The first thing you notice when you walk into Eastside Grill is the vast space.

Styled perfectly to meet the New York meat packing district brief, the exposed stone walls (courtesy of the warehouse’s heritage), wooden tables and buttery caramel leather chairs give you a sense that this is a place that means business.

It’s an ambitious blend: a fusion of New York and Japanese traditional Binchotan charcoal grill.

Headed up by Stanley Wong, recently ex-Hong Kong’s Mandarin Hotel and Sydney’s The Private Kitchen, the upscale steakhouse is a delightfully disorienting flavour experience.

Everything has a sense of the unexpected — brussels sprouts roasted in maple syrup and lardons, truffled mac n’ cheese, peaches and cream corn — but without gimmick, earning their spot on the fairly sparse menu.

The hero dishes arrive directly from the Binchotan grill — the Rangers Valley Black Angus beef scotch steak, New York striploin, or ribeye, demonstrates precisely what 270 days of grain feeding can do for meat.

The menu is a wildly oscillating tour through sweet, astringent, fruits and booze, old classics and exotic breeds: hiramasa kingfish with nashi pear, jalpeno and hazelnuts or bourbon-brined Kurobuta pork chop with smoked apple and fig chutney.

The Kingfish has a spicy ocean freshness which perfectly offsets the sweet flavours of the sides.

The wine list has plenty in the way of a crisp white wine, which makes the perfect pairing.

To finish, childhood favourites adorn the menu, with a haute cuisine twist — dark chocolate mousse with poached pair and boozy berries.

This reviewer happily failed to resist the New York cheesecake. Wong’s take is an instant classic and hands down the best I’ve tasted.

With generous portions (in fine dining terms), bring someone along who is happy to share. Or don’t.

Kensington Street tucked away on the city side of Central Park, just off Broadway on the eastern fringe of Chippendale.

Eastside Grill is part of the Kensington Street precinct in Chippendale.

Touted as Sydney’s new “downtown”, it is tucked away on the city side of Central Park, just off Broadway in an area that is steeped in colonial history.

This review originally appeared on dailytelegraph.com.au.