BLACK by ezard

A new venture from Teage Ezard, known for his Melbourne Asian fusion diner Gingerboy and the Two Hats restaurant Ezard, Black by ezard is a welcoming addition to the fine dinning scene in Sydney. Located in the newly renovated casino, it is one of the Signature Dinning restaurants in The Star. Dishes at this contemporary Australian grill are updated weekly.

Once seated, our waiter quickly explained to us how the menu worked as it was our first time dinning here. Besides the à la carte menu, there is also a pre-theatre set menu on offer, wine list came on an iPad. While we pondered about what to order, the complimentary house made brioche arrived at our table. Even though the loaf was soft, rich and creamy, we just could not resist the soft and smooth butter that came with it. Flakes of volcanic black salt is also on the table if you should fancy it.

Just as we wondered if they have forgotten our bottle of Pol Roger, our waiter appeared at our table and explained to us that they were looking for it in the cellar and it seems the last bottle has just been sold minutes before; the in house sommelier suggested Bollinger which is a bit more fruity and has a richer body as an alternative. Now with our drinks sorted, we dived into our second loaf of brioche.

Beef Tartare

As a seafood lover, my friend could not go pass the Oysters, served with yuzu and wakeme jelly. I was tempted to order their signature dish Organic Farm Egg with potato cream, black truffles, iberico ham and herb salad, but it sounded more like a brunch dish than a starter to dinner so I went for the Beef Tartare with heirloom beets, mustard ice cream and puffed wild rice. If our waiter didn't announce it I'd have thought they brought me the wrong dish. The tartare was hidden under a sheet of beetroot jelly and only revealed itself when I took my knife to it.

For main, my friend ordered the 1 kilo live lobster with a side of Asparagus (grilled and served with crispy prosciutto and quail egg). I had the Lamb Rack which came with spring bean cassoulet and black garlic. Our waiter warned me during ordering that the lamb here is cooked medium rare, for me, lamb is one of the dishes that should not be over cooked so medium rare suited me just fine. If you like your meat well done, this might be the dish you want to give a miss. That being said, even though it was served medium rare, when I cut into the meat it did not bleed but revealed a nice tender pink. Perfectly done in my book.

When it came to dessert time we saw the table next to us being served Chocolate where warm couverture ganache is poured over a whole chocolate ball, as the ball melted from the top, banana ice cream and hazelnut mousse were shown to be hiding inside the chocolate shell.

Upside-down Cake

If it was a few years back when I had an extremely sweet tooth I'd jumped at the chance of ordering it, but I have been a little obsessed with pineapples lately so I opted for the Upside-down Cake served with pineapple curd, white chocolate powder and pineapple sorbet. It did not disappoint. On the other side of the table my friend was not very impressed with the Honeycrunch which was served with clover honey parfait, ginger biscuit, honeycomb and cinnamon. It was not what she had expected and felt it should have had a bit more honey taste and sweetness to it. As an after thought, I think the Chocolate would have suited her taste more.

The deco at BLACK resonates its name, the combination of dark wood, copper and black leather gave a sophisticated yet relaxed feel to it. It is fine dinning in an elegant and sleek setting.

BLACK by ezard: Level G, Harbourside, The Star, 80 Pyrmont Street, Pyrmont, NSW 2009