Nate’n Al Delicatessen

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New York on rye

Deli case

Interior

Interior

***** (5 stars)

This is the deli you’ve been looking for. Its extensive menu offers all the genuine New York style Jewish delicatessen standards, in every conceivable option.

Speaking of New York, try the New York sandwich: meaty pastrami on seeded rye (or whatever your preference) with their not-to-heavy cole slaw, and a perfect amount of Russian dressing. Order the half sandwich unless you want to take some home. My favorite (included) side item is the potato salad, but you can also upgrade to fries (three kinds) onion rings, and a lot of other stuff.

The serving staff has been here forever (and a few of the clients look like they have too), so it’s just like you remember it from however far back your memory goes. A great deli.

Nate’n Al Delicatessen
414 N Beverly Dr
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
(310) 274-0101
https://www.yelp.com/biz/naten-al-delicatessen-beverly-hills

Hamasaku

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Green tea pudding

Sashimi (second round of omakase)

Sashimi

Corn custard

Oysters

Interior

Exterior

***** (5 stars)

There are so many sushi places to choose from on the west side of town, but some are over-priced without delivering a truly high-end experience, and others deliver the experience but only if you let the chef boss you around (eat this like this, don’t put soy sauce on that, etc.)

Hamasaku avoids these pitfalls. The atmosphere is laid back, and the price is great.

I was very impressed with the omakase. There are two basic options, a mostly cooked version, and a sushi option. We opted for the latter, and it was a great choice.

Your meal includes an oyster appetizer, corn custard, two separate plates of seven assorted nigiri (14 total), a complex miso seafood soup and dessert. The nigiri was really excellent, with a great variety of interesting fish, and deftly prepared. At $65 for the complete meal, it was a great deal.

We also opted for the $20 optional sashimi course. It was good, too, but frankly it was superfluous, given all the other excellent fish on the nigiri courses.

Note that the wine list is much more extensive than the version on their website.

The place is a bit tough to find, tucked into the inside corner of a strip mall. It’s simply but nicely decorated. It seats more people than you would guess, but even when full the noise level is fine.

Hamasaku
11043 Santa Monica Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90025
(310) 479-7636
https://www.yelp.com/biz/hamasaku-los-angeles

Yojisan Sushi

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Complimentary dessert

Salmon skin roll

Chirashi

Exterior

Salad and soup

**** (4 stars)

This is a good sushi restaurant offering fairly standard fare in the heart of Beverly Hills. If the prices seem a bit higher than other places it might be due more to the rent than anything extraordinary about it, but the fish is all fresh, and the service is friendly and efficient. There is also a small outdoor seating area that is quite pleasant, an unusual feature in this area.

Yojisan Sushi
260 N Beverly Dr
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
(424) 245-3799
https://www.yelp.com/biz/yojisan-sushi-beverly-hills

Pyrmont Bridge Hotel

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Caesar salad

Interior

*** (3 stars)

This is a classic pub with good food located conveniently to the Lyric Theatre. If you don’t want to get into the mad crush in the food court before the show, eat hear and then walk two blocks to the theatre.

The salads we had were fresh, with tasty ingredients and excellent dressing. Service was friendly and efficient.

Pyrmont Bridge Hotel
96 Union St
Pyrmont, New South Wales 2009
+61 2 9660 6996
https://www.yelp.com/biz/pyrmont-bridge-hotel-pyrmont-2

Tetsuya’s

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Chocolate cakr

Wagyu beef

Chicken

Bass grouper

Confit of trout

Kingfish

Scampi

Interior

***** (5 stars)

This is my favorite restaurant in Sydney. It’s far better than the other Michelin starred places, and is beautiful and sophisticated without being stuffy.

The tasting menu focuses on fish, but only one course is typically raw, so it’s not to be confused with a traditional Japanese omakase. They are doing their own thing here.

The signature dish, trout, is probably the best course, but everything I’ve had has been excellent.

The wine list is extensive, although there are no bargains.

Tetsuya’s
529 Kent St
Sydney, New South Wales 2000
+61 2 9267 2900
https://www.yelp.com/biz/tetsuyas-sydney

Saké

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Dragon egg

Dragon egg

Short rib

House salad

Bass grouper

Dining area

Beef tataki and popcorn shrimp

Kingfish

Sashimi appetizer

Sake wall

Interior

**** (4 stars)

This very stylish restaurant in the Rocks is surprisingly large, yet intimate, with romantic lighting levels, and a modern club type soundtrack.

We had the “Chef’s New Classics” tasting menu, a mixture of raw and cooked dishes that included fish and meat. They were all good, but I actually preferred the sashimi appetizer we also ordered, as the fish was of excellent quality, and my preference runs to sashimi.

The Dragon egg is an interesting dessert option. It is presented at the table with an interesting flourish, as warm sauce breaks open the candy egg to reveal the inner Dessert.

Saké
12 Argyle St
The Rocks
Sydney, New South Wales 2000
+61 2 9259 5656
https://www.yelp.com/biz/sak%C3%A9-sydney

William Blue Dining

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Chocolate delice

Pear tart

Cheese plate

Pork

Lamb

Risotto

Steamed greens

Roast chats

Pork starter

Onion tart

Salmon starter

Interior

***** (5 stars)

This is an interesting and fun concept, where culinary students prepare the food and wait on the tables. But don’t assume that makes anything about the experience amateurish. All of the food we had was top notch, and the service was friendly and professional, even if there were a few details that weren’t perfectly polished.

Perhaps because it is a training environment the prices are extremely reasonable, both for food and wine. There’s no question that it’s the best value of all of Sydney’s fine dining restaurants.

William Blue Dining
107 George St
The Rocks, New South Wales 2000
+61 9 4923 290
https://www.yelp.com/biz/william-blue-dining-the-rocks

The Front Restaurant

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Chocolate dipped ice cream

Cheese

Lamb

John Dory

Interior

John Dory

Lamb

Mackerel

***** (5 stars)

Our meal here greatly exceeded my expectations. In fact, the five-course tasting menu was superior to the tasting menu we had the previous night at the famous Quay restaurant around the bend.

Each dish was comprised of a perfect melding of ingredients and flavors, with the John Dory and the perfectly cooked lamb being particular standouts. The dessert–which was really three desserts on one plate– was also outstanding.

The wine list is a bit limited, but there are some gems such as Tyrell’s Vat 47 Chardonnay.

The only failing was the service, which although attentive missed a lot that you’d expect in this caliber of restaurant. Empty plates stayed on the table too long, and I think we must have requested our wine to be repoured at least a half dozen times. I wish restaurants would just leave the bottle at the table in the European style, as it would be better for both guest and server.

Nevertheless, it was a fabulous dining experience, and perhaps my favorite restaurant experience other than Tetsuya in all of Sydney, so they are definitely knocking it out of the park here. Great restaurant.

The Front Restaurant
11 Hickson Rd
Sydney, New South Wales 2000
+61 2 8298 9910
https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-front-restaurant-sydney

George’s Gourmet Pizzeria

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Mediterranean pizza (veggie)

Pepperoni and basil

Caesar salad

Patio

*** (3 stars)

George’s pizza serves a lot more than pizza, including pasta and other Italian standards. In fact the best item we had was the chicken Caesar salad, although I say that with qualifications. The chicken was actually quite tough, and the salad would have been better without it. But the bacon-like meat was good, the dressing was excellent, and the lettuce was nice and crisp.

I’m a fan of many styles of pizza, from thin crust to deep dish, New York style to Chicago style. George’s pizza isn’t really any of those. The crust is thicker than thin, and is a bit too tough and chewy. The result varies depending upon the pizza you order. In the case of pepperoni, it seemed like it was a frozen pizza, and was really not very good. But on the generously topped Mediterranean pizza (a veggie option) it worked fine, because the whole thing seemed more like a vegetable tart than a pizza.

It’s a quick serve concept where you order at a counter and they deliver to your table, but even so the water and menu service was friendly and attentive.

George’s Gourmet Pizzeria
15/1 Circa Boulevarde
Baulkham Hills, New South Wales 2153
+61 2 9836 2711
https://www.yelp.com/biz/georges-gourmet-pizzeria-baulkham-hills

Creperie Suzette

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Poulet

Exterior

**** (4 stars)

This charming little spot offers made-to-order savory galettes and dessert crepes. There are are a half dozen of each type. You place your order at a counter and they fix your crepe on a griddle right there and bring it to your table.

We tried salmon, chicken, vegetable and mushroom varieties, and all four were excellent. They also do coffees and have a nice selection of cold drinks in the fridge.

Service was friendly and surprisingly quick considering they have to make each crepe one at a time. Pricing is very reasonable.

Creperie Suzette
34 Harrington St
The Rocks, New South Wales 2000
+61 2 8220 9999
https://www.yelp.com/biz/creperie-suzette-the-rocks