Quay

Quay offers that prized Sydney triumvirate of harbour views, seasoned service and polished cooking. Chef Peter Gilmore's love of edible flowers, baby vegetables and micro herbs is legendary, with many plants auditioning in his own test garden. A combination of top-notch produce and blinding technique results in dishes that can't help but quietly seduce. There is an emphasis on texture here, with contrasts of crisp and creamy forming an integral part of Quay's dish-DNA. Ground semolina, buckwheat and farro drive a slow-cooked quail dish, while native muntries add some energy to a restrained dish of Tasmanian trumpeter. Poached wagyu moves with fullthrottled flavour, and mud crab congee gets better and better with each silky mouthful. Floor staff are polished and up to speed, and they need to be: the restaurant often squeezes in two sittings. Just leave time for Quay's famed eight texture chocolate cake, and prepare to be amazed.