Dinner at Bentley is an indisputably world-class experience, a symphony of inventive food, sublime drinks and polished service in a sleek, design-led space. Chef Brent Savage and sommelier Nick Hildebrandt originally launched the restaurant in Surry Hills in 2006, and moved it to its handsome new CBD location four years ago.

The moody, theatrical dining room sets the scene for Savage’s innovative food, while Hildebrandt draws from a globe-trotting cache of over 1000 wines and his pairing suggestions are fearlessly unique. An 8-course tasting menu begins with a selection of high-end ‘snacks’: pretty morsels of millet crisp topped with whipped dory roe and wafer-thin grissini bound in house-cured wagyu.

The appetisers are a prelude to a meal that showcases exceptional ingredients and elevated cooking. Savage is especially adept at seafood. Thin slices of raw alfonsino, a rarely used fish from the Northern Territory, float in a yellow pepper sauce deftly garnished with finger lime and marigold flowers. A striking rust-coloured marron tail, dressed with a lick of smoked lime butter and native flowers, displays a sensitive understanding of the delicate ingredient. Meanwhile, a dish of Eugowra quail, bathed in a glossy mandarin glaze and dotted with pistachio, is expertly balanced, the bright citrus cutting through the gamey meat.

A sake lees ice cream with vanilla-scented tonka bean and macerated strawberries finishes the meal on an exquisite high. Bentley has maintained its acclaimed position through brilliant consistency, maturity and adaptability in the Sydney dining scene.

Must eat dish: Alfonsino with finger lime and marigold
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