Rise Restaurant, Darlinghurst

I've blogged about Rise Restaurant twice previously, and so I was sad when I heard that it had closed down at the end of 2010. Thankfully, it was re-opened by Kevin Seo, who was worked previously as a sous chef at Yoshii. Rise has always been a great value restaurant and despite the change in ownership, it has stayed that way, with a 7 course tasting menu being offered for $65pp.

Gratin oyster

Tonight we're dining on a Groupon voucher, which is $69 for two including the 7 course tasting menu and a glass of bubbles. The first course is a gratin oyster, and I'm pleasantly surprised to find out that we get two oysters each! The oysters are quite large and blanketed in a miso-flavoured, cheesy and creamy gratin. It's a delicious start to the meal and has me waiting in anticipation of what is to come next.

Today's carpaccio

The next course is a carpaccio with fresh seafood selected by the chef that day. Today, we're treated to a carpaccio of ocean trout with peach slices and a herb oil. It's simple and refreshing - I only wished that there was more!

Soft shell crab tempura

Tempura soft shell crab is up next, and we each get a whole crab each, cut up into small pieces for easy eating. The crab sits on top of a bed of soba noodles, red onion and thinly sliced cucumber with a spicy dashi broth. This is one of my favourite courses of the evening.

Miso-yaki chicken

I wasn't sure what to make of the miso-yaki chicken. The chicken itself was succulent and tender with a sprinkling of spicy shichimi on top. The accompanying side dish was a seasonal vegetable namul - a Korean seasoned vegetable dish with blanched greens, pickles and bean sprouts.

Rise style pork stew

I've mentioned my love of pie before so I was happy to see a puffed up dome of puff pastry as part of our next dish. A pork pot pie of sorts, it was a teacup filled with a tomato-based stew of pork and vegetables, covered with a super crisp ceiling of puff pastry. It looked impressive and it was a generous serve, but the stew was a bit thin for my liking - more of a soup consistency than a stew.

Lamb cutlet (sous vide)

Our last savoury dish was a definite winner, consisting of lamb cutlets off the bone and cooked sous vide. The lamb was super tender and cooked with a yakiniku sauce. Hidden underneath were some colourful vegetables including peas, cubed beetroot, okra and potatoes.

Seasonal dessert

The final course was a small dessert of mandarin ice cream with coconut granita. It was cool and refreshing and a wonderful palate cleanser to end the meal.

I was glad to see that Rise has still maintained its standard since my last visit. The food is still delicious and generous, the service is still attentive, and the menu is still great value. Let's hope that Rise is still around for many more years to come!

Penguin says Feed Me received a $30 credit towards this meal courtesy of Groupon. All other costs were paid for personally.

Rise Restaurant
23 Craigend Street
Darlinghurst NSW 2010
Ph: +61 (02) 9357 1755
Open Tuesday to Sunday, 6pm-10pm


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