I love business lunches. I also love it when my colleagues don’t care when I whip out a camera and act like a complete tourist in one of Sydney’s chicest restaurant. Glass Brasserie, helmed by chef Luke Mangan (former chef of Salt and the chef flown over to Copenhagen by Prince Frederick and Princess Mary to cook a 5 course banquet for royalty and owner of one chef’s hat in 2007’s SMH Good Food Guide) on Level 2 of the Sydney Hilton, is all shiny sleek glass and shades of gold. There is a large section of banquettes in the centre (I adore banquette seating) as well as tables facing the Queen Victoria Building. The Immoral One (a name he was given in a meeting today-well we do work in Advertising so it’s not entirely unexpected…) is taking M and I out for lunch today. 3 courses, if we have the time.
The only drawback to a work lunch is that you are often pressed for time. And today The Immoral One and I need to be in a meeting at 2.30pm so we need to leave by 2pm. It’s 12.30pm and we’re ordering our entrees and mains from the enormous menu. The thing that has caught my eye is one of the specials, the W.A. Rock Lobster in a Malay style curry sauce with tomato and banana sides (Market price: today $60 entree size, main size $115). M and I both order this and The Immoral One orders the Petuna Ocean Trout with ginger eschallot, persian feta and rocket ($26.50). For my main I order the Rangers Valley 450day grain fed Wagyu entrecôte, score 7-8, 250g, garlic mushrooms, caper and bone marrow ($59). The Immoral One orders the John Dee Steer 150 day grain fed sirloin 250g with herb and mustard crust and baby beans ($40) and M orders the Petuna Ocean Trout fillet roasted, harissa crushed kipflers, mussels, tomato and curry vinaigrette ($39).
Our bread arrives, a white crusty loaf as well as a salt crusted herb bread with raisins which goes particularly well with the olive oil. I could eat much more but since I know what is coming, I refrain.
W.A. Rock Lobster in a Malay style curry sauce with tomato and banana sides (Market price: today $60 entree size)
As we’re in a hurry, the kitchen serves our food quickly. Our entrees arrive and the Western Australian Rock Lobster is housed in a tagine pot alongside a trio of condiments. The waitress plates the rice first and then serves the lobster from the tagine which reminds me of a seafood dish I’d had at Luke Mangan’s Salt restaurant where they had presented two lone prawns on a large plate and then spooned the rest of the dish on top of it after noting the patrons shocked expression of being given 2 prawns (drama works, I still remember my reaction to this day). The sauce is fragrant with coriander seeds, kaffir lime leaves, galangal and tumeric. There’s also smoked paprika, lemongrass and a small amount of chili which gives the Malay style curry heat but never overpowers it. The sauce is particularly delicious and gorgeous when mixed with the cinnamon spiced fragrant rice.
I admit the appeal of the banana condiment eludes me, I don’t particularly go for the coconut banana accompaniments with Indian cooking so I leave this after a brief taste. The tomato, with coriander and Vietnamese mint is refreshing but I need to save stomach space so I leave this behind.
Petuna Ocean Trout with ginger eschallot, persian feta and rocket ($26.50)
I try some of The Immoral One’s Petuna Ocean Trout with ginger eschallot, persian feta and rocket and it is pure pleasure. There is a sweetness to the paper thin ocean trout and it is simply exquisite perfection.
Rangers Valley 450day grain fed Wagyu entrecôte, score 7-8, 250g, garlic mushrooms, caper and bone marrow ($59)
Our plates are whisked away and replaced soon after with the mains. My Rangers Valley 450day grain fed Wagyu entrecôte, with a marbling score 7-8 (out of a potential 12 being the most marbled) 250g, garlic mushrooms, capers and bone marrow sits on a long rectangular plate and I bite into the meat and it melts in the mouth softly. The borderlaise sauce is laced with tarragon and is a perfect foil for the tender cut of meat.
The discs of bone marrow sitting on top are soft and unctuous and also melt on the tongue and the perfect squares of garlic mushrooms and capers are a perfect pairing for the meat. I am in heaven and I eat almost every bite, despite being rather full and knowing that dessert is on the way. That’s when you know it’s good, when you simply cannot stop.
Petuna Ocean Trout fillet roasted, harissa crushed kipflers, mussels, tomato and curry vinaigrette ($39)
I try some of M’s Petuna roasted Ocean Trout fillet and it is deliciously crisped on top with the inside still raw, just the way it was meant to be. If only I could order this main too!
John Dee Steer 150 day grain fed sirloin 250g with herb and mustard crust and baby beans ($40)
I also try The Immoral One’s John Dee Steer 150 day grain fed sirloin 250g with herb and mustard crust and baby beans. It’s not bad but the herb crust has thyme in it which is a herb I am not particularly fond of. And if I am to be honest, any meat after the Wagyu is going to come off second best.
Mash $10
The side of mash is lovely and creamy and soft. There’s much mming and approval from M about the creamy potato puree.
We ask the waiter whether we have time for dessert as it’s 25 minutes to 2pm and he checks with the kitchen. They can do dessert but the ones that we’ve earmarked (Rhubarb crumble tart with banana parfait and the Blood Orange souffle and cardamom ice cream) will take too long so I settle for the selection of ice creams (brownie, honeycomb and pistachio as I adore pistachio ice cream, $16.50) and M and The Immoral One order the Maple Syrup and Mascarpone baked cheesecake, poached quince, coconut crumble and quince ice cream ($18).
Selection of ice creams brownie, honeycomb and pistachio $16.50
The pistachio ice cream is heaven. I’ve tried pistachio ice cream all over Sydney and never been happy with the level of Pistachio in any of them ever since I traveled to Paris a few years ago and had a Berthillon Pistache Ice cream. The honeycomb ice cream is good, very true to flavour but the Brownie is a bit of a miss for me perhaps because of a combination of the lesser comparison to the Pistachio and the fact that I am very full.
Maple Syrup and Mascarpone baked cheesecake, poached quince, coconut crumble and quince ice cream ($18)
I try some of The Immoral One’s Maple Syrup and Mascarpone baked cheesecake and it is delicious with the cleverly designed crunchy coconut crumb outer. The poached quince is not to my taste, it’s not very sweet but the cheesecake has given me a serious case of dessert envy and wished I’d ordered this. Of course I couldn’t have as it just wouldn’t do to have everyone order the same thing, after all, a blog is best with variety. The sacrifices I make for you dear reader…OK I’m not being serious, there was no sacrifice made here at all today, just pleasure 
Glass Brasserie
Hilton Hotel Sydney
Level 2, 488 George Street, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9265 6068
Opening hours
Lunch: Monday to Friday 12-3pm
Dinner: 7 nights, 6-9.30/until late
http://www.glassbrasserie.com.au/
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17 Comments | Add your own
Wow Lorraine, 3 huge courses for a business lunch, and it sounds like you ate.. I mean, taste tested.. most of your colleagues’ dishes too!
Can I come and work with you! Seriously that is so good to go there for a work lunch. The wagyu looks delicious!
I have twice erased the beginnings of a comment, because I keep sounding like a busy-body. My questions are to do with who picked up the tab for this and is your work place hiring? ROFL!!
Hey.. you probably already know about this but the lovely Glass Brasserie features in “delicious.” magazine’s June edition! “delicious. does dinner” with Luke Mangan- 4 courses, $95, including matching De Bertoli Wines. I would do my utmost best to go if I were in Sydney because I’ve never tried any of Luke’s food before.. AND there are prizes on the night, from Volvo and Orion Cruises aswell as a two and a half thousand dollar coffee machine to give away. Gosh.. I love entering competitions..and the dinner from Luke would be prize enough for me at $95. For me this would be a very appealing night! However..that week we are heading to Ssshhhh! the Michael Buble concert which my husband doesn’t know about..and staying in Melb CBD and doing stuff there.. so it’s just impossible to partake in Luke’s dinner.. ((sigh))! But I will attend a “delicious.” meal one day!
Anyway.. I have digressed from your lovely post here. I do love the dining room! (I have your picture and the picture in the magazine too)! Which fuelled my desire to go there…
It’s the first time I’ve seen lobster done this way. We have a private joke at our place.. or I should say “I” have a private joke. Whenever I’m filling out forms and they ask if there are any “special dietary requirements”.. eg. recently at a course I was doing where a two course dinner was included each Friday night.. that question was asked on the registratin form and it’s asked on my girl’s camp forms..that kind of thing.. I always want to write “Will only eat lobster”.
Love the story about getting two prawns at Salt! I don’t know if I’d like to be ‘baited’ like that .. is that what they do.. like a joke?
Was the entree trout (with feta) raw? It looks like what other menu’s describe as a “tartare”.. which I love.
Your Wagyu entrecote looks like something my husband would drool over and talk about for the rest of his life. I’d love it too.. but hubby probably appreciates a good hunk of beef more than I would.. ie. I’m not as loyal to beef as he is when it comes to ordering.. (he’s like his father.. who to this day orders the same $24 ‘Filet Mignon’ year in, year out at a local pub on his anniversary.. steak but wrapped in bacon.. feed the man meat..that sort of thing)! Gosh your mains looked sooo lovely, lucky you!
The John Dee Steer looks like a work of art in that it looks like mountain rocks with moss growing on them… or an aerial shot of an island in Thailand. Very Ikebana or Bonsai or something! Someone could have put a little miniature G.I. Joe doll in there complete with abseiling gear.. and perhaps a miniature canoe in the gravy (which looks like a remote Thai beach) and it would have been fitting somehow?
Oh so you’re not too fond of thyme.. Yeah..not my fav either..but I think I like tarragon less.
Those desserts you didn’t order sounded *sublime*!! Now.. if ever I’m in Paris..I must try this Pistachio icecream you’re so fond of. I have enjoyed some Pistachio gelato in Sydney before.. but I’m no authority really on what is good in that department as I haven’t eaten it often enough.
I’m in love with the garnish on the quince icecream. It reminds me so much of autumn leaves.. and I love autumn and leaves (if I don’t have to sweep them up). A great looking and sounding dessert. Or “zert” as my hubby and I call it.
Thanks for sharing this super business lunch!
Gosh, how did you manage to get back to work after a lunch like this? I like to think you did it for us, your loyal readers! And what was in that glassy red shard sticking out of the ice cream? Nice.
apparently my jealousy of you knows no bounds. you get to eat the most fabulous food!
the most appealing thing to me? i’m feeling partial to the sirloin. that’s a good-looking crust, and i don’t mind thyme.
did i mention that i envy you?
Hi Y-Hah! Well I do just taste. I don’t usually eat all of my colleague’s meals-do you?
Hi Susan-I was really happy too-when I left advertising I really missed the perks so they were part of what lured me back
Hi Maria-I didn’t pick up the tab, “The Immoral One” did. I don’t think they’re hiring though although it would be cool to have a fellow food blogger on the staff.
That degustation menu sounds divine. I’d love to go back. your Michael Buble tickets sound fantastic however and I shan’t reveal a thing!
LOL I’ve considered writing “will eat seafood only” when RSVPing for events and weddings. Although I haven’t-yet!
I think they love the effect on the diner’s face. Yes the trout was raw, as in tartare. it was so good. I would definitely order that next time.
I’m a red meat lover only if it’s a very tender cut and medium rare. Otherwise I find hacking at a piece of tough or stringy red meat a futile exercise.
Too true! It’s very moss like isn’t it! I am ok with tarragon but thyme in anything puts me off. I’ve decided to ask if anything has thyme in it next time and it reduces my enjoyment of the dish.
Unfortunately, aside from here, I’ve never had a really good pistachio here. But I’m warning you, once you try Berthillon’s pistachio, it might ruin you for other pistachio ice cream
I wish I knew what was on the ice cream, all I know is that there was gold leaf. As for the “autumn leaf” that was gorgeous!
Hi Belle-It was hard but I was a bit sugared up from all of that food and to sit in a long meeting was rather difficult
Hehe well I would have loved to have ordered the cheesecake but I resisted as we couldn’t have three of the same dessert for my blog so it was for you dear readers! 
Hi grace-Thankyou! I think a trip to Sydney to try some of our fabulous food is in order don’t you think? Ahh well if you don’t mind thyme then you would love it. Hehe no you didn’t mention it?
Who would have ever thought that an entree would cost more than a main!
The food and your photos look beautiful.
Amazing! I’m sitting here at work wishing my boss would bring us out for a lunch like that. Everything sounding brilliant! I would absolutely be in a food coma for that meeting you had to go to right after. I agree with Maria, is your place hiring??
beautiful pictures and food, both the lobster and the steak look divine. However, I’m curious to know this - am I the only one who tries to order within the mid price range of any given menu when someone else is footing the bill?
Hi popeye-I know it;’s crazy isn’t it! I actually misheard him, I though the main was $60 so when I found out that it was the entree when the bill came I was like
Hi steph-maybe you could start dropping hints about having truly happy staff?
I think that if a workplace offered an occassional lunch here they’d get the cream of the crop in candidates!
Hi jen-Well of course I do, especially if a friend is buying I’ll order less than I would if I am paying but I didn’t actually realise that price was $60 for the entree size, I thought it was for the main size.
I can’t believe you like Glass - it’s food is so substandard - AND they always run out of souffles AND Luke Magan flits about getting his fingers in everything doing very little. So many better options for a fine business lunch in Sydney. The decor is amazing though.
Hi Joy-Wow, substandard? I would vehemently disagree. Expensive yes, but substandard is the last thing I’d call it. We all really enjoyed our meal and we’re all people that eat out a lot. Of course there are a lot of great options for business lunches in Sydney although I’m puzzled by you knowing that they always run out of souffles, does this mean that you dine out at a restaurant you find substandard very often?
Sorry NQN to be more precise - for the price it’s substandard when compared with it’s local fine dining comrades…compared to a cafe restaurant of course it’s lovely food - FWIW I think the maitre’d is exceptional. RE: the souffle - I have been twice and both times been unable to have the souffle - I know four colleagues who have been separately (mainly for dinner) and sorely disappointed by this too - so much so it’s a bit of a standing joke amongst us. I’m all for giving places another chance but personally on the second visit I made with a table of 3 I was desperately embarrassed as one of my table even queried Chef Mangan himself about this during the meal only to have him bring the poor pastry chef to the table berate her in from of us all saying - see this is what occurs when you do not plan correctly - frankly it was unprofessional of him as the buck stops there. Perhaps this has coloured my perception even more negatively but then, there you have it…we don’t always agree
Hi Joy-Ahh ok thanks for elaborating. When we went, we could’ve had the souffle but we didn’t have enough time for them to make it. For him to bring out the pastry chef and berate her in front of you is definitely not on. It would leave a bitter taste in my mouth to see staff belittled in front of the customers. How awful!
Luke Mangan has my heart (though I am concerned to hear Joy’s story). I found the food at glass to be superb. My boss and I went there to look at the Hilton as a venue for an upcoming function and when he suggested getting lunch somewhere I thought he meant more along the lines of a cafe. Much to my delight we went to glass and had 2 courses. I fell in love with the salted bread with the raisins in it - I would have happily had it as my main course.
Hi melissah-That’s a nice lunch and nice boss you have too!
I could definitely have that bread as a main too.
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