Most Expensive Restaurants in Australia?

[Quickstatus]

If QSS2 is doing an intern at Fat Duck

Was very hard to organise - he was first in the a young NSW Chefs comp and runner up in the Nationals. The prize was $$$ which was to pay for a trip to a restaurant work experience. He worked with :those in the know" to snare a WE place at FD.

Apparently these high end restaurants are full of young chefs on monthly work experience - often over half of the kitchen workforce are unpaid work experience. So if you see a Chef's resume "worked at Fat Duck" it means generally a month or so unpaid work experience.

MstrQS2 is a bit unusual for a young chef. When he was an apprentice, he was running the rosters and in charge of the wine list, and front of house.
He has a degree in hospitality and is quite smart in the running of a restaurant, so i don't see him at the wok burner for long.

I find 7+ course degustations sneak up on me

Not if you dont drink the alcohol.... I let Mrs QS drink my share of the accompaniment EtOH.

 

[Happy Dude]

I can't even remember the name of the restaurant, or even the bill amount, but the one at which I proposed to Mrs Happy Dude turned out to be very expensive. Been paying for it ever since and am still paying for it.

 

[TheRealTMA]

Was very hard to organise - he was first in the a young NSW Chefs comp and runner up in the Nationals. The prize was $$$ which was to pay for a trip to a restaurant work experience. He worked with :those in the know" to snare a WE place at FD.

Apparently these high end restaurants are full of young chefs on monthly work experience - often over half of the kitchen workforce are unpaid work experience. So if you see a Chef's resume "worked at Fat Duck" it means generally a month or so unpaid work experience.

MstrQS2 is a bit unusual for a young chef. When he was an apprentice, he was running the rosters and in charge of the wine list, and front of house.
He has a degree in hospitality and is quite smart in the running of a restaurant, so i don't see him at the wok burner for long.

Yes. Know somone who addes to his resume "previously worked at The Ledbury". He only lasted a week. It's a bloody hard life as a young chef.

But S2 should be able to leverage his FD internship to other restaurants in UK.

 

[Quickstatus]

But S2 should be able to leverage his FD internship to other restaurants in UK.

That is his intention
He has put out feelers to other places. I said dont worry I'll fund his stay OS if he manages to find a placement.

but there is also a girlfriend issue apparently

 

[TheRealTMA]

That is his intention
He has put out feelers to other places. I said dont worry I'll fund his stay OS if he manages to find a placement.

but there is also a girlfriend issue apparently

Isn't there always?

 

[Quickstatus]

Quay is closing down - location sold to a pub outfit
I wont be making a last hurrah booking.

 

[Forg]

Quay is closing down - location sold to a pub outfit
I wont be making a last hurrah booking.

We went about ... I'm saying about 3 years ago, could be a bit longer. Was a while after things started getting back to as normal-ish as they ever have post-COVID. Was great, we definitely got our money's worth, we very much enjoyed it!
But ... there's definitely a been-there-done-that with restaurants of that ilk. You need to wait 10 years for the menu to completely change & to not remember what you enjoyed previously to get the most out of it ... and there are too many other gems to keep going back to the same places IMHO.

The pub outfit is probably whoever took over the pub underneath (and they want to expand), the "beer house" which used to be owned by James Squire when they moved up to Circular Quay from King Street Wharf. In fact I think it's still called something to make you think it's ... *Google* *Google* ... and no I'm wrong, James Squire appears to still own it, it's currently called Squire's Landing. So it's either owned by the Japanese multinational Kirin, or it's got some sort of branding/supply deal with Kirin (who owns Malt Shovel which is part of Lion Nathan).

 

[Quickstatus]

The pub outfit is probably whoever took over the pub underneath

Correct

So it's either owned by the Japanese multinational Kirin

No, though they may have a supply contract.

 

[Forg]

No, though they may have a supply contract.

Probably some agreement/licensing thing to do with naming/branding as well, I checked their website and the site & the venue/signage & the menus etc have got James Squire branding & logos all over the joint!

 

[Quickstatus]

Probably some agreement/licensing thing to do with naming/branding as well,

Maybe
In terms of this thread though, I think F&B downstairs would be better with a better vibe than upstairs (well, until 14Feb2026)

Quay could not substitute non alcohol for their wine pairings when I was there last - I asked for interesting non alcoholic coughtails for the pairing. Thats a fail

Like the Gordon Ramsay "The London" in NYC.
I asked for an affogato - yes liqueur and coffee - not very me but there you go. The restaurant had no idea. I had to give them the recipe.

I'm not asking for a rare plant that is only found on Mount Kilimanjaro that is harvested every 10years. Just coffee, ice cream, and franjelico. I find some of these places don't have the "can do attitude"- you have to fit into their ecosystem.

Aria on the other hand did.

 

[TheRealTMA]

Maybe
In terms of this thread though, I think F&B downstairs would be better with a better vibe than upstairs (well, until 14Feb2026)

Quay could not substitute non alcohol for their wine pairings when I was there last - I asked for interesting non alcoholic coughtails for the pairing. Thats a fail

Like the Gordon Ramsay "The London" in NYC.
I asked for an affogato - yes liqueur and coffee - not very me but there you go. The restaurant had no idea. I had to give them the recipe.

I'm not asking for a rare plant that is only found on Mount Kilimanjaro that is harvested every 10years. Just coffee, ice cream, and franjelico. I find some of these places don't have the "can do attitude"- you have to fit into their ecosystem.

Aria on the other hand did.

Haven’t been to Quay for some years. The food was ok but service was not good and had several arguments with the “sommelier” who kept trying to flog us very expensive Nuit St Georges which were terrible.