Tucked inside on the first floor of the Pullman Sydney Hyde Park is a quiet fine dining restaurant called Windows on the Park, with a view of the greenery during the day and glimpses of the city skyline by night.
We start off with a couple of entrees, both served artfully – the first is a delicious plate of Seared Scallops with a smooth parsnip mash, apple slaw and chunks of salty Spanish chorizo. The other is a more adventurous dish featuring Cottage Cheese Arancini with a subtle curried tomato puree, intriguing chilli lime bubbles with cucumber ribbons.
Seared scallops, $17
Cottage Cheese Arancini, $15
Onto the mains, we went for 2 very different dishes to try out the variety on the menu. The boy enjoyed the 350gm Angus Rib Eye Fillet from the Hunter region, which was soft enough and paired with a mustard anglaise, rich bearnaise sauce and a few onion rings on the side.
Angus Rib eye fillet 350gm, $42
I picked the Fisherman’s Stew, which was more of a fine dining rendition in terms of flavour and portion sizing, rather than the hearty pot of stew I was expecting. It featured an intensely flavoured lobster broth as the base, with a variety of other shellfish (scallops, mussels, prawns), blue eye cod and diced baby potatoes and veggies to round it out. It was rather pricey for the size, but the richness of the lobster flavour in the broth does partially explain the pricing.
Fisherman’s Stew, $42
We really enjoyed the desserts, where the chef’s skills really shone through – particularly in his signature Apple Flan with buttery, flaky pastry paired with French vanilla bean ice cream and a warm butterscotch sauce to make it all the more delectable. The other dessert we tried was the Vanilla Bean Pannacotta which was quite creamy and had an element of theatre to it, with the chef coming out to pour a thick espresso and dark chocolate shot over it all, coating the hazelnut crumble and Frangelico meringue.
Apple Flan, $18
Vanilla Bean Pannacotta, $20
Hotel restaurants are usually relegated to serving up buffet breakfasts and meals for hotel guests, but the aspirational cooking at Windows on the Park shows that the kitchen is making an effort to break free of that stereotype.
Excuse Me Waiter dined as guests of Windows on the Park
Windows on the Park
Pullman Sydney Hyde Park
36 College Street
Sydney NSW 2000
Phone: (02) 9361 8400
