Aria Restaurant Sydney

I must to admit that the intention to try the food at Aria Restaurant is due to my recent obsession with Masterchef Australia and finding that Matt Moran is one of the best chef in oz makes me more interested in dining it to this restaurant.

We are required to place 48hours in advance booking before stepping in to the restaurant but we have placed the booking a week earlier to guarantee a spot and opt for the pre-theater dinner as it is more affordable as compared to the dinner itself but with lesser menu selections.

As elite as it is deemed to be, the restaurant is located just right across the view of harbour bridge and opera house. We were warmly welcomed by the staffs and seated at the view of harbour bridge (not a good one honestly). The staffs are really polite though gave the impression of cold and cocky except the "wine guy" but what I like the most is that they are not intrusive.

Surfing through the menu, me and Wei Lik opt for rabbit entree with beef as a main while Jeremy select pork belly as entree with also beef as a main. For starters, as usual, they serve as with some bread and a shot of greenish puree with some ham crunches. I don't really fancy the bread, hard to chew for serious but the "green shot" is good and refreshing.

We didn't have to wait for long for the entree to come and gap between entree and main is not long either. Therefore, the waiting time is reasonable there.

Here are the food:
Ballotine of rabbit, foie gras and capocollo with ginger bread, pumpkin and a pomegranate dressing

This is my first time eating rabbit. It tastes similar like chicken. Well, nothing really special with this though but the taste is quite alright and fresh in such a way. Ironically enough, ballotine means boneless, but I could find a small piece of rabbit bone on my plate. By mistake I suppose? The capocollo tastes great, combination of both savoury and sweet from the ginger bread crumbs.

Rate: 3.5/5

Kurobuta sweet pork belly with pork croquette, paradise pears and pear chutney

Tried a bite of pork belly. It tasted much more special than the rabbit dishes I guess. It contains thin and crispy skin with moist fatty juicy pork. The sweet sauce is really a good match to this dish. I heard that this is the most famous entree in Aria so, must not be missed next time.

Rate: 4.5/5

Chargrilled sirloin with field mushrooms, roasted tomatoes and chimmichurri sauce


The steak is served well and juicy but I find the sauce is rather weird as I have never eaten any steak with sour sauce but not too bad. Well, for me the highlight for this dish is the tomatoes instead of the beef. The tomato is damn good, it is sweet, fresh and pop in your mouth seriously. The best tomatoes I have ever eaten.

Rate: 3.5/5

Not forgetting a complementary finger dessert they serve us :)


It consists of chocolate truffles, peanut something and turkish delight. Nothing really special but the presentation is just cute.

Overall, Aria is a great place to dine it. They serve great food and great service with relaxing environment. Although the food is not really extremely special for me but it is worth to try. Most importantly, the food will make you super full although it is a fine dining which I always think that they serve super tiny mini food.

Check it out: www.ariarestaurant.com

Next food destination target: Quay Restaurant (rated as one of the best restaurants in the world)

Btw, Aria is ranked no. 14 in Australia if not mistaken.

Happy trying and have a great day :)


Cheers,


Van