RESTAURANT: Restaurant Assiette

Type: Modern Australian, French, European
Location: 48 Albion St, Surry Hills
Booking Required: Usually
http://www.restaurantassiette.com.au

It doesn't get mentioned much, but I get the feeling that Assiette is a favourite amongst those that have been there. And judging by the small number of tables and (from what I'm told) difficulty in getting a booking on the busier nights, those that enjoy the place aren't too keen to give the secret away.

But I never was any good at keeping secrets.

At $150 for the 10 course degustation with matching wines ($90 without), it's pretty good value for Sydney town. Even cheaper if you go at lunch I've heard. Highlight dishes were the duck with waltnuts and beetroot; salmon confit with beetroot sorbet; and the crispy skinned fish with an onion bahji. The food was steadily good throughout, not a lot of amazing moments but not too many faulters. Some great flavour combos being used.

Matching wine choices were a little out of left field and kept it interesting during the meal. Although there must have been a fair amount of it, because my dining companion and I entered into a fairly heated argument about whether or not a left-hander should expect the table to be set for a left-hander when the table is re-set during a degustation. One of us said "never, that is stupid", the other said "no you are stupid, the point is it should only happen when you are paying over $200 for a meal".

It was an argument that spilled over many days.

Service was great from one, patchy from the other. They need to make sure both of the waiters are on the same page. While one would explain the dish and the wine at length, the other just put it down on the table and rattled off a few ingredients.

For the price, I thought it was very good. If the menu changed significantly I'd go back in an instant. After all, the left-handed table setting issue is still yet to be resolved (please comment if you have an opinion on it).

RATING: Will return to.