tuna ceviche, blood orange, capers, ponzu, togarashi, sesame, pickled salad and mayonnaise

I have no life on week nights. Not that it’s by choice; I work every week night (except for Fridays because when the clock strikes 5pm on Friday? I doesn’t become “night”, it becomes “end” and I don’t work weekends). And even if I didn’t work, my idea of life on a week night pretty much constitutes going to get gelato in my pjs. But I digress. Point is, I never go out on week nights, but when an email arrived in my inbox inviting me to a private dinner at BLACK by ezard hosted by chef Teage Ezard himself, what am I supposed to do?

I took the night off, of course.

BLACK by ezard has always oozed mystery to me. There are a handful of fine dining restaurants at The Star, but BLACK is hidden behind its heavy wooden fascade and I’ve always wanted to know what lay behind the big wooden doors.

And now I know. The wooden doors open onto the restaurant floor, decked out completely in dark, sexy opulence with floor to ceiling glass walls facing the stunning Sydney skyline. The main restaurant area is stunning: cosy yet polished, buzzy yet private. Amazingly, our dinner was to be served in BLACK’s private Onyx room. Decadent does not even begin to describe this room.

But you know me. Room schroom. I care much more about the food 😉

As we settled into our room and Teage talked a little about the restaurant, its history, his history, we were served these cute little loaves of brioche. I don’t normally blog about bread but this brioche almost deserves its own post! Warm and velvet soft, it was perfect on its own but paired with butter and volcanic salt? Holy crap, yes. If this was a sign of things to come, I’m excited.

Teage explained our menu for the night, a six course tasting menu with two preview dishes which will hit the menu this Wednesday. One of them was the first course, a tuna ceviche (top) so refreshing I could have had a larger serve, or you know, in between every course as a palate cleanser.

Another newbie, the chilled Spencer Gulf prawn was also good, heavily influenced by Asian flavours of coconut, Thai basil and crispy shallots. Teage toyed with the idea of including mango in this dish, so don’t be surprised if you see it laced with the sweetness of mango, especially in the summer.

chilled Spencer Gulf prawns, roasted chilli dressing, avocado, salad of young coconut,
pomelo, Thai basil and crispy shallots

We then moved onto the mains for the night, all of which were delicious. The panfried mulloway and its crispy skin again impressed me. I seem to always be impressed by perfectly cooked fish. Am I just that sucky at cooking fish at home?

panfried mulloway, sesame salt, brown butter, capers, gremolata oil, soft herbs and lemon

The lamb – my favourite main – so absolutely simple, its tastes brought out by the amazing roasted garlic jus.

lamb rack with mustard, herb and black olive crust, Jerusalem artichokes, roasted garlic jus

We finished the mains with the soy caramelised oxtail. The oxtail was super tender, complemented well by the earthy enoki, mushroom soil and the creamiest, butteriest mash I’ve had for a long time.

soy caramelised oxtail, celeriac cream, Sichuan peppered enoki, chive and crispy taro salad, mushroom soil

We were lucky enough to try all the sides on the menu. There were a few salads but you know, they’re just salads. My favourites were the mac ‘n cheese (no pic, sorry!), crispy potato and oh my goodness, the parsnip fritters Blew. My. Mind.

parsnip fritters with coconut and tumeric caramel

crispy potato with crème fraiche, smoked bacon and aged cheddar

After the mains, we went to the bathroom and undid our pants. Well, maybe I did. I was full but we had one more course to wrap up the night, and Teage impressed us with this chocolate globe which dissolved under a stream of warm couverture ganache, exposing its innards of dulce de leche ice cream and peanut butter mousse. So decadent, so delicious, so almost licked my plate.

chocolate globe, warm couverture ganache, dulce de leche ice cream, peanut butter mousse

BLACK by ezard, with its one chef’s hat, is one of those venues which is sure to impress – be it a high powered business meeting or a romantic date night. The food is spot on, I couldn’t fault any of it, and the service – the sommelier, the restaurant manager, all the wait staff – is impeccable.

I couldn’t even fit in tea after this meal and rolled on home happy as can be.

BLACK by ezard
Level G, Harbourside, The Star
80 Pyrmont Street
Pyrmont, NSW, 2009
(02) 9657 9109
website

BLACK by ezard on Urbanspoon

12 Thoughts on “indulgent, decadent, incredible: dinner at BLACK by ezard

  1. Looks like a meal that’s worth taking the night off work for. Those fritters look like funny sea urchins!

  2. Hehe did you really undo your pants? 😛

  3. I saw you guys Instagramming this dinner and was well jel 😉 looks absolutely amazing!

  4. Miss Piggy: Oh they do hahaha I didn’t even think of that. They were soooo good. Sweet and savoury and cripy and DELICIOUS!

    Lorraine: You know what, I DID but then I did them back up again because I was like… dude you are in a NICE restaurant, BUTTON THOSE PANTS UP! lol

    Nic: It was! I want to go back!

  5. Oh… you work nights? This meal did deserve your night off.. looks amazing!

  6. Wow that looks like one amazing meal! I remember when Black by Ezard first opened and I peered through the little gaps between the black panels just so I could get a glimpse of what was inside lol

  7. the brioche with the volcanic salt and smooth velvety butter was the best!! it’s like the best bread that I’ve ever had in a restaurant.

  8. Wow all of this looks amazing! That lamb is a perfect pink. I love Aussie lamb!

  9. penny: I do.. I work South African/London timezones… but yes, some things are worth taking the night off for 🙂

    Jacq: I know! it’s so mysterious!!! I always wondered what was inside when i walked past. Same as Momofuku and it’s wooden slats hehe.

    Melissa: ISN’T IT JUST! I don’t usually go crazy for bread but seriously, this bread is AMAZE.

    jenny: Do you get Aussie lamb in London? I have to agree, Aussie lamb rocks 😀

  10. You pants are something slightly different for us Brits right? So do those pants right back up young lady, we’ll have none of that sort of thing here! ;D

    The food looks good. Very good. Superb even. I am quite definitely envious. Love the look of the parsnips, and the lamb (I am so stealing roast garlic gravy – um – jus – sorry about that… And the dulce de leche ice cream. I wouldn’t have have the self control to not lick the plate, posh private dining room or no. I bet the chef would’ve secretly been dead chuffed.

  11. OMG that looks amazing! Is this Ezard the same as the one in Melbourne? Because if it is! I’m definitely going soon like literally gonna book and run there hahaha! Everything is making my mouth water!! And definitely worth you taking the night off! 😀

    The chocolate ball with the ganache and dulche de leche OMG! I WANT THAT SO BADLY 🙂

  12. Grubworm: YES. I used to say “pants” in London and everyone would look at me weird lol now I can say it again and well, only get mildly strange looks 😉

    Daisy: Yes, Teage Ezard is from Melbourne – you should definitely check it out!

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