Cirrus Dining

Overview

If you go down to Barangaroo, you're in for a big surprise. Brent Savage and Nick Hildebrandt — the legends behind Bentley, Monopole and Yellow — opened the doors of Cirrus Dining back in 2016. Yes, it's named after a cloud and dishes up super-fresh, sustainable seafood.

The menu is made for sharing. Among the offerings are raw bluefin tuna with marinated trout roe and smoked sour cream on a fried bun and the epic live lobster cooked over charcoal with scallop XO sauce. On top of all that fish, you'll find a good selection of meaty dishes and, as is always the case with the Bentley folk, no shortage of vegetarian deliciousness.

"We've been working for almost a year on the menu, and it has changed and morphed along the way," said Savage, who has won SMH Good Food Guide Chef of the Year twice. "It is great for sharing, and I really want people to treat it this way, so they try all types of seafood in the one meal." He recommends kicking off with oysters and moving onto starters before tucking into shellfish and a whole fish main.

Cirrus Dining sommelier Hildebrandt has assembled the wine list, which specialises in seafood-friendly whites, from sparkling and Chablis to Semillon and Chenin. Hildebrandt has his palate glued to a stream of new releases and left-of-field drops created by small producers, so you can always count on something interesting.

On sunny days, you'll want to nab one of the 40 outdoor seats overlooking the harbour. There's another 100 inside, beautifully arranged by designer Pascale Gomes-McNabb, and surrounding timber tables dashed with marble and gold.

She's also added a good polish to the concrete floor, brought in a 20-seater steel bar and built a spectacular wine wall. Look up and you'll see yet another Bentley signature ceiling, this time featuring hundreds of hanging rods and a flying vintage speed boat, Alvin.