Sidart

For being one of the top restaurants in New Zealand, I had pretty high expectations. The first amuse-​bouche was probably the best and the rest of the plates got repetitive. I normally enjoy a good sorbet, but being provided 4 separate dishes of sorbet got me a little tired of sorbet. One dish had cucumber sorbet, another passion fruit sorbet, Parmesan cheese sorbet and a feijoa sorbet. There was also a lot of plates with the same elements such as a touch of mousse and a fried leaf. One had cabbage, one had two Brussels sprout leaves, another had a dried seaweed sheet, another was fried kale. Again, very repetitive. Our 9 course meal took about 3 hours.
The service was also something that could be severely improved. We kept waiting for the check to arrive, I even asked our waiter for the check, but it never came. In the end, we got up and paid at the register. I’ve never had to do such a thing at a fine dining restaurant! And I guess it’s not uncommon because after we got up, another table got up and paid at the register right after us. Also, I had to ask for a copy of the menu on my way out. Isn’t this something that would have been provided at the beginning of the meal or at least offered at the end? I’m amazed I had to ask if such a thing even existed.
On the plus side, each plate was artfully plates, the restaurant was nicely decorated and had a great view of the Sky Tower. We were lucky to be seated at the window so our spot was more private. Otherwise, some of the tables are very close to each other. Lastly, the cost is much cheaper than some of the other fine dining around the world so I guess the missing details is reflective of the price.
As beautiful as this restaurant is, I probably won’t go back on my next trip to New Zealand. If I do, I’ll go with a 6 course tasting next time so the plates don’t feel as repetitive.

i had pretty low expectations for food in NZ
especially when it came to fine dining
but i still thought i’d give it a go while i was out there
and my sweet traveling companion also wanted us
to celebrate my birthday in style
so we made rezzies far in advance
and ate light throughout the day to save our appetites
for what was supposed to be a gastronomical adventure
according to a few NZ food blogs i read before our trip
a very small space on the second floor of a random strip mall/​plaza
the interior was clean and modern — lots of greys/​blacks/​metals
the presentation of the food was great
i loved the different color palettes they experimented with
especially our short rib course — it looked like winter on a plate
they also incorporated a lot of special effects — lots of foam, smoke, freeze-​drying
however, i found the overall flavors to be repetitive —
it was like «foam — creamy sauce accent — crumbly shrimp cracker»
just in different shapes or quantities but pretty much on every main plate
by the third course, my taste buds were snoring
the seafood dishes were great
but the meat dishes (pork belly and short rib) were overcooked and very tough
for dessert,
the parsley ice cream (?) was interesting and tasty (although i wasn’t a fan of the tomato)
but the carrot cake was probably the worst carrot cake i’ve ever had
i’m glad we got to try a fine dining spot in NZ
but if i ever go back, i’m definitely going to stick to the smaller, local shoppes

We were recommended the tasting menu at Sidart and were not disappointed. It’s a great way to spend a lunchtime.
The décor, service and food all combine to provide a refined relaxed luxurious experience. The courses were served at a finely measured pace and the servers were attentive to our every need.
The menu comprised 6 tasting dishes, each was excellent. Highlights were the prawn sheet on tuna and the venison with smoked yoghurt, however every dish was indeed a work of art.
If you are in the mood for a memorable experience rather than just a meal this is the place for you. Sidart has inspired me. It is wonderful to see these levels of passion when it comes to food creation and service.

Following up from the amazing night from Cassia, dining at Sidart immediately comes to mind. Sidart has long-​standing been one of Auckland’s best restaurants. Like the name suggests, every dish is no less than art on a plate with no toleration for low standards.
It’s a strange location for a high end restaurant and passing through the slightly dinghy arcade to go up the stairs, it is a completely different atmosphere walking through Sidart’s doors. It was much smaller than I expected and everything was elegantly set up in black and golden tones. The tone was set by the view of the city lights which was actually quite breath-​taking as the lights glowed through the window.
We went for their Tuesday Test Kitchen which is $ 80 for an eight-​course culinary experiment — the only restaurant in Auckland that offers this concept. At first I didn’t know whether it would be too experimental for my liking with all the delicate foams and bisques that are often looked down upon these days for being pretentious and unnecessary. I personally liked it as part of the sensory experience.
The foodie highlight was the pork belly which was ohhh so tender and melted in my mouth. Each of the little elements on the plate served its purpose and added either a different texture or played the sweet and savoury tug of war. The two desserts were so fulfilling and while it was so intricate, every mouthful was delicious.
The waiter was very humble and thoughtful, explaining each of the dishes without sounding like they were reciting off a book. Even when we asked to halt and take a break from the 8 courses, they graciously let the kitchen know so we could take a breather. The cheeky part of the Tuesday Test Kitchen is that the menu is given to you in an envelope. Whether or not you would like to know the contents is entirely up to you. If you were dining with other foodies, you can have a little competition to see who can guess the most ingredients on the plate!
A low point was actually the setting with the tables being very close together and a bit claustrophobic and warm. The toilets were also a short walk away from the restaurant which is good to take a breather and shot of cool air but can detract from the mood. The 8 course degustation took over 3 hours — quite long for a mid week night out and made me leave patting my stomach and saying «no more»!
I’d love to go back for a special occasion or event. The food was immaculate and it was an experience to be remembered!

Definitely one of the best tasting menus in Auckland! Desserts are my favorite, superb! Test Kitchen on Tuesdays are great surprises and excellent in value, Creative Cuisine is indeed creative and amazing, this is a must recommend!

Chef Siddarth Sahrawath’s restaurant is the most happening one in NZ since at least 2 years now — it sports bursts of inspiration with continuous creativity and while it looks up to Noma & the New Nordic wave of cuisine my chief cavil after 3 visits is that the knock-​out flavours here are not as frequent as they should be. I recall a dazzlingly beautiful slab of pristine chicken outfitted with haute-​couture touches of sauce swipes and foams. An exquisitely smooth medallion of beef with jerusalem artichoke purée and leeks impressed in every way, while there are effective shows of technique like a cylinder of polenta (adjoined by wildly odd-​ball cameos like tiny bits of sesame laddoo) You may also get a cool sexy salad of sorbets and freeze dried elements that is post-​modern Escoffier. But the foams often have phantom taste, the plating frills veer into gratuitous domains, and the seafood which is often minimally cooked– I’ve tasted Kingfish, tuna, snapper and prawn here– creates no lasting memories. Service needs to be more vigilant, but the best of the staff is young and charming Amanda. The ambience on the rare occasions when this compact space is not full, may be called intimate, but when it is packed to the gills the din can ratchet up to unsettling levels that compromize fine-​dining– apparently that doesn’t prevent the place from being booked out a week in advance.. Yes I’m being strict with Sidart but you can’t always baby potentially top players. 2.75÷5 Photos,

So just wanted to say I had an epic meal at Sidart. It was by far the best restaurant in Auckland, if not the whole of NZ. I would even say it’s now on my list of top 5 restaurants of all time. That list includes: Nobu Las Vegas, The French Laundry in Yountville California, Le Cirque at Bellagio Las Vegas, and Delmonico Steakhouse. So the talent there is in good company. Sid is working on becoming the Joel Robuchon of New Zealand. Excellent job (5 stars) and I’ll be keen to go back. Then again the company was pretty epic too!

I was really excited to finally try Sidart’s Tasting Menu. The waitress was great. My partner and I had the 5 course and they gave us different dishes so we could try a bit of everything.
The service was impeccable and the food almost as good as the waitress. Can’t wait to go there again once their menus have changed.

The food’s decent here, especially considering the price. At around $ 140 NZD per person for a tasting menu, it’s not too bad. (Maybe I’m just used to NYC prices…)
Chef Sahrawat does one thing really well – he’s creative with flavor combinations and uses ingredients in ways that will surprise even those diners who are used to fine dining and have seen quite a bit.
However, there are two major flaws with the food. First, the proteins aren’t really good. This isn’t really the chef’s fault, though; I don’t quite think NZ has relatively cheap access to great beef/​pork/​etc. They’d have to raise prices quite a bit to get high-​quality protein. Second, sometimes the dishes can be TOO complex. The chef uses a LOT of different ingredients, and what gets lost in the process is simplicity and purity of each ingredient. Some ingredients can become somewhat redundant in the process.
Also, the restroom is outside in the mall area, but that’s not really a big deal.
The service is pretty great and about what you’d expect from a high-​end fine dining place.

I’ve been to Sidart a couple of times now, and it’s always been on corporate outings where a set menu is put in front of you with a variety of different dishes. I’ve been there with a small group where we had five courses with wine. That was pretty decent — it was the first time I’d had perfectly cooked tuna before and I really loved it. In fact, the fish dishes were the best out of the lot here — I also had Hapuka for the first time in years and loved it. The second time I went was a much larger affair with about 15 people there. We had a set menu of entrée, main and dessert, and I once again decided to have the fish, which was melt in your mouth perfect.