nel. restaurant

made a reservation almost two months ago and went there on wednesday evening. had a great time there
the service was good and food was fun and delicious
for starters we had some finger foods like popcorn.
the bread with walnuts was good and i’d love to eat it every morning for breakfast.
the ham balls in the beautiful glass were tasty.
i don’t like raw fish so no comment on that.
fish pie came with soup in a separate bowl. i ate the fish pie along as well as mixed it with the soup. the soup was salty so it was good with fish pie. but the fish pie itself was delicious enough.
i normally don’t eat goat but goat eating hay was great. it was crispy and juicy. the source was good.
the two desserts peter rabbit’s garden and shells on the sand were excellent! i really love them. as dessert they weren’t too sweet. it was refreshing.
in the end we had a little treat- ice cream on a small cone. the staff made it for us on the table. we had 3 choices of toppings to choose from. it was fun.
overall it was a great fine dining experience for us. the only problem is that the portion of food is so small but it’s a tasting menu anyway. it’s more about experiencing rather than going home with a full stomach.

to be honest i was not quiet sure what to expect of nel. i can truly say that this is my first fine dining experience in a sydney restaurant.  imagine a cosy little place at basement level with soft lighting and a perfect view of the kitchen.

the service here was mostly excellent except  for what i thought was a few downsides. there was only one menu provided for a party of 5 so i had to ask for more but we only got one more. our server did not always sufficiently explain the dishes which could have made the experience so much better.

our party of 5 often gazed in awe in the direction of the kitchen at how organised everything was and how meticulous the chefs prepared every meal. nel served an 8 course menu: land + sea.
1st course: corn fields, river rocks in the wild, pine forest + tree nuts(braaied kangaroo. well it tasted liked braaied meat and it was delicious. this was also my first time at eating kangaroo)
2nd course: pea soup ( the best i have ever had)
3rd course: seared local fish
4th course: fish pie
5th course: goat eating hay
6th course: peter rabbit's garden
7th course: shells on the beach
8th course:99er at the beach

overall these guys sure know what the are doing and with a menu like above and food so flavourful, fresh and well presented it was definitely worth the experience.
 

great lunch at nel, we had the special offer at dimmi for 30% off the set menu. well worth it and the food was good. make sure you top your waiters.

came here for the british menu set and i am pretty disappointed as it was my first time here as well. the food wasn’t my cup of tea and it sucks that it’s a set menu so we can’t pick what we want. i would come back to give them another go when they get a new menu. the dessert however was delish!!!!

one of the best and most memorable dining experiences i’ve had. the menu was innovative and well thought out and the staff were all lovely to top it off. would recommend!

after a recommendation from friends who went a few years ago we were very excited to visit the restaurant. we both love fine food and nel was apparently one of the place to go. also, their instagram was beautifully presented (great marketing bty). i am sorry to say that the entire experience was a huge disappointment. when we arrived we found a compact and noisy room with a very unpleasant smell. the staff was friendly (except the manager) but very young, clumsy and inexperienced (including in the open kitchen). where was the chef? for the food, we found no flavours, the dishes were so unbelievably unbalanced that we started to laugh with my husband, thinking it was a joke. everything is cooked in advance and then assembled on the night. same saucers, presentation plates are reused from one table to the next (yes that plate with these tired onions skins and the lumpy saucepan for the trout rillette (that has bty nothing to do with a rillette. not even sure it was trout given the colour and taste 😳)...i couldn't eat the first dish with the smoke in it (tasted like ashes) and what was supposed to be a crab cream with no crab in it but a piece of frisee lettuce and peanuts (...). i think the breaking point was when a piece of grilled cabbage arrived and we were given a nothing but a spoon to eat it and the waitress came with her half empty bottle of warm bitter beer to pour a few drops in my glass of wine (!). after the appetisers and that second dish we decided that it was just enough and a big waste of time and money for us and decided to leave. we went to talk to the manager who wanted to charge us for the entire dinner (2 menus at $118 and $90 for the matching wines). we refused to pay the full bill. he said that then we would be charged directly on our credit card $280 as their terms and conditions states that if you cancel less than 24h before, you will be charged $140pp. we finally managed to pay 'only' for 2 full menus. looking at the positives, at least we had a good laugh but would recommend you go to yellow, bentley's or pilu restaurant instead were you'll find a true magical experience. @nelrestaurant something must have gone wrong somewhere, and i feel sorry that we came at that point of your story.

we dined at nel. on a saturday night for $118pp which gave us an exceptional 8-course meal. everything took us by surprise and tasted amazing. even though each dish is small, it is so well planned and every flavour compliments the other. we also ordered many different cocktails which were different and tasted as good as they looked. i would describe nel as having a very low key and vibrant atmosphere, but the food was exceptional and the quality was very comparable to most fine dining places in sydney. all the waiters are very friendly, explained each dish thoroughly and were always attentive to us, constantly refilling our water and clearing the plates. i think nel. is amazing value for money and with a constantly changing menu, i'll definitely be coming back!

great atmosphere and location. tucked away downstairs of wentworth street, i would highly recommend, but more so with a partner or close friend. you’ll be surrounded by couples, went as a group and surrounding couples just stare at you.
the tasting menu was good, a variety of flavours and very presentable.

nel is a great fine dining experience for all occasions. the atmosphere was very relaxed and warm. the service was exceptional, every dish served came with a story and the waitresses did a great job of expressing the meaning behind each dish. flavours were on point and the dishes looked beautiful. the whole course was very filling and the best dish was hands down the banoffee pie!! unfortunately the lighting was very dim so my photos didn't turn out so great.. none the less, everything was great and i would come here again. 😁

exceptional vibe and service! presentation was also on point, definitely adore how they plated a few or their dishes entirely to reflect their produce of the certain dish.
there are only set menu options for $108 pp which was great!! only let down was pretty much the flavour combination and majority of the dishes lacked seasoning.

great experience of trying something different. every dish well presented , staff gives you a description, history about every course. degustation menu only. with additions like cheese platter or truffles available occasionally. food tasted great, service is friendly.

down the steps from a dimly lit door lies a bunker with a sepia glow, emanating speakeasy vibes and an open atmosphere. the walls are bare exposing piping and the kitchen is visible from every seat in the house, so there’s no hiding from nelly robinson and his team. we’re greeted by each staff member that’s walked past with a smile and had our bags and coats taken prior to being shown our seat. the kitchen glows as the chefs are busy at work and almost silent except for the occasional call for certain orders to tables. a kitchen like this is admirable as the staff works seamlessly with each other, nothing like what you see on hell’s kitchen, that’s for sure.

one of the best degustations we've been to. my husband and i went for our wedding anniversary and it was a great experience. the atmosphere is very inviting and cosy. great wine list and impeccable service. we were impressed with every dish, not just the presentation but the flavours too. great value for money and we recommend it to all our friends.

nel is probably the only fine dining restaurant i have been so far that lacks both the appeal and the taste. there are great ones - tetsuya's, sepia and bennelong. there are also creative, solid but not exceptional ones - est, ester, automata, lumi, etc.

at nel, i did not manage to taste any creative, solid or appealing dishes and some of them was badly done too. besides the starter jamon iberico, the rest were forgettable.

for instance, there were dishes where they were sum of a collection of unrelated ingredients (snapper) where i wondered why the sepia and grapes were added because they did neither enhance the taste nor the overall looks of the dish. what makes it worse is the fish was overcooked.

furthermore, while the daikon/watermelon was refreshing, the addition of the avocado was strange because it stifled its sweetness with its strong milky undercurrent.

the roasted pork belly was absolutely average and the sour milk did nothing to enhance its taste too.

the desserts were also average and seemed like you could find them at the supermarket. disappointed.

lovely flavour combination and presentation. friendly service. menu says 8 course although the first one consists in 3 small snacks. average decor and room space. overall, nice restaurant, worth a try!