sidart

i went on a saturday night with myself and my partner. and don’t be fooled by the number of course menu that they write on the website! there are sooo many more palet cleanser, starters, etc. although our dishes were verbally explained, i kind of wish there was a menu as i can never remember them all. and i like knowing what kind of interesting ingredients they used.

overall, i enjoyed the food a lot, but feel that the starter was a lot more experimental and enjoyable than the mains. the mains were almost a little bland compared to what it started with, so it was a little anti climax.

we went during the arts festival week, and planned to go to an event in solo park which was open til 9.30. we sat down at 6, and didn’t get out til 9.30, so ended up no going. so would definitely recommend do allow yourself plenty of time and plan nothing after the meal.

i would still like to come back again another time and give it another try.

looooved sidart! so much we have an appt at cassia in a couple of weeks (sister restaurant). requested no seafood due to allergies and and they catered so well to that in a set menu. we went a couple of weeks ago so unfortunately i can’t remember what each course was but they were all delicious (this is the 5 course menu, there were a couple of little extras thrown in) we’d love to come back. awesome views of the skytower from where we were seated.

went to sidart on a wednesday night.
the atmosphere is lovely and the staff showed immaculate service.
i was a bit disappointed with the food, we had the 5 course tasting menu, portions were what would be expected.
some of the dishes i didn’t think were that great such as the abalone and the pork cheek.
i was a bit disappointed as i know they are related to cassia. cassia i could not fault any dish on their tasting menu.

located through a shopping mall, which seems a little strange, but then you’ll understand when you see the panoramic view of the city. the place has the feel of a converted home and is cozy yet enough space between tables. the service is great a wide variety of countries represented. the tasting menu gave a great showcase of what the kitchen were able to think up and all dishes had an experimental nature to them which meant for an exciting “what next” experience. on the whole flavours paired very well and dishes were well set in relation to each other. the menu was not too protein heavy which was good over so many courses not leaving you over full. each dish constructed well with flavour, texture and colour showcasing nz ingredients. the wine matching was interesting (in a good way), bringing the best nz small wineries, with cameos from aus and france. the wines were good examples of the applicable type, opposed to being those varieties with a twist, which might be an interesting way to go. priced about right, if recommend a visit and i’ve given this 5 stars.

sidart is known as one of auckland's best fine dining restaurants and has been on my list to visit for a while. after trying cassia last year (which was mind-blowing), we've finally booked a table at sidart to dine and celebrate the new yea.

we went on a thursday night and had the full discovery menu of 7 courses with a bottle of pinot noir. the service was impeccable and we actually had free appetizers and sweet bites to finish on top of the 7 courses. the degustation was executed to perfection with each dish tasting like summer (e.g. refreshing and light flavours in the desserts, ice used in the entrees, and seasonal vegetables with the mains). my favourite was the fried scampi with strawberries, so tasty! the amuse-bouches were also very innovative with the buckwheat crackers coming out as a standout dish. both of the desserts were also memorable, with the peach sorbet with stone fruits and passion fruit custard a wowser!!

although it was faultless, it wasn't very mind-blowing/innovative in general. as i've had degustation elsewhere, there wasn't anything that really surprised me- in terms of both presentation and combination of ingredients used in dishes. e.g. the lamb with crispy kale and pea purée had been a common combination in many restaurants. the execution was perfect but i just expected some more difference and unexpectedness for a "discovery" menu at $160 per person.

best formal dining in auckland. excellent food,wine, service and ambience. always made to feel very special. every course is a beautiful art on a plate
thank you for making our dinning experience a pleasure.

i took my partner there just before christmas , we had a superb evening . the food was spectacular the wine match perfect ( thank heavens for uber ) it was a truly spectacular evening . the looks and taste are just so delicious the time seemed to fly by . if you have one meal one restaurant to treat yourself too it’s this one . staff are exceptional and extremely pleasant .

i actually proposed that evening to my partner ( luckily she said yes )

if you enjoy food that tastes like what the name suggests - sidart has nailed it. pork belly, king fish, scampi, in fact all 15 dishes offer authentic taste that caused us to say 'perfect' over and over again.  wine match is intelligent and works. all the staff really care and are interested that you enjoy their hard work.  chiefs table is a great place to get a view of the artists plying their trade - makes for a busy night but it does bringing you in the zone to think and enjoy really nice food. unpretentious 5star performance. is it the best food - well thats personal choice, we thought it's great food and we look forward to our next experience there.

one of the best rated restuarants in ponsonby and we can safely say we truely enjoyed the place. great views of auckland city matched with great service and yummy tantalising dishes. food wasn't too heavy either considering it was a degustation (ie. not sickly full by the end). would recommend this place to any foodie seeking an asian inspired degustation!

we were not taken by the real try hard plates we were served. fusion we get but these had way too many flavours going on. didn't balance at all and we ended up leaving portions after a couple of forks full.
staff were attentive and the ambience was lovely but we left with our mouths zinging

sid sahrawat's crowning jewel in the 09 is sidart.

the plates are his canvas, the produce his plasticine, and we, the rowdy table of 10 were his guinea pigs on this tuesday test kitchen night.

on tuesday evenings sid and the kitchen crew throw away familiarity to produce a 9 course degustation for one night only.  at $95.00 this is exceptional value.  the portions are small, to be expected, however the range and contrast of textures. flavours and cooking techniques you experience is spectacular at that price.

the 9 courses were as follows, as is the trend these days, the menu was written like a shopping list:

1. artichoke, pecorino, beef
2. shitake, kaffir, lime, white soy
3. ricotta, ornage, walnut
4. onion, chervil, hazelnut, apple
5. scampi, nasturtium, lardo, buckwheat
6. market fish, macadamia, brown butter, whitlof
7. pork, celeriac, horseradish dill
8. lamb, parsnip, mushroom, bone marrow
9. chocolate, elderflower, rasbberry, licorice 

each course was impeccable.

you need to throw away the kiwi attitude of coming to sidart for "a good feed".  this is not the sort of place you come to for that.  you come to be  awed by the pieces of art placed before you, to savour them, to roll your eyes in the back of your head, to make child like giggles or adult like groans of appreciation. 

as you can imagine with a restaurant of such ambition and quality, the service was professional and seamless.  our staff for the evening taking great patience to explain each course to us and also helping us out with our wine selections.

i'm very much looking forward to the day i sample cassia, sid's other venture in the cbd.  it is high on the list.

finally tried sidart and ticked off the bucket list!! 🥂🎉🎉

the tables are on tight (borderline together) seating arrangements. it's an excellent display of maximising space, but would be nice for the diner if there was more room between tables.

our main waiter didn't come off very friendly and unfortunately we couldn't understand half of what he was saying as he spoke very fast. ended up making it a challenge to spot the key words and left it down to our other senses 😄

food itself was presented nicely, beautiful display of colours and textures. standout for us was the first course after the amuse bouche, the vegetarian dish? purée was delicious and all flavours complemented each other well.

least favourite:
the goats curd killed the pork belly for me; two strong flavours that did not go well together. found the fish very strong at first but it grew on me!

overall an experience of interesting flavours and combinations.

i have eaten out in all the best (and the rest) over the years and this was our first visit here (was treated by my lovely friend).... there is not a word in my vocabulary that could even sum up how amazing this evening was - the food was devine, the atmosphere sophisticated but nicely relaxed and the service (thank you graham) was just superb...

i have never had a degaustation that comes even remotely close to this (and have enjoyed a few) and to be fair would have to rate the meal as one of the best i have ever had....

my hat is off to sid and his amazing team.... i thoroughly recommend everyone make the time to visit... the entire evening couldn't have been bettered.

venue was fantastic, the service was great. we did the wine matching and they were all delicious and we had more than enough, most glasses we struggled to drink the glass before the next one arrived. the food was very good. i found the snacks at the start very rich and some of them were a little odd. the entrees and mains were delicious. i thought the desserts were too complicated, there were too many flavours and i was a little disappointed with them.

still checking out degustations around town so we had to try this place. service/ambience is excellent and very fitting of the place. the staff are accommodating, they took really good care of us while the ambience is sophisticated with a great view. it is very "cosy" inside but they've done well with the space they have.

every dish was beautiful, well timed and exquisite. when we paid the bill they gave a small bite of a zero calorie toffee which was just melt in your mouth. definitely one of the best dining experiences in auckland.