Ester

Kelly★★★★★★★★★★5.04 months ago

We have been wanting to visit Ester for over a year now, so I was ecstatic that we had finally made it, to try out this well-renowned restaurant on 8/2/26! We came for a Sunday lunch meal and definitely enjoyed our experience. This is what we ordered: Entrées: - Roasted oyster $11 ea ✨ - Fermented potato bread, kefir, trout roe $28 ✨ - Tropea onion tarte tatin $34 - Twice cooked eggplant, smoked chestnut mushrooms, sesame seed $39 ✨ Mains: - Murray cod fillet and head, bonito butter, cime di rapa $69 Desserts: - Rosada melon granita, ricotta pannacotta $24 ✨ ✨= Would recommend The roasted oyster tasted delicious and warm - it had an interesting, pungent smell which I realised afterwards was most likely the cheese. We loved the combination of trout roe with the potato bread, which tasted slightly salty. The twice cooked eggplant was also fantastic, I absolutely loved the crispiness to this, and it had the perfect sweet and savoury combination. Would definitely have these again! As for the tropea onion tarte tatin, to be honest we weren’t sure what to expect as we’ve never had this before. I didn’t enjoy it, just because there was so much onion, I almost felt my eyes were watering as a placebo effect. However, it was crispy and I think probably true to a well-done onion tarte tatin (just not the dish for me, more for serious onion lovers!). The murray cod fillet was fresh, but also just nothing too special about the flavours compared to the outstanding entrées. We finished the meal with the melon granita, ricotta pannacotta, which was loved - super refreshing, a mix of icy and creamy textures. Service was excellent, we were seated well and taken care of. Adequate paid street parking - we visited for a Sunday lunch. Overall, a lovely dining experience! Also have heard their menu changes frequently to ensure freshest ingredients are used, according to seasonal availability.

Roisin Oates★★★★★★★★★★5.05 months ago

One of our favourite dining experiences in Sydney all year - 10/10, I can’t recommend Ester enough! We sat at the bar, which made the evening even more enjoyable as we had such an amazing waiter. He was so knowledgable about the wine and really great banter! He brought such a nice vibe and really made our evening. We had the oysters and potato bread to start, which was warm and melt in your mouth. After this we had the prawns, and mopped up the butter sauce with a generous helping of sourdough. The crab was a fun experience, and quite special to get a full crab in a restaurant presented in this way. We finished off the evening with the creme brûlée crepe… I’ve never had such a memorable dessert in my life. No joke, this was our stand out dish. Do yourself a favour and get this, paired with the chilled red with chocolate notes, sublime! 👌🏼 Thank you Ester, we absolutely loved everything about our evening here ✨

Andreas Ludwig★★★★★★★★★★5.02 weeks ago

We came to celebrate our wedding anniversary and were not disappointed. The food was excellent all around - but the blood sausage sanga and the potato bread with trout roe were my favourites as they were both excellent and a surprise. The wine pairing was a bit of a hit or miss for me, but finished on an excellent red pairing with our wagyu steak.

Tricia Lee★★★★★★★★★★4.02 weeks ago

We’ve only been in Sydney for one full day and already tried 3 restaurants with Google ratings above 4.6 stars. Unfortunately, the first two were quite disappointing, so expectations for Ester were cautiously high. To be fair, Ester was definitely a step above the earlier two. The ingredients were clearly high quality, the cooking was creative, and the chef was bold and daring with the combinations. The dishes felt modern, unique, and very easy to enjoy. Everything was tasty and thoughtfully put together. What stood out to me most was the creativity behind the menu. The chef is clearly willing to take risks and experiment, which deserves credit. However, while the ideas were bold, the execution didn’t always feel refined. The cooking felt a little heavy-handed at times, especially with the amount of creamy and oily sauces flooding some of the dishes. It occasionally masked the natural flavours of what were obviously very good ingredients underneath. So while the food was enjoyable and interesting, it lacked that true “wow” factor that makes a meal unforgettable or worth talking about long after. Price-wise, I’d say it’s acceptable by Sydney standards and overall I’d consider it an above-average restaurant worth trying at least once. But personally, it’s not somewhere I’d go out of my way to revisit. Slightly overrated in my opinion, though still a decent dining experience overall.

Lia Cunha★★★★★★★★★★5.03 weeks ago

Dinner at ester was really an experience! The service was lovely & very attentive. The food was also very good & heavy on the umami flavoring. Will flag that what we ordered sat a bit heavy though - def nice to add a salad as the food leans on the very rich, more oil heavy. Shrimp & the potato bread were the highlight!