Join us for an inside look at one of Sydney’s most famous & prestigious restaurants, this is our simple and honest Tetsuya Restaurant Review.

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KISS my Tetsuya restaurant review

Things you probably want to know

Tetsuya Wakuda

The food

Ambience and staff

Would we pay to go again?

KISS my Tetsuya Restaurant Review

Welcome to my first restaurant review! I’ll be ‘KISSING’ my way through this Tetsuya restaurant review, meaning I’m going to ‘KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID’. This is how I function best!

The thing is, I love to cook and eat but I’m far from a professional chef or an acclaimed food critic.

This is my simple way of reviewing food: The food goes in my mouth which alerts my sensory system, it then sends a quick message to my brain telling me that I ‘LOVE’ or ‘ HATE’ or ‘OK’ it.

Also I am very simple when it comes to describing food because for the life of me, I can’t bring myself to use overhyped words. Terms such as ‘delectable, umami or morsels’ are overused so I’m going to stick with delicious and tasty while trying to find other creative words to describe my thoughts.

But in all seriousness, I love everything food related. To me it’s a skill and creative art, I’ll never stop learning about new dishes and its origins. I also love eating in all sorts of places, from fast food to fine dining, if the food is sublime I don’t care where I am.

Things you probably want to know

This Tetsuya Restaurant Review is not endorsed or sponsored by Tetsuya or any third party. Our dinner was fully booked and paid for by us.

When did we visit Tetsuya? In April 2021. Tetsuya is located at 529 Kent St, Sydney NSW 2000. We needed to book 4 months in advance to secure our seating for an early dinner on Saturday night.

How much did it cost us? $720 (USD 540) for two people. This included a 8 course degustation, 2 cocktails, 2 oyster appetiser, bread and truffle butter, petits fours and tips.

Occasion? Our 6 year wedding anniversary.

Why Tetsuya My husband Tomasi was always a big fan of Tetsuya. He was in awe that Tetsuya had no culinary background but ended up as one of the most admired and successful chefs in the world. I first learned of Tetsuya when he appeared as a guest on Masterchef, he was so gentle and charming.

Photos All the photos on this blog are taken with my iPhone so far as my expensive SLR camera isn’t working. Tomasi already hangs his head in shame when I take food photos with my phone at restaurants so there was no way he would let me do it with an SLR. The restaurant was dimmed to set the mood so some of the photos came out a bit dark.

Tetsuya Wakuda

Tetsuya Wakuda is the owner and genius behind Tetsuya’s restaurant in the heart of Sydney. He migrated to Australia from Japan in the early eighties and started out as a kitchen hand. He then landed a job working under the late Tony Bilson, a well-respected and renown chef specialising in French gastronomy. Tony took Tetsuya under his wing and this was where he picked up his French culinary skills.

Tetsuya restaurant has been awarded with Australian ‘Chefs Hats’ that is equivalent to Michelin Stars. He also owns Waku Ghin, a posh restaurant in Singapore which has already earned him 2 Michelin stars.

Tetsuya is known for its long waiting list, you would likely have to book 6 months in advance to reserve a seat. You can read more about Tetsuya’s background and his accomplishments by visiting his website Tetsuya.com

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The food

Pacific oysters with rice wine vinaigrette

Tetsuya’s famous oysters are not included in the degustation course, it’s an optional starter and you do have to pay extra for them. From memory I think they were $15 dollars (USD 12) for 2 oysters.

As expected the oysters were incredibly fresh, the dressing was subtle with a nice refreshing flavour which I loved as I could still taste the integrity of the sweet oysters. This is hands down 10/10 I could’ve happily eaten a dozen or more of these oysters!

Sashimi QLD Tuna with charred Eggplants, Shiso and Ginger

I make things a bit complicated for myself when I choose to eat at an expensive Japanese fusion restaurant but I don’t eat raw fish.

Yes to cured, ceviche or seared fish just no to sashimi. On this occasion I promised Tomasi that I would eat every damn thing Tetsuya threw at us. That meant if a giant cockroach with its wings spread out decorated with caviar came out on a plate I would’ve ate it!

With my eyes tightly shut I popped the tuna in my mouth and it surprised me how much I loved this dish. There was no fishy taste from the tuna at all!

My palate was dancing excitedly from the earthy and smoky flavours from the charred eggplants, it enhanced the tuna beautifully. Shiso is a herb commonly used in Japanese culinary, it tastes like basil and mint. 10/10 if sashimi always tasted like this I would eat it 24/7!

Sancho infused Corn Custard with Oscietra Caviar

When this dish was placed in front of us I thought I would die from excitement. I felt like a million dollars, that finally, I was worthy enough to try Oscietra Caviar. It didn’t disappoint, every little pearl popped and burst into delightfully subtle and salty flavours of the sea. The custard was sweet silky smooth and the charred corn was delicious. Sancho is a Japanese pepper with a citrus flavour.

9/10, it loses a point as the serving was tiny, greedy me needed more!

Confit of Tasmanian Ocean Trout with Salad of Apple and Witlof

This is Tetsuya famous signature dish, people rave on about how spectacular this dish is. Hearing this excites me but at the same time it gave me anxiety because overhyped things leads to great expectations which often leads to disappointment.

When the plates were placed in front of us the trout was glistening and vibrant. In my eyes, it looks raw but it’s cooked so delicately on low heat that it’s actually half cooked. It simple but complex all at once.

Every little mouthful was a dream, the flesh was not too soft or firm it was just perfect. The crusted kombu added a nutty and smoky like flavour that complemented the trout brilliantly. I have fallen deeply in love 10/10.

Patagonian Toothfish with Asparagus, Smoked Pil Pil and Finger Lime

To be honest, I can’t really remember how this tasted like but I did like it. The Patagonian toothfish was sweet, firm with a meaty texture.

Pil-Pil is a sauce made from confit cod fillets and garlic. Finger lime is native to Australia, it’s our ‘bushfood’ turned fancy, and can be seen in fine dining restaurants all over the world. Finger limes have little beautiful pearls that are similar to caviar, it also pops in your mouth like caviar. It has a subtle lime and grapefruit flavour. 8/10, although enjoyable I didn’t feel this dish was perfect.

In house bread served truffle butter

Every time we fine dine Tomasi waits with bated breath for the in house baked bread, it’s his favourite part of the evening. I was waiting for the famous truffle butter, I knew about it before I came and I was dying in anticipation for it.

The bread and butter arrived halfway through our degustation course, like kids we wiggled our bottoms in our chair in excitement. There was (I think) sourdough but my eyes were on the croissant scroll bread and the truffle butter. The scroll was heavenly, buttery, flaky and delicious. The truffle butter was pure gold, soft, creamy, earthy with complex flavours and best of all it came in a generous pot. I did consider hiding the empty pot in my handbag so I could lick it clean in the ladies room 10/10!

NSW Duck Breast with White Turnip, Kohirabi and Pickled Mustard Seeds

For me this dish was flawed, not what I expected from a hatted restaurant. The duck wasn’t tender, I struggled to cut through the duck and found that it was quite chewy. All the other elements on the plate was balanced and lovely but all I could remember was my disappointment with the star of the show, the duck 7/10.

NSW Rangers Valley Wagyu Sirloin with pickled Shiitake and Radicchio

This dish was unfortunately also flawed, I did not love the presentation and if I dare say it, it looked a bit messy. In saying that I did love the thinly sliced shiitake mushroom elegantly placed on top of the wagyu sirloin.

The wagyu was not perfect and tender as expected. I thought it would cut through like butter but it didn’t. I did enjoy the overall flavours and crunch from the radicchio, so 8/10.

Spiced Mango with Lime Yoghurt and Crème Glacée

The palate cleanser is usually offered after the end of the savoury course.

This was refreshing, a little tart and zingy. The laced tuile (I think it was) had a nice crunch with a beautiful burnt caramel flavour 8/10.

Chocolate Stone with Honey and Milk

When our jolly waiter explained to us that ‘some people say that this dessert should be Tetsuya’s signature dish’ it got me all excited. I couldn’t wait to try it as it looked stunning like fine art.

I was expecting textural surprises and flavour bombs but this fell short of my expectations. Yes it was creamy and delicious but it didn’t leave me blown away or wanting more, 8/10

Petits Fours

A table of 3 beside us left for the night, I was taken back when I saw two macarons were left behind and untouched. Why would you pay this much and not eat it? I asked Tomasi. I got my answer when ours arrived, the macaron shells were soggy, and the filling was average.

Being a high calibre place I expected finesse and excellence in all courses. I did enjoy the other treat, not sure what it was but it was chewy and delicious 7/10.

Ambience and staff

Most of the wait staff were friendly and acted like they wanted to be there and happily explained each of the courses to us. The setting was nice, it was spacious and the tables were not too close to each other which I loved. There was a little but beautiful Japanese garden that was in view from the dining table.

Would we pay to go again?

The first few dishes from the start of the degustation menu were almost flawless. However, after the bread and truffle butter the remaining courses all had imperfections which was disheartening and not expected from Tetsuya.

I can’t say I won’t visit Tetsuya again because I did thoroughly enjoy some of his dishes. It’s now crossed off my to-do list and there is no urgent reason to visit again.

We’re still a huge fan of Tetsuya and admire his talents and accomplishments.

I would love to hear your thoughts or feedback on this Tetsuya Restaurant Review. You can leave your comment by scrolling down or by clicking the green circle on the left. To prevent spambots you’ll need to provide an email but it won’t be published.

Cheers (I’ll drink to that) – Cat Tre