summit restaurant

[cookaburra]

It was the night before my 36th birthday. As usual I like to use this time of the year as a good excuse to spoil myself in a restaurant offering something attractive to me.

I chose The Summit, after narrowing down the decision from Altitude, then Astral and finally The Summit. All 3 of them featured in The Entertainment Book offering a discount of either one main course free or 25% off the bill, with some limitations of course.

After reading the tone of language in S. Thomsons review, in the SMH, I could not believe he could be so damaging in his words. Some of his words seemed unnecessary and cruel. So I had to check the restaurant out for myself to see how much of this is true.

I booked for Tuesday night, the 27th of February, at 6.30pm.When we got out of the lift on the 47th floor of Australia Square, we were not only not greeted, but pretty much left to fend for ourselves. Eventually, after a minute or so, I found what appeared to be the desk where all the bookings are held. I was made to feel like I bothered the man behind this pew as I announced my name and time of reservation. After excusing ourselves through a large congregation of business folk standing around their table drinking (why couldn’t they be seated sooner as they seemed like they were getting in the way), and waiting for others to arrive, we were shown to our window side table.

At first glace we both noticed the small dirty marks on the bright white tablecloth.

As my wife placed her bag on the floor, she was kindly reminded of the restaurant’s rotation. If she put her bag down on the circumference of the dining room, then she might have difficulty locating it later, as that part of the room does not rotate.

Before getting a chance to take a good look at the wine list, we were asked if we would like some bread. We obliged and were served very promptly. We found out later that this was not charged. I wonder is this included in the $68 set 2 course menu? The lovely mini loaf of sourdough (from Sonoma Bakery I believe) came with 3 very tasty and well blended dips-a capsicum, a sun dried tomato and a black olive. While eating the bread, we ordered the meals and glass of wine to go with our entrees. A 2004 Smith and Hooper Cabernet Merlot from Wratonbully,SA was $9.50 and a glass of Orlando “Trilogy” cuvee brut sparkling was $9.50. One waiter who we asked about a wine recommendation did not want to give us any wrong information and offered to get someone with more knowledge on the wines. I respected his decision to do this, as some waiters will pretend they know what they are talking about and steer you on the wrong track.

The entrées came out in good time. About same time as my second slice of bread had been consumed. The pinot was nicely matched to the boned out quail, crumbed with sourdough breadcrumbs like little croquettes. The quail was lightly spiced with ras el hanout, a complex spice concoction which every mouthful I tasted a new spice. The most prominent spices I could taste were cumin, caraway, sesame seed, ground coriander and fennel seeds. They rested on a ravigote sauce, a mixture of egg white, capers and fresh herbs. Two thin and crispy sheets of pancetta sit on top of the quail and an aioli mayonnaise were smeared on two corners on the rectangular plate.

The red salad which my wife had most of (we usually swap our plates so we can get a good selection of taste sensations) contained a soft, fresh goats cheese which was not too strong in flavour and smell, allowing one who normally dislikes goats cheese to enjoy the whole dish. Big toffee crusted walnuts, glazed beetroots, rocket and roasted shallots all were bound in a perfectly shaped, thin and crispy bric pastry. A beetroot emulsion dotted the plate decoratively.

We were still drinking our wine when the entrees were removed so I did not think to order more for the mains. This was a bad decision on my behalf. I now know not to make this mistake next time I’m eating in a busy restaurant where the service staff don’t give you much of their attention. As I failed to get the service staff’s attention at the right moment on many occasions that night, I did not order our next glasses of wine until the mains were on our table. Naturally, I was half way through the duck confit when our wine finally came.

A glass of pinot noir, Massale by Kooyong, Mornington Peninsula at $12.50 to go with the remaining duck, and a glass of Sauvignon Blanc Semillon, MadFish from Margaret River, WA, at $9.50 for the chicken. All the wines chosen were nice and went well the food. Candles were lit at the table as the night kicked in. The candles failed to let off much light and at times we had to look closely to see what we were eating. It may have also been difficult to read the menu at this stage.

My duck confit was just a good confit should be, a bit salty, but not offensively. The Maryland held its shape well but was tender enough like a fall off the bone consistency is. It rested on a polenta cake for a bit of height. It paired beautifully with a caramelised fig tartin. The star anise glaze on the duck worked well as did the candied hazelnuts. The pastry may have been house made, I am not sure. The pedro ximinez countered nicely against the sweetness of the figs and glaze.

The slow roasted chicken (quite possibly a spatchcock judging by its size) was presented on a rectangular plate. Two bone in pieces from the wing up one end and two bone in pieces from the leg at the other end. Both were wearing a different seasoning to each other. One was a sort of sweet glaze. In the middle was a dry half of a crumbed risotto cake resting on a rich tomato passata. A lemon wedge garnished the plate but was hardly used as the chicken had enough flavour of its own and was perfectly cooked rendering it still moist. A small garnish of pepperonata sat next to one of the chickens.

A bowl of brocolini with scorched almonds was nice and crunchy, but unexpectantly was seasoned with a touch fish sauce to achieve saltiness. My preference would be to leave it out.

This bread was eventually to be just a bit too much for us to finish. We left about 2 slices after finishing our mains. I asked to leave the bread on the table as they cleared our mains just in case we felt the urge to nibble some more. The remaining bread on the table may have been the reason that I could not catch a waiter’s eye to have a look at the dessert menu.

Finally we were offered the dessert menu, but not before the punk rock stars sitting directly behind me of course. They had the floor managers full attention all night. Maybe if I wore a t-shirt and covered myself in tattoos and studded accessories then I could have been able to transform my ghost like presence to that of royalty.

That is one of my main gripes of this restaurant. Where is the staff when you need them the most? The cleavage showing girls working there were standing around chatting on occasions where their assistance may have been useful. Staff rushing by our table with the look of “don’t bother me I’m busy” on their face. The floor manager who neglected us most of the night so he could spend most of his time pampering and chatting with the rock stars directly behind me.

The lack of acknowledgement when diners enter and exit the restaurant. Not the sort of service I expect when one pays $200 or more for 2 persons.

Anyway, the dessert we chose to share was from the first Australian licensed Lenotre Patissier Mark Stone. This macerated sponge with fresh raspberries, a light mousseline cream and a teeth breaking raspberry candy spiral decoration sells at $20. You could probably purchase the same kind of cake from a Japanese department store for around $5. The cake was light and airy and melted on the tongue. However it did seem like nothing out of the ordinary.

I don’t see this restaurant as good value and I have to say that you are paying for the name of the patissier, the name of the head chef, the name of the historical venue that it is and the fantastic views of course.

The bill came to $200 for the 2 of us. We had bread and dips, entrees, mains, 2 glasses of wine each and shared a dessert. Throughout the night we were never offered water. Either bottled or tap would have been nice. We were very thirsty when we left the restaurant.

Our Entertainment Book discount reduced the damage to $160 so I can’t say I felt too ripped off. But without the discount one might feel a little cheated spending $200 and receiving very poor service, even if the food was excellent.

It may be an ideal place to eat for tourists not concerned about money and may be suitable for that romantic evening when you wish to be left alone.

Well done chefs. Shame about the floor staff.

[Julian Teoh]

Hi cookaburra,

Thanks for the review.

My experience with the service was very different though...when the waiter first came to offer us wine, he also offered water. When we were there, the staff were very attentive, except when the time came to pay the bill; however, the dim lights had come on by then, so maybe they couldn't see me waving the magic plastic card around.

I'm puzzled as to why they seemed so indifferent, notwithstanding the rock star presence (who were they, BTW?), but surely the place wouldn't be that crowded on a Tuesday night? I was there on the Friday and it was packed to the rafters early on, but I was served on time and the waitstaff did their thing OK.

[cookaburra]

I'm puzzled as to why they seemed so indifferent, notwithstanding the rock star presence (who were they, BTW?), but surely the place wouldn't be that crowded on a Tuesday night?  I was there on the Friday and it was packed to the rafters early on, but I was served on time and the waitstaff did their thing OK.

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I don't know who the rock stars were. The floor manager told me they were a punk rock band in town for a rock festival in Newtown. I haven't read a Drum Media for a while so I couldn't check any info on a Newtown Rock Festival.

The restaurant seemed quite crowded for a Tueday night. I didn't walk the whole floor but there were a few big groups dining. The business folks that we had to walk through and a group of Bhuddist monks were the larger parties that I noticed.

[The Chefs Office]

much respect for on purpose going to a restaurant that has just been slated in a review to check out for yourself.

Also, great review!

I can't say their presentation is really doing much for me.