NEL's Great British Menu

Overview

Sydney's very own fine-dining Willy Wonka, chef extraordinaire Nelly Robinson, has carved out a singular niche in the city's culinary scene with his whimsical degustations inspired by all manner of surprising muses from Disney movies to Colonel Sanders. His latest gastronomic magic show celebrates the cuisine of Great Britain and in classic Robinson style, the 11-course menu is a feast for all the senses.

At NEL — Robinson's Surry Hills restaurant — theatricality and storytelling are as integral to a meal as the food itself. Take, for example, a dish from the Great British menu titled A Monarch at Rest, conceived as a touching tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II via a reimagining of one of her favourite meals — salmon with asparagus. Combining a lightly spiced confit salmon served with a warm asparagus and leek soup and topped with smoked salmon roe and puffed barley, the dish is completed with an elegant garland of edible flowers, echoing a funeral wreath.

Other dishes are more playful, such as a chicken tikka tart, nodding to the UK's obsession with Indian curry. The flavours of the classic chicken tikka masala — a dish supposedly invented in Glasgow in the 1970s, especially for British palates — are captured in a turmeric-spiced rye tart filled with tikka-marinated chicken thigh and puffed wild rice, finished with a refreshing burst of smoked mint yoghurt at its centre.

The timeless summer dessert of Eton Mess gets a gourmet glow up with the usual smash of meringue, cream and strawberries brought into refined order. This delicate confection combines meringue shards, toasted marshmallow, strawberry nectar, melon herb and lemon balm with such artful grace, diners will be left with an ironic conundrum over whether to mess up such a beautiful plate.

This is Robinson's second epicurean romp through the UK's culinary history, following last year's Great British Memories menu which included spins on gammon and eggs, beef wellington, fish and chips and even Paddington Bear's favourite snack, marmalade sandwiches. Other British crowd-pleasers getting the Nel treatment in this latest British-inspired menu include fish-finger sandwiches; the humble leftovers dish bubble and squeak; and the afternoon tea staple, the eccles cake.

"By incorporating modern techniques and high-quality native ingredients, we've created a dining experience that respects tradition while offering something fresh and exciting," Robinson says. "The Great British menu is a heartfelt homage to the culinary staples that have defined British cuisine."

The 11-course menu costs $165 per person with matched wines and themed signature cocktails for an additional $155.