Macleay St Bistro, Potts Point

I had the pleasure of dining at Macleay St Bistro recently with my other half. Matt loves french food so we both are looking forward to this particular lunch. Macleay St Bistro has been an institution in Potts Point and celebrates their 35th year in 2018. A lady at my work said it was one of her favourite restaurants ever and another lady at my work said she loved Macleay St Bistro so I had high expectations.

Clive, welcomes us with warmth and depth of knowledge in the menu. I can see all the locals stopping by to say hello to Clive. What a likeable character.

Matt orders a French Martini ($18) which has chambord, vodka and pineapple juice. Matt beams with cocktail satisfaction. It's really delicious as I take a sip although I opt to drink some refreshing sparkling water to start off with.

Macleay St Bistro has a very reasonable menu if you're looking for a degustation. There's the Classic 6 course menu for $90 and you can add matching wines for 5 courses for $80. You can always go a la cart as well but you'd be missing out.

First up is complimentary french baguette sonoma bread with salted pepe saya organic butter. There's something so simple about crusty bread and butter but it just sets up the palette so well. It makes you want more and gets your tastebuds ready. 

 Who's ready for some theatrical food magic? 

As Matt has a shell fish allergy and could not eat the first course, Macleay St Bistro kindly substituted the dish. The dish came out and was magically unveiled. The dish was a salmon tartare which was beautifully presented and had complementary flavours of dill and a light creamy mayonnaise texture. The fresh salmon was delicate cut into tiny cubes and you could also taste little fish roe balls. I was jealous.

Macleay St Bistro has the first course of degustation as the pan seared scallops with cauliflower puree and roasted hazlenuts. As jealous as I was with Matt's salmon tartare dish, I quickly get distracted by my own dish. The scallop is topped with shaved hazlenut and sits on a creamy cauliflower puree and with crunchy hazlenuts. The scallop is well cooked and is absolutey delicious. The flavours are on point.

The second course of the Macleay St Bistro degustation is the Organic Grass Fed Fillet Steak Tartare with house made mini baguette. The tartare is served up with an egg yolk and comes 4 key condiments on the plate of enshallot, anchovy paste, dijon, cornichon and also you add olive oil and worcestershire sauce and mix up for a gourmet experience. 

Matt loves steak tartare and he proceeds to munch away on the crispy baguette. I have a taste but leave the tartare to Matt to enjoy. This dish is paired with a Joseph Faiveley, Pinot Noir Burgundy, France. This is such a delicious wine and is a perfect pairing.

 

The next course at the Macleay St Bistro degustation is the twiced baked french onion souffle with truffle butter and wholemeal sourdough roll. The cheesey plate before me smells absolutely amazing. I cut into the onion and cheesey souffle. The cheese has a nice crust on top and is super creamy with rich textures. The onion is sweet and melts into your mouth. This dish is paired with a vincent giardin chardonnay Burgundy France. The crisp chardonnay cuts through that cheesey onion souffle. The truffle butter and bread roll also accentuates the onion flavours. I love this dish.

The next dish is the Organic Grass Fed Eye Fillet with fresh parsley and sauce au Poivre. The eye fillet is well cooked and is a bright pink. The sauce is earthy with dominant peppery tones. The exterior of the eye fillet is lightly charred and adds for a slightly crunchy texture on the outside. Matt really enjoys the steak and ends up eating some of mine as well. This dish is paired with Mon Coeue Syrah Rhone Valley France. 

For dessert, we enjoy the Profiteroles a la creme de vanille with warm chocolate sauce. I stare at the glistening chocolate sauce on that profiterole and smack my lips. I'm ready for dessert. Matt smirks and notices that the plate looks like a smiling face. Matt devours the dessert.

To complete the degustation, Matt and I enjoy the house made chocolate truffles. The chocolate truffles are bite sized and are rich but not too sweet. This is a well balanced truffle given we've just eaten those profiteroles.

Summary: Overall, I really enjoyed Macleay St Bistro. I thought the food was of a really high standard, incredibly delicious and full of those rich flavours that you'd expect from French cuisine. My favourite dish was the onion souffle and Matt really enjoyed the tartare. Perfection. 5/5

Price: 6 courses for $90

Location: 73A Macleay st, Potts Point

Opening Hours: 
Monday - Closed
Tuesday to Friday 5:30am to 11pm
Saturday, Sunday 11:30am to 11pm

Weekend Food Escapes dined as guests of the venue or their representatives. All photos, opinions and words are my own.