senses.
The portion appeared small at first glance but we were unbuttoning our pants by the end of it. This dish was created specifically for Valentines so hopefully Cirrus Dining adds it to their tasting menu in the future.
For such a simple side, the chips with chicken salt tasted like crack. It was sooo good, we couldn’t stop eating it despite how bloated we were. The chips were finely crispy with a soft, fluffy interior, almost like McDonald’s chips. And the chicken salt (and whatever else they’ve sprinkled on top) was finger-licking scrumptious 🤤.
Dessert
The layered chocolate pavé sour cream and tamarind cake with cherries was one of the smoothest and moistest cakes we’ve had. It was very satisfying cutting the cake with our spoons. The outer chocolate layer was rich and decadent. The mildly sour filling layer was light and creamy. And the cherries added a tart accent to the bite.
The heart dessert was sooo cute 🥰. It was a strawberry and cream filling inside a fluffy choux doughnut pastry. This was created specifically for Valentines but we really hope they add it to future menus because it was delicious and even better than the previous dessert. It had the right amount of sweetness and refreshing fruits, followed by fluffy and airy dough. It was a light dessert and a great way to finish the meal.
Service
We had a short seating (our fault). Our reservation was 6:30 PM for two hours. Parking was horrendous and it took us 3 car parks to find a spot. We arrived 30 minutes late (7:00). We were a little annoyed when we tried calling the restaurant because we were redirected to voicemail by the Bentley Group instead of the restaurant directly but I don’t think this would be a common issue for other customers.
On arrival we were told we had to finish at the agreed-upon time (8:30) and surprisingly, Cirrus was able to meet this deadline too. A lot of the times, restaurants say this but take their time bringing out the food 😅.
The staff were very attentive; constantly topping up our water, asking us if we wanted another cocktail, placing dishes in an organised way and clearing everything up efficiently. We were able to take photos, go to the bathroom, chat and eat without feeling rushed at all 👏🏻.
On arrival we were told we had to finish at the agreed-upon time (8:30) and surprisingly, Cirrus was able to meet this deadline too. A lot of the times, restaurants say this but take their time bringing out the food 😅.
The staff were very attentive; constantly topping up our water, asking us if we wanted another cocktail, placing dishes in an organised way and clearing everything up efficiently. We were able to take photos, go to the bathroom, chat and eat without feeling rushed at all 👏🏻.
Review
We really loved our dining experience, despite how short our meal was. The food was delicious with a great mix of gastronomy and quality. The service was on point with everything.
This Valentine’s menu was a tad pricey but it’s one of the most commercialised holidays of the year so we’ll forgive the value. We definitely want to return for their more affordable tasting menus ($120), especially since the number of dishes is about the same.
Thanks for reading! Lots of love and happy eating 💕😍.
This Valentine’s menu was a tad pricey but it’s one of the most commercialised holidays of the year so we’ll forgive the value. We definitely want to return for their more affordable tasting menus ($120), especially since the number of dishes is about the same.
Thanks for reading! Lots of love and happy eating 💕😍.
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Wow, incredible blog layout! How lengthy have you been running a blog for? you made blogging glance easy. The total look of your website is magnificent, as well as the content!!