HIGH PERFORMANCE
Bennelong augments its always-elegant dining experience with a little late-afternoon jazz. It’s smooth, writes ALEXANDRA CARLTON.
As if Sydney wasn’t spoilt enough. We have the world’s most beautiful Opera House, sitting on the edge of the world’s most beautiful harbour. Then, to really amp up the smug factor, we went and installed one of the city’s best restaurants right at its base. When you find yourself sitting at one of the window tables at Bennelong, gazing across to the sensual curve of the Harbour Bridge while sipping chardonnay from a cellophane-thin Riedel glass, you’re hit with one unshakeable thought. Sydney, you are quite the diva.
Adding yet another layer of special-occasion sparkle, last year the team introduced a live music program called Bennelong Presents. It went through a few bumps thanks to various Sydney lockdowns before settling into a weekly rotation of jazz artists in 2022, every Sunday afternoon.
For my booking, we’re treated to a four-piece that includes a saxophone, guitar, double bass and one of the jazz world’s loveliest instruments – a vibraphone. Its soft, round tones sound the way a good chardonnay tastes, I think as I listen to one and sip from the other (specifically, a 2018 vintage from Bloodwood in Orange, New South Wales).
The shimmer of sound washes over each course – unobtrusive but giving the experience extra polish. The menu at Bennelong – the work of executive chef Peter Gilmore and head chef Rob Cockerill – has always been as subtle as a long, low note on an alto sax, and it’s that way today.
Half a dozen oysters, haloed with a cloud of lemon-pepper granita starts the show, then my guest picks the sashimi scallops for entrée – a study in pearl whites and creams, speckled with inky seaweed. I choose something punchier – Tasmanian octopus with peanuts and a bassline of ssamjang. “It’s a little spicy,” my server warns beforehand. It is, but barely, and I love its dusty, mellow heat.
Mains follow this same purring, elegant trajectory. An oblong of snapper gets a little crown of squid rosettes and a lamb short loin – just the right tone of rose pink – is jazzed with green olives and tart nasturtium leaves. That famous chocolate crackle dessert doesn’t mess around with savoury U-turns or fancy trills – it’s straight up decadent sweetness, with layers of textured chocolate and caramel. The place is busy so service is brisk but it doesn’t miss a beat.
The tastes on Bennelong’s plates have always stood up to the beauty of their place – no easy feat. Now this languid Sunday layer of sound adds another new, and very natural top note.