{Sydney Eats} Restaurant Arras

The new incarnation of Restaurant Arras – the mod Brit turned modern European fine diner, which is on the site of the old Becasse, which was the old Edna’s Table, which is where we got engaged!

The vibe:
Luxuriously cool, with chairs upholstered in striped Paul Smith fabric; large, spaced out tables on two levels and a palette of cool icy whites with a splash of colour found in the wall mural. It’s decadent yet modern, and the atmosphere is that of special occasions – like date nights.

The eats:
A 9 course degustation menu of amazingly creative, colourful dishes, from nettle tartar with a quail egg (one of my favourite dishes of the meal) to pork belly with whey puree and crackling, a crab san choi bau, a deconstructed tuna nicoise, lamb with eggplant, scallop and squid, whiting with broad beans and some amazing desserts – white asparagus with goats cheese and white chocolate, and the visually playful cinematic souffle, featuring a popcorn souffle in a copper pot, popcorn icecream, a burst open bag of, you guessed it, popcorn, with a jug of caramel sauce to douse it all in. If that wasn’t enough to top off an amazing meal there was more to come – Arras’ famed hot pink perspex tray laden with chocolates, lollies, candies and other miniature sweets. Despite it being an all you can eat affair we could only muster the room for a few, sampling the honeycomb, mint chocolate and licorice lollipop.

The verdict: 
A perfect dining destination for great service, amazing wines and creative cuisine. We loved everything about our experience at Arras from the helpful and knowledgeable staff (who recommended a great Greek wine from Santorini – something we’d never think of ordering) to the ultimate indulgent dessert, the popcorn cinematic souffle, plus a whole lot of delicious eats in between. It’s a little wallet denting, but worth it for a splurgey meal (any excuse will do!).

P.S. Restaurant Arras was reviewed in this week’s SMH Good Living. If you missed it, it got a deservedly big thumbs up and earned 15/20.

Restaurant Arras, 204 Clarence Street, Sydney, tel: 02 9283 1922, www.restaurantarras.com.au

 

Update: Arras is now closed.