Aria

Ph: 9252 2555; Circular Quay, 1 Macquarie St, SYDNEY 2000 www.ariarestaurant.com

Modern Australian, $$$, ** for Ambience, Good Wine List
Open Lunch Mon-Fri noon-2.30pm Dinner 7 days 5.30pm-11.30pm; Licensed; AE DC MC V
Chef (Matthew Moran, 2007-11-3) Owner (Matthew Moran & Peter Sullivan, 2007-11-3)

Mietta's Review
Aria is tight ship, run with care and consideration. With views to die for, the menu offers modern food with an emphasis on fresh seasonal produce. It is not cheap, this is occasion dining. The wine list offers a lot of temptation for serious wine drinkers, also at serious prices.

Other published opinions

Gourmet Traveller 2009 Australian Restaurant Guide Score: ** "Aria is a harbourside hothouse of money and style. Glass walls enclose players, wine-heads, shakers, movers, the odd member of chef Matt Moran's TV fan club and an impossible number of waiters"

Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2008 Score: 17/20, Two Hats "You can't help but make a grand entrance at this dress-circle diner, walls of glass framing that most famous of Australians, the Sydney Opera House"

Gourmet Traveller 2008 Australian Restaurant Guide Score: ** "Aria is a model of synergy. The floor team is s well drilled that service, amid what must be the best acoustics of any Sydney dining room, sails as smoothly as the water traffic passing by the windows"

Sydney Eats 2008 "In this immaculately tailored room the Sydney Opera House and the harbour please the eye while Matthew Moran's assured modern Australian cuisine ravishes the palate"

Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2007 Score: 16/20, Two Hats "This must be one of the best-dressed sets in town: Riedel glassware, shiny ice buckets, stainless-steel salt and pepper grinders, faux candles a la Robuchoun restaurants, and discs of French butter. Then there are finely tuned waiters ferrying just-warm bread and a wine list that's worthy of the highest awards."

Gourmet Traveller 2007 Restaurant Guide Score: ** "Despite the name, it's not the solo performances that wow at Aria so much as the service and attention to detail at every level. Scores of waiters, all of them good, some among the best in town, glide hither and yon amid wraparound Bridge and Harbour views."

Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2006 score 16/20, 2 Hats "This elegant dining room offers front-row seats of the Bridge, the Harbour and the Opera House in all their glory. While opera lovers scurry to make opening curtain, a serene atmosphere pervades the plush Aria, where an expectation of a Big Night Out is matched by service that anticipates and meets your every whim"

Gourmet Traveller 2006 Australian Restaurant Guide ** "Aria dazzles by day, seduces by night. Dozens of restaurants around the world have equally sleek contemporary interiors, but none has this view: the Sydney Opera House slap-bang, the Bridge, the coruscant Harbour."

Sydney Eats 2006 "From the views across to the Opera House and sparkling, twinkling harbour to the view in front of you on the plate, this is one hell of a joint, and Matt Moran and Peter Sullivan have worked long and hard to make it what it is."

SMH Good Food Guide 2005 Two Hats Good Wine List "There's little you could demand of a restaurant that Aria doesn't offer. From the warm greeting to the full-frontal harbourside location, padded high-backed chairs and a sommelier whose wine descriptions will test your wallet's resolve, it's the whole package, with prices to match. Matt Moran's dishes also offer a great deal."

The Age AGFG 2005 "PERCHED with a commanding view of Circular Quay, you're so close to the Opera House you could be in the orchestra pit"

Gourmet Traveller Australian Restaurant Guide 2005 ** Good Wine List, Good Vegetarian Options "With Aria's style and position, you could be forgiven for feeling as if you've run aground in the forecourt of the Opera House aboard a fine old luxury liner. Surrounded by a tight, professional team whose efficiency matches the high standards set by the kitchen, chef Matthew Moran and business partner Peter Sullivan should feel like kings ofthe world."

Sydney Cheap Eats 2005 "Stunning harbour and Opera House views, a good wine list, discreet service and the fine Mod Oz stylings of chef! co-owner Matthew Moran: any questions? Sydney's gourmands have been singing Aria's praises for some time."

Daily Telegraph NSW Restaurant Guide 2004, Everything about Aria is wonderfully understated. The service is smooth, friendly and perfectly timed. I've never been dissapointed by the food. It's superb to look at and to taste.

SMH GFG 2004, Score 15/20, 1 hat consistently very good, Good wine list, And-great views from private room,'Tables are large and well spaced, service is discreet and professional, and the glasswhere and napery of the highest quality...The menu...a Mod-Oz line-up with influences from France, Italy, Asia and the Middle East.'

Gourmet Traveller Guide 2004- two red stars for fine dining, excellent wine list, Superb location, view of Sydney opera house and bridge. Local ingredients, classic French techniques.