Tabou

About a year ago I had a wonderful dining experience at Tabou in Surry Hills when my boss took me out to dinner. How things can change in a year ! Feel like being patronised and spending an evening on uncomfortable chairs ? This is your restaurant !

As someone that is a qualified chef and has been to Paris I would call this food cafeteria quality at best. For what you pay, save your money, buy a ticket to Paris and eat in a dodgy cafe. The food will be of the same standard, but cheaper and at least the view and atmosphere will be an improvement.

Food wise, I am truly reluctant to refer to it as cuisine, was lack lustre at best. None of the dishes were particularly well balanced flavour wise, the calves liver was thicker and chunkier than my grandma used to serve us as kids, not thin and delicate slices as you'd expect from fine french cuisine, the quail was over cooked and particularly salty, and the confit of duck though tender was overly salty and not balanced well with the accompianments.

The know it all waiter with the memory issues was patronising and reluctant to replace a bottle with cork taint, even in Paris you would find it hard to find a waiter more unpersonable and that's saying alot ! He then got the manager to explain to our table that the wine was fine but our palette was flawed, the nerve! Not wanting to make a scene in front of my guests as the whole kitchen staff were glaring at us from the kitchen, I didn't bring up that I'm a trainee sommelier and am quite aware of what cork taint tastes like in varying degrees. I guess they value their mark up on a bottle of wine more than your return business !

The desserts were a pleasant suprise though, but at the same time, if I'm paying $15 dollars for creme brulee, a bowl of custard, they could at least strain the vanilla beans out of it. During my apprenticeship, these faux pas would be unacceptable and to be able to get away with this standard of cooking goes to show how lucky Tabou is to have a clientelle with alot of money and very little taste.

Needless to say that's the last time I will be dining at this establishment.
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Chef Vader - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 1
Friday, October 03, 2008

Best Value in Sydney. Excellent food - try the goats cheese souffle and the cassoullet. Even better when it used to be BYO every night.
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Jeff Hogan
Friday, January 13, 2006