Submitted on Fri 15 Jul 2016
Nothing beats the winter blues much like a Friday afternoon of fine dining and great company. Outstanding results saw 8 of the team head down to Aria for a supreme lunch and a subsequent session of critiquing. Did Aria live up to expectation?
Chris Pelow - 4/5
Hard to fault Aria really. It has everything you could ever look for in a high end restaurant in Sydney. Views of the Harbor Bridge and Opera House is the backdrop and you have a decent choice of delicious items to choose from across starters, mains & desserts. I went for one of their specials to start with, along with the pork belly for main. Me not being a dessert man chose to have an Irish Coffee to finish off, while others around me tucked into various chocolate covered treats . This topped off with copious amounts of wine, beer and cocktails made it for a fun afternoon, and as usual we were the last ones to leave the restaurant as the wait staff got ready for the dinner guests around us.
Simon Moss- 3.5/5
Aria is classic fine dining. It doesn’t try too hard, it is just good. The food is bold and tasty and looks great without having to try too hard. Unlike many of its peers who go for appearance at the expense of taste, Aria manages both. I had the lamb to start which was almost too rich. The barramundi for main was amazing, rich and light at the same time. Desert was a magnificently presented soufflé. The wine flowed freely, the staff were friendly and the view was magnificent. Saying all of this I felt that Aria missed any particular excitement. It was fine dining, reasonably and unpretentiously priced but it lacked any real wow factor. Maybe I’ve just been going on TRC’s lunch club for too long and am getting spoilt but Aria lacked something that the waiters massive curly moustache couldn’t quite fulfill.
Amy Busby - 4/5
Attention to detail is on point at Aria restaurant : my wine glass was kept healthily topped up; each time I left the table my napkin was elegantly refolded for my return; my fruity dessert was designed into the shape of the Opera House – which was also the backdrop from my seat. The restaurant isn’t huge so it was quite intimate – possibly a better venue for a table of two than an increasingly rowdy eight. And my starter was divine and exquisitely presented – who knew that you could make a delicate looking flower out of celeriac??!
Dan Brown - 4/5
The location was great, looking out over the iconic Opera House and Harbour Bridge. I thought the menu was really good, there were lots of options and variation. Portion sizes were a bit on the small side but everything was great, especially the chocolate and pistachio bomb I could eat that ten times over.
