It's quite astounding to find a French Bengali Degustation restaurant anywhere, but on Victoria…read moreRoad in Rydalmere is a tad mind blowing. It has only been open for three weeks, and has an eclectic variety of furnishings that works quite well, with a cute touch that involves the table legs being wrapped and draped in an under cloth.
The wait staff could be a lot more polished, a napkin missing from our table setting, not bringing the correct amount of wine glasses, presenting the wrong bottle of wine and only telling us that the one we had ordered was not available when questioned about it, but that's just nit picking, as the only reason the average quality of the service stood out was because the quality of the food was so outstanding.
That being said, by the way, I should add that The Chef (Or Chef / Owner, not sure) is personable and comes to your table explain each dish, and I really liked him, he is passionate about his food, and it shows. I am not sure if his food is insanity, or genius. Either way, it works.
We were presented with a "Cappuccino" Amuse Bouche. A milky frothy corn soup with cummin seed, served with a smoking stick of cinnamon on the side. Delightful, if a tad large for an amuse bouche.
This was followed by things like lobster and prawn parfait that had a kick, and was topped by a rice flour papadum, a Salmon Confit with pumpkin custard and burnt balsamic onion (Yes, it was delicious), Duck Breast served with Butter Chicken Marshmallow..Goodness! I am glad I took a photo of the menu! The dishes kept coming, and they were all interesting. The dessert finale was wonderful, but I just could not eat it all. I wish I could have! The Ghee Ice cream component had a salted caramel, nutty taste that was fabulous.
The place only seats about 30 people, I think they must make their money from the bistro and bar. Give it a go before it becomes hard to get a table, it's worth the schlep down Victoria Road, I promise!
Oh, it's $85 for 8 courses, add $45 for matched wines.