sixpenny

impressive food - wine not so good. four of us dined here this week. the food was highly worked. each dish was enjoyable but, with the 8 course degustation i felt there was too many desserts. i loved the frivolity and fun of the food and there is an exceptional level of skill in its production and presentation. whilst the wine complimented the food none of us thought it was exceptional and it certainly wasn't up to the standard of the food. i would return but would select my own wine. loved the simplicity of the design

deeeelish!. i dined at sixpenny with four friends. we decided on the 8 course degustation menu. every single dish was fantastic and my only complaint was that i couldn't fit everything in! the presentation of each course was exceptional, i particularly liked the biscuit jar with the mini versions of australian favourites. standouts on the menu were the duck tongue, cheddar cheese and onions and the frozen rye milk. the service was great, the waiters all very spunky. the furniture was very cool, i'd like to take some home with me. all up a very enjoyable experience. can't wait for a return trip.

i am having a 'tom cruise' moment right now - you know, one of those fist pump, jump on oprah's couch kind of moments.  this moment has come about courtesy of sixpenny and the stupendous lunch we experienced there recently. let me take you back to that day and how it all began... we have been wanting to dine at sixpenny for positively ages - i was tweeting the boys on a semi regular basis asking when they were going to open, were they taking bookings yet, etc. etc.  when they finally did open, we never seemed to get our act together and actually book, and then before long, the rave reviews started & securing a table became a little more tricky. ...so this day started off as most saturdays have for the last 4 months - up at the crack of dawn to get the house ready for inspection. then with inspection number 112 over, we fire up the mazda & make the very short trip to sixpenny. th

when magic happens in the kitchen, it is difficult not to wax lyrical about the food, but to undermine the culinary prestidigitation performed by daniel puskas and james parry at sixpenny is tantamount to revealing a magician's secrets. the dynamic duo's much-anticipated foray into fine dining in stanmore has caused a gigantic aftershock through sydney's fluctuating food scene, and not since david chang's momofuku seiobo has the food been so challenging. thankfully there is no draconian booking system, but the wait for a saturday night table is already an exercise in patience. judging by the quality of the dishes, the wait will only get (much) longer, and that's despite the limitations imposed by the choice of only two degustations. eight courses for $135 may not be cheap, but when the produce and cooking is this impressive, it is worth every penny. even before the degustation commences, we are treated to no less than five amuse bouches, and each one is whimsical, stimulating, and tast

well, i like it!. we went for the 8 course degustation dinner on a saturday night. the atmosphere was great and the waiters were very friendly, no complaints with any facet of the service - that's for sure. the food definitely had an emphasis on fresh produce, and for the first half of the menu very subtle flavours. some, however, were on the verge of being *too* subtle, the sweet potato with roe and whey sauce was nice, but lacked a bit of oomph. the frozen rye milk dessert also needed a bit more ganache on the bottom to offset the dryness. but, all the dishes were delicious, even the ones previously mentioned were still very tasty. the duck tongue, pork knuckle sandwich, coorong hanger, ginger root and beetroot/brioche/honey ice cream dessert were right on the money, very memorable dishes. the macadamia crab concoction was excellent, although i felt the macadamia slightly over powered the crab, still a delicious combination of flavours - i've never thought of eating crab like this! we opted for a bottle of the 2011 logan sauvignon blanc which matched almost all the dishes (except the coorong hanger and surprise 'experimental' pork/yoghurt dish) very well, an excellent drop at under $50 - very cheap for a restaurant. we had a glass of the 2010 grove estate nebbiolo/primitivo with the red meat dishes, and it was good, however maybe for the good of the restaurant they should broaden their horizons and get some bottles from areas outside of nsw, even if it's just a few. overall i definitely enjoyed the night, the food was lovely, and i commend the chefs' efforts to make dishes you wouldn't/couldn't see at too many other establishments. i would recommend sixpenny to others, just maybe with a side note that this restaurant is for the most part about subtlety, delicacy and balance, not big bold flavours.

macadamia and crab? 'why didn't anyone think of this sooner?' we collectively cry. it's a glorious match, the buttery macadamia nut enhancing the sweet notes of crab in a way that is unaffected yet exquisitely beautiful. it's my highlight dish of my day.

sixpenny was a surprising collection of juxtapositions: fine dining in low key suburban stanmore; elements of global trends and techniques showcased using home grown, foraged, and sustainable local ingredients; two young chefs that are softly spoken and down to earth yet eager and confident; and chefs that connect the kitchen to the output in the dining room.

feels like you're in a good friend's house, there's immense pride evident in the choice of ingredients with an emphasis on home-grown (including the honey!), the floor staff are personable, skilled and knowledgable, and the food is precise and understated, with clean flavours and technique that takes a comfortable backseat to the ingredients. an all australian wine list with focus on nsw takes you further off the beaten tracks than many bigger international lists, and all up an excellent experience. will definitely be back!

theses guys really know what they are doing. outstanding.

lacked the wow factor - loved the atmosphere, the service and the presentation. i'm really sorry to say that i was disappointed with the food. the only fantastic taste sensation was the divine knuckle sandwich. there was too much emphasis on 'fresh produce' which these days is a given, and not enough emphasis on 'taste'. the snapper and the lamb were beautifully presented and utterly bland. the sour lemon sorbet was a nice touch but the ice cream with frozen cookie dough and burnt butter might have been all about 'texture' because it certainly wasn't about flavour. burnt butter with ice cream sounded interesting but it didn't work - not for me or my companions. the restaurant offered much promise but failed in the most important ingredient. oh, i mustn't forget the 'peas, beans and cheese'; another boring dish - devoid of flavour. and where was the menu? it would have been good to have been offered a copy as we were leaving. the evening was pleasant, shame about the food.

the knuckle sandwich ... not quite a smack to the face. more like a caress to the palate.

this is fine dining, but a relaxed version. the music is up-tempo and eclectic (actually, it seemed to be a playlist that matched the energy of the night, getting quieter near the end), the staff have a sense of humour, and the room and tables are spacious.

amazing!. went there for lunch on a sunday and found it so relaxing and enjoyable! we had the six course dego with matching wines. the crab was silky smooth and so tasty and the jersey milky ice cream was a great way to finish. our sommelier matched our wine perfectly and the service was warm without being intrusive. loved that the chefs brought out the food and the beautiful garden out the back. will definitely be going back!

we agreed that the stand out savoury dish was the mud crab with silky macadamia and camomile: creamy, sweet and with the slight crunch of macadamia nuts this almost had me licking the plate. coorong hanger steak was served with mustard leaves was perfectly accompanied by a smooth smokey cabbage puree. desserts had a frozen theme.