Really beautiful but I felt the food lacked "spice" which for an Indian restaurant is not positive. To its credit there were lots of SE Asians there, wonder how they felt. Great location and nice atmosphere, I'll still keep it on the visit list despite my rather bland experience. read more

Spice Temple - Tika Masala - Chinese Near Me - Sydney, NSW

The decor service and food are all top notch. Good value for money too considering how much food came and what I expected the prices to be based on the ambience. Wouldn't change a thing about the meal. Go in with an open mind and let your server make recommendations for the best experience. read more

Spice Temple - Pineapple fried rice, chicken, a dry Riesling carafe - Chinese Near Me - Sydney, NSW

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Spice Temple is one of the open secrets of the CBD. This subterranean eatery features dark walls and subdued lighting, making it a great place for a romantic, intimate date. Still, passing its high tech door and descending a flight of industrial-grade stairs, one wonders what is in store. The good news is that what one is offered is a menu of mostly Chinese cuisine, with a few Japanese and Korean flourishes that transforms the food from good, but typical to the truly flavorful and interesting. The food, as the name implies, focuses on the spicy. While there are some relatively tame dishes for the sensitive palate, the real winners tend to be those that will get the endorphins flowing. Personal favorites include the Hot and Numbing dry wagyu brief (it WILL numb your mouth) and the Wuxi pork ribs. There are also a number of sides and desserts that are well worth exploring. Is it cheap? Well, what is in Sydney? This is definitely not your Thai place down the road with the silly pun in its name; Spice Temple is more for special occasions. But it is also something of an institution. If you haven't been and live here, I don't think you can call properly yourself a Sydney-Sider. read more

Great food. Service was very nice, until you complain about being served a 10.00 glass of water, So the front desk girl was argumentative and thought that was OK to CHARGE 10.00 FOR A GLASS OF WATER. I won't be back, maybe bring your own water and enjoy the food or just skip it all together. Let me get back to my review. 30.00 for 3 glasses of water. Happy to supply the receipt. read more

Wow!! Team dinner for 20+ in Sydney. Walkable to the business district. Right on Pitt Street. The colors were fantastic. We ordered Pork Belly, Kung Pao Chicken, Fish, which was incredible. The colors and variety of the dishes were spectacular. The atmosphere and service was world class. Very reasonably priced, about $50 AUS a head. read more

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Fantastic and interesting modern Chinese experience. Not one dish was like something I had before but all were excellent. They prepared a Lunar New Year menu for one for me and it was much better than I expected. The highlights were tuna sashimi, Pippas (clams) and beef with eggplant and dumplings, though everything was great. Each dish had layered flavors, some spicier than others, and tasted very different from each other. Also, great service and a modern ambiance. A great meal. read more

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Pretty cool place down underneath Sydney in the basement - very moody. I order the Kung Po Chicken, Fries Rice and Pickled Cucumber along with a nice glass of Pinot Noir. The Kung Po is not your typical Chinese fare - this is dry with no sauce - roasted chicken and cashews and green onions on bed of whole dried chilies - it reminder me of a salt and chilli chicken dish I ate in Beijing at the Szechuan Provincs Communist Party restrauant - a seminal dinning experience buts that another story for another review - The dish packs a punch - hot spicy but aromatic too - this is where the pickled cucumbers come in to cool everything down with a fresh crunch. The fried rice is all bacon and peas - everything tastes better with bacon - it's a hugh portion size. Upscale, great ingredients and attentive staff but with a hefty price tag - sometimes you have to spoil yourself. read more

Spice Temple - Starting Gibson :) - Chinese Near Me - Sydney, NSW

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This place is pretentious. It's trying too hard to be cool, and doesn't care about the things that matter, such as cleanliness and polite service. To justify that, just turn on your light (on your phone) and inspect the floor around you and chair you are sitting on. My chair looked like it hadn't been wiped down in over a year... dust everywhere, and it's things light that that really turn me off. See my photo of the bathroom, which doesn't help matters. The waiter was pushy, and the prices are silly. Can't we just buy a small portion of jasmine rice? No, you pay by how many people that have some... this isn't bottomless brunch. The food was fine, and if it wasn't so pricey, I'd possibly give this place four stars. read more

Spice Temple - Bathroom - Chinese Near Me - Sydney, NSW

The atmosphere... the menu... the service... the flavors. I'm quickly learning that Chef Neil Perry can do no wrong, and my experience at Spice Temple was without question one of the best Chinese culinary experiences I've had - maybe ever. Star 1: How were the service and atmosphere? "Is this... it?" is what I asked myself as, after passing it back and forth maybe four times, I saw the small signage on an otherwise nondescript door overshadowed by Rockpool Bar & Grill. It was it, and as I descended down the spiral-esk staircase I had a pretty good idea that I was in for a pretty special experience. The decor an ambiance were almost tangibly classy, and even my full service spot at the bar came across as though it was somehow exclusive. Right from the get-go i was understandably overwhelmed by the Cantonese meets SIchuan menu, and unlike many Chinese places I've been to even at the higher end of the spectrum, I found myself saying to myself "that sounds amazing" after reading the title of just about every single dish. I opted for the Hot and Numbing Crispy Duck, and maybe ten to fifteen minutes later my dish emerged from the kitchen. Star Granted. Star 2: How were the portions relative to the cost? My portion was nothing overwhelming, but it was certainly enough for a single person, and my side of steamed rice made this a full meal. While the $42.00 price tag may have had me cringe a bit if we were talking USD, we're not, and some quick math had me realizing that at only $30.00 USD this was a bargain and even so one of the more expensive single entrees on the menu. Star Granted. Stars 3 and 4: How was the food? I honestly didn't know what to think when I saw the title of my dish. Hot and Numbing? That sounded a bit like blazing hot buffalo wings at some discount dive bar that you later regret eating - but that's far from what this was. I don't know how it's done, but I'd honestly never experienced a combination of flavor and heat like this before. Was my Duck spicy? It was, but certainly not overwhelmingly so and not at all at the expense of unique flavor. However, somehow the dish did indeed, with every bite, briefly give me a numbing sensation that I'll admit I enjoyed, and I ended up putting the leftover sauce on my steamed rice to enjoy yet again. If I haven't yet made it clear, this dish was marvelous - plain and simple. Dual Stars Granted. Star 5: Would you eat here every day if you could? Without question or hesitation. Spice Temple embodies a five star establishment, and is a model for Chinese inspired cuisine on a global scale. Star Granted. read more

Spice Temple - Hot and Numbing Duck: $42.00 - Chinese Near Me - Sydney, NSW

Amazing Chinese New Year banquet. One of the best in Sydney. Food was delicious with a variety of meat. Spicy chicken wings are outstanding, crispy and just enough spice. The pork belly was tender and tasty. It just melts in your mouth. The dessert was interesting the sweet. read more

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I first noticed this place after my numerous trips to Rockpool Bar & Grill for their immaculate Full Blood Wagyu burger and their steaks. It has a really cool entrance, and at first glance I thought it was Thai food. Nope, it's Chinese. A couple friends went before as well and raved about it, so I figured I had to give it a shot. The fact that it was granted Two Hats this year elevated my expectations a bit. I came here this past Saturday after making reservations for two online on Thursday. Since I made reservations so late in the week, they told me the only available option would be 9:30pm. They called to confirm my reservation the day before, and informed me there may be a slight wait. No big deal...so I thought. Upon pushing open the door you're led downstairs via a curving stairway. The place is dimly lit, so if you appreciate that type of ambience this place is for you. We were told there would be a slight wait before being seated so we grabbed a spot by the bar and sifted through their drink menu. 10 minutes soon became 20, and then 20 became 30. At this point I got up and enquired about being seated and was told that there was an issue with large parties staying at their tables longer than anticipated, and there would be a longer wait as there were several others ahead of us waiting to be seated. No big deal...so I thought. 30 minutes soon became an hour, and I enquired again. The hostess was really apologetic and stated the same. At this point it was 10:30pm, and the thought of going somewhere else was inconceivable...we already dedicated this much time to this place, we were going to eat here damn it! Soon, the hostess approached us apologetically again, and offered us free entrées of dumplings and pancakes and two soft drinks while we waited. Cool, free food and drinks! The food came within 10 minutes and a table opened up just as we were about to finish up. At this point, it was 11:00pm when we were seated. Since this place is called Spice Temple, I figured the food would be spicy. The menu states that the items highlighted in red are their spiciest dishes, so naturally we opted to try one. We weren't too hungry so we opted for the Egg Noodles in the entrées section, and then by recommendation from a friend we ordered the Shredded Duck. We asked our waiter what the difference between Hunan style pork belly and Sichuan style pork belly was, and he was very well informed. We opted for the Hunan style which was twice cooked and crispy, whereas the Sichuan was a bit softer. The food came in a relatively short amount of time; the egg noodles coming first. I was expecting this to be very spicy, but this wasn't very spicy at all. If you've ever had Shin Ramyun, I would compare the egg noodles to a non-soupy version of that...and less spicy. It was pretty disappointing. The Shredded Duck was amazing, just as expected. The combination of chestnuts, fried tofu, and black fungi gave it a very interesting texture and delicious taste. It was combined with some chili paste, but yet again...not very spicy. The Hunan style pork belly was great. Crunchy on the outside, soft, succulent and juicy on the inside. I could probably eat this dish for days...or until I got a heart attack from clogged arteries. However, this dish is eerily similar to the Pad Prik King pork belly you can get at Home Thai...and for $20 cheaper. Since we were a bit full from our free entrées before, we didn't finish all the food and boxed it up rather quickly. Our bill for the three items and a drink came out to $81.50. Cheap right? The only reason it was so cheap was because they gave us a 15% discount due to the long wait. Food - Hit and Miss, and not very spicy if you're accustomed to Southeast Asian food. Service - Outside of the long wait, amazing service and very attentive. The discount and free entrées almost made up for the 90 minute wait after reservations. Almost. Ambience - Romantic-ish, but hard to read things sometimes. Slightly loud. If you're going to go here, reserve way ahead of time to avoid the stupendously long wait. read more

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Absolutely beautiful interior and stellar service, with some truly exceptional dishes. The Hot and numbing dry Wagyu beef was outstanding, as was the Yellowfin tuna with spicy orange oil and lettuce. However, the Guangxi style crisp roast pork belly with coriander, peanuts, red onion and sesame seeds was bland and we barely touched it. That was the only dish we found subpar, so it may have just been a case of everything else being so good that this one didn't stand a chance (plus we ordered a lot of food for two people). My dining companion was a Chinese work colleague and he found the food interesting, if not necessarily authentic. He told me that the numbing preparation common in Southern China is many times spicier than that used here, which is hard for my Western palate to imagine. I am grateful Neil Perry toned that dish down as I am certain not many of us could handle a dish that hot. My dining companion also selected the hot pot of fresh shiitake, oyster, enoki and wild Chinese mushrooms, Yunnan style, which was another fantastic dish with a spice that slowly gains on you as you progress through the meal. (Did I mention that my mouth was truly numb as well as on fire by the end of the evening?) This is one of those restaurants that I have wanted to try for years. I am very glad I finally had an opportunity to dine here, but the prices are such that I don't see myself making a return trip (unless someone else is paying, of course). For a special night out, it really can't be beat. read more

I had high expectations for this place and whilst the service was good, the ambience really pleasant, the food was ho-hum. To be fair, before putting up this review I did get the views of the other two diners. We all agreed that we wouldn't visit again any time soon for dinner. We would consider perhaps sitting at the bar for a few quiet drinks though. We ordered a lot of varied food - probably around 7 dishes not including the dessert we had. Stand out dish was the eggplant from the entree menu, followed by the orange noodle dish which comes entree size even though it's on the main menu. The rest was okay, well cooked but nothing special. The 3-shot chicken we all disliked after a couple of mouthfuls so most of that was left on the serving dish. We each ordered a dessert to try and end on a highlight but again all agreed, wouldn't have them again. read more

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... Always a favourite... Never fails! Fabulous food, service and evening! Kung-Pow chicken is A signature dish... Beware: it's hot... Sexy atmosphere to. Thanks Spice Temple! read more

Spice Temple - K U N G / P O W_ chicken - Chinese Near Me - Sydney, NSW

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OVERALL CONSENSUS: Blown away! This is some of the best Cantonese/Szechuan food I've ever had. Please open a location in San Francisco!!! ATMOSPHERE: One of the sexiest restaurants I've ever been to. The restaurant is underground. You get there by going down a spiral staircase. The restaurant is very dark inside, a lot of black & red colors, low lighting. The music gave the place a swanky vibe. This is perfect for date night or girls night out in my opinion. COCKTAILS: Creative, delicious, & pretty! All cocktails are named after the Chinese zodiak signs. FOOD: We ordered: - Cucumbers with smashed garlic and ginger - Three shot chicken - Hot, sweet, sour, and numbing pork (THIS DISH WAS OUR FAVORITE!) - Beef filet in fire water - House style fried rice This is a lot of food for 2 people, but the great thing about Spice Temple is that they can serve some of their dishes in half portions, which allows you to try more items on the menu so that's what we did and it worked out perfectly! We loved every dish that we had. The flavors were big, bold, and spicy!!! The mouth numbing chili oil is what makes these dishes. So if you love a bit of kick in your food, this is your type of cuisine! Service was also great. We really enjoyed everything about this restaurant. Craving their food already! read more

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Very exotic and classy Asian fusion restaurant with a strong Sichuan accent on many dishes. Try the drunken fish with peppercorns and the pork belly, they were clearly 5 star dishes. We have cocktails and Quingdow Beer plus 5 dishes and the price with tax was about 85 A$ per person. Located inside the office building so kind of hard to locate at first; look for the dIgital front door design. read more

Ok I know the name of the place is called Spice Temple so I should have known better. But omg the food was very spicy, even for my tastebuds which have been groomed since a young girl to eat super hot kimchi! We thought ok it says chilli, but how hot can it be?? Its Neil Perry afterall. We deliberately chose the hottest dishes on the menu to be adventurous. Yeah, we're not the brightest tools in the shed lol. For entree we ordered the fried salt and pepper silken tofu with spicy coriander salad which was beautiful. Tofu when complemented well is really beautiful and definitely not just for the vegetarians! For mains we chose the Kung Pao Chicken and the hot, sweet, sour and numbing pork with chilli, sugar, black vinegar and Sichuan peppercorn. The chicken was a bit unusual because it gave you a really odd feeling on the tongue. It almost felt like I was eating popping candy (remember those?). But you got used to the taste and this ended up being everyone's favourite dish of the night. I think we also ordered some asian greens, but nothing too special. Another thing to note is that the dining room was very loud for some reason. I think its because the room is underground and the noise probably bounces off the walls. There are also cocktails available based on the Chinese zodiac calendar, which we will probably try next time. Recommend if you are a bit adventurous with your food and like it hot! read more

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Spice Temple exudes sex and sensory thrills. Despite the upscale environment, the dishes are fairly legitimate Sichaun. Complex flavors, spicy and deep. Pork belly and duck were among the top choices. read more

Came in on a late night based on a friends recommendation. Had the lobster with ginger and scallions. It was soooo good! Highly recommended, was a bit pricy but lobster is pricy. read more

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After being spoiled with the great dining in Newtown, Darlinghurst, and heck even Rose Bay, I just can't get into the CBD restaurant scene. My experience so far is that they are way expensive, and far more focused on ambiance than food. And so it was with Spice Temple ... This place does seem to have a following, but a few big caveats to know whether it's for you: Pros: If ambiance is your thing, ST could be your jam. They have a super cool secret entrance to their neat underground space. They keep it pretty dark and the music quite moody, so if you are not one of the daywalkers, this place may also appeal. Cons: - Small servings/Pricey. 3 entrees, 2 mains and 1 round of drinks and tea was $250 ... And we left hungry. Mains run 40-60ish. Entrees $20ish. - The pumpkin veggie dish ($20) was crazy tiny, as were the entrees. Prawn wonton were ok, but was only 8 tiny wontons ($20). - Flavors? The menu seems to be focused on balsamic vinaigrette, pickling, and super, super hotness. For my tastes, the food was way too spicy. The fried eggplant tastes like a blinding flash of way too much chili oil, followed by a tingling numbness that gradually takes over your lips. Same with the chili beef our table had. Literally pieces of beef in a broth, the entire surface of which was floating chilies. - Service: was ok for a while, but then they seemed to forget about us ... Perhaps they just couldn't see us because the restaurant is so dark ... Seriously. read more

My husband and I wanted to hit the city for a date. I'd been to the Spice Temple a few years ago, and remember it as being sexy, with great food and great service, so I suggested there. What an incredible let down it was tonight. The food was average, overall. The wontons in black vinegar was excellent, but the rest was disappointing, and the service was really poor. The spring rolls were average, and the flathead was scanty and tasteless. The sauce may have been okay, but they forgot our fried rice, so we had nothing to eat it on. The fish was getting cold while we waited for the rice, so we ate that. The rice wasn't delivered until well after the fish was gone. Twice they brought us someone else's food. We didn't get the drinks we ordered when we sat down until halfway through our meal. One server kept blaming the kitchen for giving her the wrong food. The other server kept repeating "My bad... my bad..." All in all, it wasn't a particularly nice meal, and the service was sloppy and inattentive. This place isn't cheap - we paid $171 for two people with just one drink each - and it should be so much better than this. We would have happily paid that for great food and service, but realistically, we could have got a much better meal, with much better service, at a third the price in Marrickville or Newtown. Can't recommend. read more

Love the Sichuan style cuisine recreated and expressed in Neil Perry's way. Fine service, nice atmosphere and authentic flavour with modernised creativity! read more

Spice Temple - Fish drowned in heaven facing chillies and Sichuan peppercorns,delicious!!! Service was very good here,busy & popular must book! - Chinese Near Me - Sydney, NSW

Make a reservation at least a day ahead of time, unless you're okay with a late dinner. At first it was hard to find because the door looks like a sign, pretty cool when you realize it's not. While waiting for our table to be ready we sat at the bar, the service was very slow with our first drinks but after that everything made up for it. Great atmosphere and amazing food!!! Five stars all around read more

Lovely service, cocktails based on your Chinese zodiac and fantastic food - what else could one ask for? Combined with good company and a stunning wine selection, we just told the waiter to go for it and order what he thought would be good. It was. Caveats: I'd probably skip the abalone next time - I know that stuff is expensive, but its bland as hell and if I wanted a sauce accompaniment, I'd go for rice. Also the bamboo - bland again. Skip it. However! Pork spare ribs, tofu in chili, cabbage (I know!) and simple cucumber in sesame oil were stunning. And the duck. I don't normally like it, but this was amazing. Note: It's expensive overall, but once in a lifetime stuff. read more

A must visit for those that enjoy quality Chinese food( not your average neighborhood greasy chopstick). Great atmosphere matched by attentive floor staff and a quality wine and drinks list start your dining experience off perfectly. Once again Neil Perry gets it right! The food is of the highest quality and handled perfectly, a must try is the cold cuts chicken a perfect combination of heat and numbing Szechuan pepper. Desserts are also great with the 4 milk cake to die for. Do yourself a favor, you will become a regular. read more

Spice Temple - Cold cuts chicken - Chinese Near Me - Sydney, NSW

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A little hard to find... Literally a door in the wall to an underground basement. Fit out was nice but it was quite dark. Ok if it's a romantic night out but was a work lunch it could have been a little more light. Food was ok but nothing amazing. The flathead and crispy skin chicken were the best. As I wasn't paying there were no complaints from me. Nothing bad to right about it just not amazing. read more

Spice Temple - Chinese Near Me - Sydney, NSW

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Entering the Spice Temple made me feel like a character in the 'Lion the Witch and The Wardrobe'...leaving the hustle and bustle of uptown Sydney through a mystical doorway entering in to an exotic underworld of spicy cocktails and and even spicier food. This is a cleverly designed intimate dining experience, even though the restaurant was full the subdued lighting and the soft furnishings dampen the ambient noise so you can enjoy a conversation with your fellow diners. The service was excellent, cocktails delicious and our share dishes were very tasty. The standouts were the crispy pork, sublime wontons and panna cotta. Between three it worked out to be $75 a head which we thought was quite reasonably priced. read more

Spice Temple - Mushroom hot pot mmmmmm - Chinese Near Me - Sydney, NSW

Lovely atmosphere - food is fantastic - wine is exceptional - people are elegant - will do it again read more

Spice Temple - Chinese Near Me - Sydney, NSW

I love the Spice Temple and I think the decor of the Sydney one is the best. It is very dark and moody, almost like being in an opium den (although I haven't actually been to one!). Plenty of businessmen lunching too so if you are single and ready to mingle, it would probably be a worthwhile spot to visit for a girl's lunch. On this visit we had the three shot chicken, the numbing pork, stir-fried greens and the peanut caramel parfait. They were fantastic as always. These guys have an excellent selection of cocktails that are named after the Chinese zodiac signs and their wine list comprises 100 different bottles. read more

When you arrive at Spice Temple you are meet with confusion. Where is the door? What looks to be an electronic billboard is the actual door push and follow the stairs down to the basement. Start with a cocktail, there are 12 to choose from - each relating to the Chinese Horoscope. If with a group and you choose the banquet everything is so good but then when you get to the pull away pork you will be taken to another level. read more

Food was too salty - servers seem to know more about what you want to eat and how much you can eat. Service was non-existent. Please don't hire people who hate their lives, servers attitutude was so bad! Won't ever want to come back. read more

First, very hard to find the door to get in...it's almost a secret. We ordered some shrimp dumplings to start and were disappointed. They had a very fishy taste. We told the server and she removed them from the bill. That being said this place deserves 5 stars, the cocktails and the mains were amazing. I ordered the fish special which was a very delicate filet in a wonderful sauce. My husband ordered a sweet and sour dish that was delicious as well, but quite large portion that we probably could have shared. read more

You know when you go to restaurant and you look at the dishes for other tables going past and you go "We have to order that too". Then you go back to your own dish thinking this one is so good how could the other dishes be better. It was great to have a place open so late. We arrived at10pm and it was packed with more people following us in. We will be going back often. The staff love working there which made the experience even better. read more

I haven't checked, but I reckon that the monologue in Neil Perry's head when he was deciding on a theme for Spice Temple went a little something like this: "Oh those Chinese. The beautiful women. The beautiful food. What's not to like? Does Australia have enough of either? Nope -- two holes to fill, and Fusion's my middle name. That reminds me, I need to give Kylie Kwong a call." Everything about Spice Temple is about as bizarre as the idea of a guy like Neil Perry dabbling in regional Sichuan Chinese cuisine. For starters, there is no traditional entrance. Instead, the door is a massive plasma screen that displays faux curtains, the first giveaway that this "hole in the wall" is really no such thing. You walk down a fire escape to reach a windowless space in the basement. Bring your flashlights, kiddos -- it is insanely difficult to see anything in this joint. I would have called the lighting romantic, but methinks that's a trap. Any man on a date would probably get caught with a leering eye on the headshots of the young, svelte women hanging on the walls -- the only things you really can see -- and be in hot (spicy?) water as a result. This restaurant is dangerous territory, and not because of the spices in the food, which I found on the whole to be relatively mild. What you quickly realize is that what you're principally paying for are the theatrics - which is where Neil Perry truly excels, I suppose. Ingredients for various dishes are often brought out, explained and/or manipulated at the table. For the fish drowned in dried chili peppers and sichuan peppercorns (leatherjacket on the day I visited), the waiter will scoop out the floating layer of chilis at the table and explain that the best way to eat the delicate fillets is with chopsticks (spoons, which would take up the broth and make each bite too spicy, are eschewed). The three shots (beer, chili oil and soy) in the three shot chicken are, like a culinary science experiment, presented separately in shot glasses (of course) and mixed at a nearby station for diners to see. I could honestly do without the acrobatics, as I feel they distract from, rather than add to, the dining experience -- hence the three star rating -- but for those looking for something different, Spice Temple certainly fits the (hefty) bill. Service is generally good and attentive, though I wish they would offer to replace your bowls (which have a tendency to accumulate the dregs of the oil-soaked food you will invariably eat, as there's little else on the menu) at least once, if not more often than that. Presentation aside, the food really is quite decent. Having been a number of times, I can say that the best route for groups is the banquet ($75 / person), which allows you to try a number of their dishes. They can adapt the menu for vegetarians and persons with other dietary restrictions, also a plus in my book. I don't eat beef or lamb, and our waiter kindly brought a tasty fried tofu with chestnuts and black fungus in spicy oil as a substitute for me. My favorites to get here are the leatherjacket drowned in heaven-facing chilies (which really isn't that spicy -- it just looks that way -- but does come with velvety, tender fish chunks) ($39), the three shot chicken (it's got sweet and aromatic elements going on) ($38), the steamed chicken salad (think of a classier version of a sesame chicken salad with shredded chicken breast) ($18) and the hot pot of fresh shiitake, oyster, enoki and wild Chinese mushrooms, Yunnan style ($39). The pickled cabbage and radish ($8) and cucumber with smashed garlic ($9) are tasty starters, but nothing you couldn't find in identical form at any ordinary Chinese restaurant in Chinatown. I would pass on the fried squid ($26) with five spice and dark chili paste (the squid was more rubbery than I like and overwhelmed by the dominant cumin) and the prawn wontons ($18), which were overbattered for my liking. Price comparisons to a legit Chinese restaurant are, because of the added ostentation at Spice Temple, like comparing apples and oranges, and somewhat unfair, so I've not done that in my review. However, I will say that I probably wouldn't come back unless someone else was paying. It's good food, but give me an old auntie making dumplings by hand in the back over the high-class machinations of a chef suffering from apparent yellow fever any day. read more

I know Neil Perry's name but haven't been to his other offerings. I was certainly confused by this place. Firstly the name suggests Indian and not Chinese food. Chinese food is hearty, not exotically spiced. Then the door. What's with that front door? Interesting anyway. The food and decor inside was not Chinese like at all. It was dark like western fine dining and priced to match. I found the dishes nice, but tiny. Very tiny and you'll need to order more than you would in a normal Chinese restaurant. Overall the food was good, but I wouldn't rate it as worth the extra price. In fact I would say it is on par with excellent Chinese restaurants, and not especially better. In Chinese restaurants, I'm not sure I want it dark so I can't see what I'm eating. We are not fine dining here, we are sharing plates and having a clear view of well what's dirty or not and spill and things dropped on the ground is important to me. read more

I had my reservations before visiting this place namely around it being two hatted and all, which means tiny plates of pretentious food! Boy was I surprised and pleasently so. It has a super cool entrance and you have have to push the door next to the fire exit to get in. I had gone there for one their special nights called "Some like it hot' which was a celebration of chillies. And I absolutely loved every dish on my plate. The winner were the spicy crispy chicken wings with pickled vegetables. It was so delicious with a spice mix sprinkled on them, then came the mixed fried peppers beautiful and not very hot, followed by rabbit with an egg custard, this was followed by the mains (I know the food just kept coming!) spiced pork belly with quail eggs and sichuan spice beef (mouth numbing spicy and ridiculously tasty), follwed by a light dessert of granita and candied nuts. Everything was perfect and accompanied with steamed rice to tone down the heat. The portions were very generous and the staff was polite enough to suggest that they would pack anything from the table we wanted as takeaway, as all of us were so full after the third course that the main stayed virtually untouched. The cocktails are really interesting and they have a list themed after your chinese zodiac sign! This is the kind of place where I feel that the price meets the service and food on offer. All in all our whole group loved it and I had the sichuan chilly beef leftovers the next day :) read more

Spice Temple - Chinese Near Me - Sydney, NSW

I can't believe this place has two hats. The food here is totally ordinary and the service is cold and patronising. You can get better Chinese food from almost any Chinatown joint in Sydney, at a fraction of the cost. read more

Interesting interior. Very dark and mysterious. It somehow gives the place a more luxurious feel. The flavours in the food are quite light and clean and high quality. Even if you eat a lot (which we did!), you don't walk away feeling like you had a heavy meal. Obviously it's a little pricey, but the quality of food you get is well worth the price tag. Highly recommend the sticky pork ribs. Oh and be careful with the pepper noodles - it's really delicious, but the pepper after-taste is so overpowering that it will numb your tastebuds! Literally!! read more

Waited long time for food. The lady who served us wasn't very nice and didn't even bother to care our table. Most importantly, she cleaned up the table and gave us bills without completing what we ordered.I've been to Aqua, Aria and they served me with well respect read more

Awesome atmosphere. Super great food. Had the special chef course with wine pairing. Awesome. Highly recommend.