Number One Wine Bar

Number One is Tony Bilson's bar and bistro spin off to Bilson's Restaurant. Tucked away next to Starbucks at Circular Quay, we were welcomed by a wave of beautiful piano playing and singing by the live pianist.

We opted for the outside tables to make the most of the recent warm weather. The restaurant was serviced by three waitstaff only even though it was a friday night however we could not fault any of them as they were extremely friendly and professional.

The menu is exceptionally well priced for a bistro with such elegance and warmth. The menu is typically Bilson with its french influences but also interwined with flavours of spain.

We decided on one entree to share and opted for the scallops. It was impeccably presented, the calibre you would expect from Bilson's Restaurant. It was lightly seared, topped with juicy-explode-in-your-mouth ocean trout roe served with a magical beurre blanc sauce. It was the perfect combination having the freshness of scallops, light buttery (but not overpowering) sauce and popping roe. A definite highlight of the meal.



Gratin of Scallops with Spinach, Hollandaise & Ocean Trout Roe $18



The pork belly main was totally scrumptious. I'm not a big fan of the fat, but if there was ever a perfect pork belly then this was it. The skin was thin and super crunchy, followed by clear layers of fat and meat. It was such a generous serving of three that i could not finish it. The only downfall was the pungent mustard that was buried under the pork belly.



Confit Pork Belly, Choucroute, Potatoes & Dutch Carrots $28



The casserole of sausage, duck and braised pork was a different story altogether. It was a terrible choice as it tested the extremities of the palate in the wrong way. Extremely salty duck, bland tasteless pork and super dry sausages served with an overload of beans. Such a disappointment.



Cassoulet of Toulouse Sausage,Duck Confit & Braised Pork $28



After ploughing through the casserole we were thankfully rewarded with amazing dessert. They redeemed themselves with a souffle that sent me to cloud 9.

I ordered the Number One Souffle which was a rasberry souffle with tiny specs of rasberry jelly throughout, served with blood red orange sorbet. It was a massive serving but i could have easily devoured another one, it was that good. My spoon passed through a thin crispy top layer into a light and fluffy souffle. Rich in rasberry flavour it was heavenly.


Number One Souffle $18

The white chocolate fondant sent us back to hell. The supposed hero of the dessert is the fondant but there absolutely was no melting centre as the fondant was overcooked. The passionfruit sorbet was grainy and of a slurpee consistency however it was flavoursome. The pesto mousse did not compliment the dish but the candied lemon was done well.


Special dessert - white chocolate fondant with pesto mousse, passionfruit sorbet and candied lemon $18

Who would have thought the quality of a meal could vary so substantially. From extreme wonders to disasters, the bistro still has room for improvement. I would love to come back just to eat two souffles by myself, but i would definitely give some dishes a miss.

Number One
1 Alfred Street
Sydney
tel - 02 8252 9296
www.numberonewinebar.com.au

Bilson's Restaurant

Tony Bilson is nicknamed the godfather of modern Australian cuisine. Having such a title really does say a lot about the calibre of this restaurant. Bilsons is a three hatted restaurant serving up french cuisine, nicely tucked inside Radisson hotel on O'Connell Street.

We came here a few months ago and it seems the menu has now changed. Quite refreshing to know that the chef is constantly on his feet, conjuring up ideas to entice his audience.

The decor is simple which is apt, as it does not distract you from the food which is the star of the show. We ordered the 6 course degustation with coffee/tea to prevent us staying up all night, however we did leave at 11.30pm. The service was friendly and not pretentious.



I think Bilson's has definitely tried its hand at molecular gastronomy in its utilisation of foam in many of its dishes.


Amuse bouche

The crab and prawns were delicate and fresh with a burst of sweet vinegar from the black grape. Very well balanced in flavours using top notch ingredients.


Dressed Crab, Verjus Gelee, Pink Radish and Black Grape

After devouring the amuse bouche and crab first dish with much satisfaction, the upcoming risotto was a definite low point of the night. Im not a fan of barley - the risotto base was extremely salty and heavy, coupled with hard grains of rice. It was a miracle i finished my plate, but with much dislike. When we were asked about our dish, i was quite honest with our waiter, but the waiter's response, "personally i love this dish and the entire degustation". Fine. So much for asking opinion.


A Risotto of Organic Pearl Barley with Roquefort and Southern Highland Mushrooms

More foam with the ocean trout! however thetrout was fresh and cooked beautifully with a lovely tomato salad on the side.


Aromatic Confit of Ocean Trout, Haricot Blanc Cream, Iberico Ham and White Tomato Emulsion

Its interesting how many fine dining restaurants serve up sucking pig or pork belly nowadays!
Our suckling pig had a nice crispy skin with juicy well cooked meat. the beans gave the dish some crunch. the jus did not overpower the succulent flavours of the animal, and overal a lovely dish.




Suckling Pig with Black Pudding, Pig's Trotter and Bean Ragout

Time for dessert. this was quite a treat

The basil ice cream was an absolute delight. Not your typcial idea of an ice cream flavour but worked wonderfully. the ice cream sat on a bed of crumbles which gave it the crunch needed to compliment the silky ice cream in your mouth. i think i fell in love with basil ice cream =)


Pettit Sucre - Basil ice cream


Autour Du Chocolat


Pots of tea


Petits Fours

Bilson's Restaurant
27 O'Connell Street
Sydney
Tel - 02 8214 0496
http://www.bilsons.com.au/