THE GANTRY - PIER ONE, THE ROCKS, SYDNEY

The Gantry
Pier One Sydney Harbour
11 Hickson Rd
Walsh Bay, Sydney

There’s a kind of magic about Pier One, tucked away under the beautiful Harbour Bridge at Walsh Bay.

We entered the stunning bar area and took a couple of glasses outside to the comfy lounge seats.

Sunset, sparkling city lights and sparkling wine – a great start to the evening!

The Gantry is a very stylish waterfront venue with indoor and outdoor seating.

The menu was very tempting and we decided to start with a selection from the “seafood counter” which is a real feature here.

The Hervey Bay Scallops with lemongrass, kaffir lime and coconut were brilliantly cooked, as was the Moreton Bay Bug.

The flavours didn’t overpower the fresh seafood tastes.

We both thought this was great seafood.

The chef obviously knows how to get it right.

Next we had two great dishes - the Smoked Bone Marrow and the Spanner Crab.


Both were works of art as they were plated so beautifully.

The lovely bone marrow dish was a smokey and delicious indulgence which we also managed to mop up with the crisp and flavoursome sourdough bread.


The spanner crab wasn't far behind either in terms of looks and taste.

The mains were the Mirool Creek Lamb Chops and the Snowy Mountain Duck.

They were both cooked well (pink) but the lamb was the winner here, with lovely artichoke and garlic accompaniments.

On the side, we had some good crispy beetroot homefries and a salad which blew us away. Made from rocket, Tarwin blue cheese, pear prosciutto and walnuts, the combination was a standout.

Great flavours and textures.

Then dessert – we tasted three from the menu.

The Valhrona Chocolate Tart was a little magic bomb of dark choc and the meringue was well suited.

Then we had the Ebenezer Goats Milk Pudding. It was so good with the rhubarb crumble and that lovely chunk of honeycomb.

We also felt the need to try the Macadamia Polenta Cake.

That was also really good – quite a creative and tasty dessert.















We both would rate our overall experience at The Gantry extremely highly.

The food was great, the location was amazing and the staff were very helpful and knowledgeable. We would certainly recommend this place.

Those Dames, who are now doing reviews for Sir and Mlady Dine Out, dined as guests of Pier One. Special thanks to Freya from Pier One Sydney Harbour for the invitation. Our thanks also to the lovely Zoe and Micolle for their service and input.

THE GANTRY RESTAURANT AND BAR - PIER ONE, THE ROCKS, SYDNEY

The Gantry Restaurant and Bar at Pier One Sydney Harbour
11 Hickson Rd
Walsh Bay, Sydney

The new chic signature restaurant making waves (and looking out over them) at Pier One is The Gantry. Their Executive Chef, Christopher Irving, brings a wealth of pedigree and experience here, having cooked for the Queen, the Beckhams (as their private chef) and worked with Gordon Ramsay. It's a CV that gets any appetite excited and mouths watering.

The Gantry has both indoor and outdoor seating and makes the most of its prime location right on the edge (and in fact over) Sydney Harbour. There's also a lovely bar area with comfy lounge seating - or bar seating - and again more of those water views.

The building itself is over 100 years old. It has so much history and even has old celebrities names in the cement outside.

We started with oysters - and why not. There were three varieties, Port Douglas, Pambula and Smokey Bay angels. They came with a small pot of red wine vinaigrette and of course fresh lemon. They were great - especially with the vinaigrette - but the seafood here is a focus here. Sir had a Helm Riesling from Tumbaruma ACT 2014 and Mlady had a Sangiovese Rose from Mudgee 2014 - with the oysters. Both matched beautifully.

Mlady couldn't resist their P.O.S.H. Salad as her starter.

Whilst the name is a clear nod to the Beckhams, it also stands for Pier One Sydney Harbour. Nice touch.

This was a great and healthy start - having quinoa, artichoke, orange, pomegranate and hazelnut.

She loved it.

Sir had venison tartare - not a surprise as he loves tartare.

This was extremely good - in fact exceptional. It had crispy shallots and garlic, blackcurrants and kaffir lime - giving it crunch and a slight tang but oh so subtle.

Mlady had a lovely Terrazas Malbec, Vistalba Terrace Mendoza 2012 and Sir had a fuller 2013 Penley Estate, Phoenix Cabernet Coonawarra SA.





















It was time for our main courses next and Mlady kept in theme with the waterfront location and chose the Cone Bay barramundi.

It was perfectly cooked and arrived served with eureka lemon, gremolata, silver beet and crispy diced chats.

We also had rocket with Annie Baxter buffalo milk cheese - so simple but great a flavour combination.











Sir has this thing for duck, as readers of these pages will know.

Therefore it wasn't a surprise that he chose the jumjum Muscovy duck.

This was served with Hawksbury carrots and cabbage and a lovely citrus glaze.


He was extremely impressed with the flavours of the dish, and the duck was beautifully cooked too.

The second side dish we had was so unique and delicious all in one. It was beetroot home fries - deep fried beetroot wedges served with a killer dill mayonnaise. We'd never had deep fried beetroot before and somewhat surprisingly it worked brilliantly.

The Vahlrona chocolate tart came with quince in it and was served with a meringue vanilla ice cream. It was a great big chocolate hit for the real chocolate lovers and Mlady the chocoholic loved it. Sir went for a lighter dessert, the Reiby Farms apple parfait. It was beautifully presented and made with  Pepe Saya mascarpone, coconut and coriander, giving it a tropical feel.

The Gantry is an experience on so many levels. The views, the location and the history are amazing and the food has a flair, structure and design that really works. Its a place well worth visiting.

Sir and Mlady dined as guests of The Gantry. Special thanks to Zoey for looking after us so well and also to Chris Irving for the great food. Big thanks also to Sophie Muir of The Mint Partners for arranging our visit.

 

HICKSONS - WALSH BAY, SYDNEY CBD

Hickson's
Pier 7, 17 Hickson Rd
Walsh Bay, Sydney CBD

Hickson's only opened in October 2013.

It has brilliant views of Walsh Bay and also of the harbour bridge in the distance.

Hickson's is a bar and a restaurant. It's in an ideal location for a drink and a nibble. It's also very close to the 900 seat Sydney Theatre - in fact it's right across the road from it - and they cater for people having an early dinner and getting to the show on time.

Hickson's is the brainchild of Nathan Kam and Zenta Staley. Both come from a strong hospitality background and with chef Ian Prendergast they have put together an innovative menu matched with an imaginative wine list with plenty of options from around the world.

Our first dish was the baby beetroot that came with buckwheat, a generous spreading of organic sheep yoghurt and red chard.

Mlady loves fresh beetroot so we were very keen to see what this dish was like. The beetroot was beautifully soft and tender and the sheep yoghurt and chard went perfectly.

This was such a simple dish that was so effective.

We then moved on to another beautifully presented and plated dish. This was a work of art and almost a pity to eat!

It was buffalo mozzarella, basil, confit tomato and aged balsamic which came served on crusty sourdough.

It was a variation on bruscetta and the truss tomatoes were a nice playful touch.

Our next dish was in keeping with our waterfront setting.

Perfectly seared scallops resting on a bed of slivered green Batlow apple and shiso (a type of Asian mint) arrived on a square of black slate.

This was a refreshingly light dish. The Batlow apples added great flavours to the scallops and combined so well.

The salmon was Mlady's choice of favourite dish of the night. The salmon was poached, pan seared then baked to create a lovely texture while keeping all the flavours in.

The salmon was served on a bed of spinach and garnished with radish slices, baby coriander and small dollops of gazpacho.

It was lovely and the crackling-crisp salmon skin was to die for.

Seafood in a seaside setting is always such a perfect match.

So in keeping with the lovely seafood available at Hickson's our next course was mulloway which was served with eschalot, creamy mashed potato, super crisp speck and a lovely basil emulsion.

This was a great dish with a beautiful mix of textures and flavours.

Our final main course was probably my favourite for the night. The lightly cooked quail was again picturesquely presented on a bed of spiced pumpkin and garnished with deep fried quail eggs and sprigs of spring onion.

The quail was so nicely cooked and the deep fried quail eggs were perfect and still had their runny yolks! This was a blend of subtle flavours that was delicious.

It was time for dessert - and there were several interesting options available.

We were keen to try the chocolate and roast coconut brownie with mango - it just sounded like a great combination.

It tasted great. We both love chocolate and coconut together and this blended them so well. The freshness of the mango went well with this tropical sweet dish as did the dollop of double cream on top!

Hickson's is simply a lovely place. It has magical views in a beautiful setting combined with friendly efficient service and great food and wine. Hickson's ticks all the boxes and is a place well worth visiting.

Sir and Mlady dined as guests of Hickson's. Special thanks to Nathan Kam and Zenta Staley for inviting us. Thanks also to Ian Prendergast and his kitchen for the great food and to Ben for looking after us so well on our visit.

Nathan Kam and Zenta Staley