Where to find beef Wellington in Sydney as restaurants embrace the retro classic

Food, like fashion, goes through its own trend cycles and, right now, rich and retro French-inspired dishes are back.

Among the lobsters thermidor, creme caramels and bombes Alaska appearing on Sydney menus, beef Wellington is leading the charge of this retro revival.

The pastry-wrapped fillet of beef is a showstopper of a dish that many people associate with the gilded age of the dinner party in the 1970s.

But its origins date back to the early 1800s, when it's believed that England's first Duke of Wellington tried a similar French dish (boeuf en croute) during the Napoleonic Wars.

While steak and pastry are mandatory Welly components, between the two you may find a layer of ham, spinach, foie gras or, most commonly, mushrooms.

"I think people like the idea of these expensive ingredients, all of them put together, to give a special dish," says Damiano Balducci, chef at Chippendale restaurant Eastside Bar & Grill.

Wellington carries a whole lot of romance and luxury and association with a fancy dinner.

Josh Niland

He goes all out with his beef Wellington, stuffing a piece of eye fillet from Gippsland's O'Connor Beef with foie gras, which melts slightly to create a savoury sauce.

The round of beef is spread with Dijon mustard, wrapped in Parma ham (similar to prosciutto) and finished with mushroom duxelles: a mix of mushrooms cooked to a paste with herbs, shallots and butter.

If that weren't luxurious enough, Eastside's dish is showered with black truffle at the table (although that will soon stop at the end of truffle season).

"It's quite intensive in labour," says Balducci. "But people love it; it's a beautiful thing to do."

Wellington variations are countless, but none are quite as bold as Saint Peter chef Josh Niland's tuna Wellington, which he created in last year's lockdown and has demonstrated for prime-time audiences on MasterChef.

"I think Wellington carries a whole lot of romance and luxury and association with a fancy dinner," he says.

Niland takes tuna loin, the fish's prime cut, and coats it in a traditional mushroom duxelles before wrapping it with crepes and a sour cream pastry that's "egg-washed to the nines" for a deep golden colour. Crepes are thought to stop any internal moisture making the pastry soggy.

He says the tuna loin is the fish world's equivalent of an eye fillet of beef. "There's so much you can do with a fish that goes outside the parameters of what we think we can do."

The lockdown best-seller is now a permanent part of Fish Butchery's meals for home.

Manon Brasserie in the CBD chooses to serve sauteed mushrooms on the side of its Wellington, rather than cooking them into a duxelles to spread over the beef.

"It just gets a bit mushy and all the same," says French chef Thomas Boisselier.

He also wraps the eye fillet in a layer of filo pastry, followed by an exterior of puff pastry, to create extra crunch. "The old school way of doing it is wrapping it in crepes but I think that's a bit heavy," he says.

Given the price of the dish – between $59 per head at Manon or $95 per person for the truffle and foie-enriched dish at Eastside – some diners might be tempted to try making their own Wellington at home. These golden rules, offered by chefs Boisselier, Niland and Balducci, will help you tackle the many elements of a Welly.

How to make beef Wellington at home

1. Have all your ingredients prepared, weighed out and arranged on the bench where you'll be working. Chefs call this their mise en place.
2. After you sear the meat and add the mushrooms and other additions, wrap it in cling film quite tightly and chill it to help create a circular shape. Just don't forget to remove the plastic before cooking!
3. Always use puff pastry for the outer shell and brush it with egg wash for a golden finish.
4. Rest the Wellington before you slice it, otherwise it will weep and destroy your beautifully crisp layers of pastry.
5. Using a serrated knife, cut thick slices (between 3cm and 5cm) to ensure the Wellington doesn't fall apart.

Where to find beef Wellington and friends in Sydney

Eastside Bar & Grill serves an ultra-decadent version with foie gras and, until August 31, black truffle, with the dish wheeled into the dining room on a trolley.
Level 1, 2-10 Kensington Street, Chippendale, eastsidebarandgrill.com.au

Fish Butchery offers a heat-at-home salmon and nori Wellington with sides such as potato puree. Tuna Wellington requires 48 hours' notice.
Pick-up from Paddington or Waterloo; order home delivery for Fridays, fishbutchery.com.au

Manon Brasserie brings the dish on as a special occasionally, so keep your eyes on social media for its next outing.
Queen Victoria Building, shop 55, 455 George Street, Sydney, manonbrasserie.com.au

Restaurant Hubert keeps things traditional with its bouef en croute, the French name for a Wellington. You'll have to order 48 hours ahead.
15 Bligh Street, Sydney, swillhouse.com

Vic's Quality Meats has tapped its high-flying cousin Victor Churchill to create a wagyu Welly for heating and eating. Stone Axe eye fillet, prosciutto and mushrooms are encased in latticed pastry.
Order home delivery at vicsmeat.com.au