Rockpool

Ph: (02) 9252 1888; 107 George St, THE ROCKS 2000 www.rockpool.com

Seafood, Modern Australian, $$$ +, *** for Food & Ambience, Good Wine List
Open Lunch Mon-Fri noon-2.30pm dinner Mon-Sat 6-11pm, Closed Xmas Day; Licensed, BYO, Corkage $35 bottle; AE DC BC MC V
Chef Neil Perry, Michael Mcenearney & Catherine Adams (11-12-07) Owner Neil Perry & Trish Richards (11-12-07)

Mietta's Review
Today, the once outrageous interior-design looks as if it should be heritage listed like the sandstone building which it inhabits. After operating since 1989 the restaurant runs like a well serviced roller. If anything, it looks and feels even better than when it opened - use and time has mellowed the style and staff all know their jobs and perform them well. The food has taken on a depth and flavour. There is more refinement in the dishes. Gone are the aggressive hits of acidity and of over spicing. The menu is thoughtful and intelligent and has a wine list to match. Both at a price. The food, now that Neil Perry is spending time in the kitchen, is more Asian in character and the flavours are stronger but the balance is good and the restaurant is a pleasure to visit.

Other published opinions

Sydney Morning Herald Simon Thomsen, 11-12-2007 Score: 16/20 "Neil Perry's talent for innovation and reinvention continues with more casual dining that maintains the talents of the old Rockpool - and the prices - but consistency remains an issue."

Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2008 Score: 17.5/20, Two Hats "With a philosophy that seeks out the finest produce and matches it with some of the most intuitive cooking around, the revitalised flagship of the Perry empire soars beyond mortal symbiosis"

Gourmet Traveller 2008 Australian Restaurant Guide Score: *** "Rockpool, in a word, rocks. Opinions have come and gone, but for the faithful, this biggest of big-night-out restaurants has stayed true t its mission of exciting dining underscored by drilled technique, affinity with ingredients and a seemingly endless wellspring of inspiration"

Sydney Eats 2008 "This Sydney institution, here since 1989, is now twinned (well, sort of) in Melbourne's Crown Casino, still with the eternally optimistic Neil Perry in charge of the kitchens and still the place to go for the best of contemporary Sydney food"

Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2007 Score: 17/20, Two Hats "Like Madonna and our Kylie, Neil Perry s a seasoned performer with a genius for timely reinvention. In late 2005, after almost two decades at Rockpool, he boldly introduced a five-course carte of around 30 dishes."

Gourmet Traveller 2007 Restaurant Guide Score: *** "We've been consistently impressed by this model big-night-outer for years, but the team's constant push for betterment has seen them putting the rock in Rockpool latterly like never before. Doubts about the move from a la carte to set menus evaporate in the face of the seamless segue from salad of lobster, crab and green mango topped with nahmjim foam to the accurately named 'world's best bacon and egg sandwich'- black truffles, crisp pancetta and an egg cooked to sigh-point at precisely 60 degrees."

Sydney Morning Herald Simon Thomsen, 12-12-2006 "Rockpool is back on top and better than ever, with a five-course menu that lets you mix and match, and an 11-course tasting menu that's a history lesson in contemporary Australian dining."

Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2006 score 16/20, 2 Hats "Sleek, modern and comfortable, Rockpool keeps evolving. Like the room - all aquamarine carpet and stainless steel Alessi uplights - entrees are daring, combining unlikely and seemingly incongruous flavours in gastronomic brinkmanship."

Gourmet Traveller 2006 Australian Restaurant Guide *** "A restaurant which can set butterflies of excitement in motion days before your visit and then impart a warm glow of satisfaction with each returning thought days, even weeks later, is a special thing. This is the foundation for all of Neil Perry's reputation and success, and Rockpool remains the very definition of a big night out."

Sydney Eats 2006 "For 16 years, the well-heeled and food lovers with savings have turned up to experience the flawless functioning of Neil Perry's well-oiled machine delivering fusion food made with the best available ingredients."

SBS Eating Guide to Sydney 2005 " 'Knock-out food, brilliant flavours, good textures,' says one fine food-loving friend who 'blew away' the relues from Singapore when he brought them here. It's all Asian, Australian, Mediterranean, plus an amazing wine list (and Sydney's highest prices). Book well ahead. The highlights include Thai-style fish mousse, tea-smoked duck, fabulous fruit platters and great cheeses to finish."

SMH Good Food Guide 2005 Score 18/20 Three Hats Good Wine List "For more than 15 years Rockpool has been one of the city's most revered dining destinations. An elegant refit, including the addition of a casual seafood bar, has injected a new vitality. It's still briskly modern in muted greys and browns, with curving timbers, shiny stainless steel and that bluecarpet 'catwalk' ramp. Neil Perry still raises pulse rates with dazzling, original ideas."

The Age GFG 2005 "WITH shellfish kept alive in tanks, and the best fish provedores in the country at its fingertips, Rockpool sets the standard for all modern seafood restaurants."

Gourmet Traveller Australian Restaurant Guide 2005 "Anyone serious about food in Australia should eat at Rockpool at least once a year. Not just because it's a landmark in modern Australian dining nor because it's the definition of a big-night-out restaurant, but because the food is brilliant, inventive and unlike anything else served in this country."

Sydney Eats 2005 "The team of chefs here, led by Neil Perry, offer an experience of audacious inventiveness in a space that just goes on giving. We suggest at least one visit to see what the fuss is all about to anyone interested in what food in Sydney can be."

SMH GFG 2004,Score 18/20,Good wine list,World class,Award winning restaurant,'Rockpool is of the era of its birth it is also timeless.And the food is,and always was,something of a modern-day classic,a near-perfect,thoughtful fusion of styles and flavours...Rockpool is now fifteen years old,an elder statesman of Sydney's restaurant scene.But it remains as fresh as ever,unwearied by passing time.'

Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide 2004, 3 Red Stars, Excellent wine list,'one of the more focused kitchens in Australia.Prime produce is a major factor in the food's success...Service and wine list are still superb.'

The Age, Epicure, 2/12/03, John Lethlean,score 15/20,'offers moments of unadulterated pleasure in the form of unique contemporary food.But at these prices, you should be getting a whole lot more than food.'

Restaurant, British food magazine Top 10 Restaurants of the world Rockpool number 3

SMH, Good Living, 1/4/03, Matthew Evans, Score 18/20,'still exhilarating.His approach (Neil) to produce and cooking has been reinvigorated and is just as ground breaking and relevant as ever.'