The song goes around in my head all day (and apologies in advance if it goes into yours). “If you go down to The Woods today, you’re in for a big surprise…”
It’s partly fitting, The Woods at the Four Seasons hotel is said to be quite a surprise for those familiar with the hotel. In its former incarnation of The Regent, it contained Kables, one of the most well regarded restaurants of its time. It has been years since the space has been used for something exciting and I had many fond memories of meals had there with seamless formal service and starched white linens. So much so that I expected The Woods to take up place where Kables used to sit.
Instead, it is downstairs on the ground floor, adjacent to the reception and lobby area. The Woods is an enormous 180 seater restaurant and the primary brief to Dreamtime designer Michael McCann was to make sure that it didn’t look like anything like a hotel restaurant.
Chef’s table
They engaged Bar H’s Hamish Igham as executive consulting chef and he brought some of his team along including baby faced Restaurant Chef Joshua Niland. The food is different from that served at Bar H which is modern Chinese. Here, there’s no trace of that but there is an emphasis on smoking with the many woods on the name and meats from the wood fire.
The wood fire is to the left of the kitchen and in front of this is a rotating hand hewn butcher’s block upon which rests firestick radishes and purple parsnips which were grown especially for the restaurant by Anthia Mishra at Little Leura Farm. Some of the vegetables were grown from seed give to them by Ingham.
The butter is churned in house and drains on muslin in a large wooden bowl. There are plans to make fresh bread in the wood fire oven in the future but for the moment, it’s Iggy’s sourdough.
Semi private dining room
The chef’s table stands right next to the vertical herb garden with fine bone china vegetables showing above and below ground views. The chef’s table is the one with a screen print of a lamb subtly marked on it. There is also an enormous semi private dining section with names of various winemakers from Australia and around the world.
Ceiling art
And I was told to look up to the ceiling because there’s a treasure trove of recipes, note and letters. There’s an enormous reproduction of a letter than Ingham received about fiddle head ferns. Above the main open kitchen are lines of text, upon closer inspection they’re actually recipes written out in detail. The sommelier is Clint Hillery of the late Time to Vino.
Live scallops, summer purslane & citrus $7.50 each
I’m dining with friends Ute and Natasha along with it seems almost everyone from Sydney’s food media scene tonight. The good thing about dining with Ute and Natasha is that we’ve already agreed to share our dishes – the more to try, the better! The live scallops come out and they are sashimi silky and taste strongly of the ocean and are garnished with purslane and citrus. Oysters are also a focus here although we didn’t try any as the entrees were pre-ordered for us.
Ash seasoned ocean trout, smoked trout roe & parsley salad $21
The ash seasoned ocean trout is simple but perfectly seasoned and accompanied by smoked trout toe, a fresh parsley salad and slices of soft, white lightly toasted bread.
Salad of cucumbers, grilled sea urchin & yoghurt $18
The rich intensity of the sea urchin is countered with the cooling cucumber salad and yogurt. Many remark that this is their favourite entree for the unusual pairing of the ingredients.
Pigeon with all its parts, grilled white peach & chickpeas $29.5
We asked for recommendations for our mains and pigeon was suggested. And there it was, in all of its glory, head included. Although technically an entree, it was still a good size and came with half a grilled white peach, roasted wings, claws and legs and pink cheeked breast. On the side were some fantastically good deep fried chickpeas and I enjoyed the flavours of this dish and I could have easily had a bowl of those chickpeas as an ideal snack.
Pot roasted sand whiting, clams, wood ear mushroom & seaweed $34
The flavour of the pot roasted sand whiting were good although some bites of the whiting yielded many bones. The flavour was really of the sea which sounds silly as of course fish comes from the sea but this is further emphasised with the clams and seaweed.
Mallee wood roasted spatchcock, radicchio, pine nuts, currants & preserved lemon $30
The Mallee wood roasted spathcock was succulent and came with wilted radicchio for bitterness, crunchy pine nuts, currents and preserved lemon. It’s a good sized dish with plenty of juicy meat and was the table’s favourite main.
Whole wood roasted crab, local garlic & pepper berry – serves 2 $65
I tried some of the whole wood roasted crab with a garlic and pepper berry sauce. Said to serve two, it didn’t come with any accompaniments and whilst it was good, I’d say that $65 for two blue swimmer crabs is on the pricey side and it would only really feed two if it came with a side. The other mains were however very well priced.
Lettuce $12
“The lettuce is fresh and sexy!” our waitress tells us to admittedly much giggling. Fresh and sexy lettuce? Sure, if you say so! It is indeed very fresh and superbly crunchy. Sexy? Well I like lettuce but it’s purely a platonic relationship. A few remark that the price seems a little high for the portion size too.
Chocolate Swiss roll, grilled cherries & sesame $16
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Swiss roll on a menu before but we have to order it to satisfy our curiosity. It was a pretty spiral of chocolate cream filled chocolate Swiss sponge with salt generously sprinkled on top (a tad too generous in parts). It came with halved grilled cherries and a sesame ice cream which was strong in smokey sesame oil. The salt and the sesame oil really evoked savoury memories and this was a tad challenging for the palate and brain to reconcile.
Rose geranium ice cream, toasted brioche & white peach caramel $14
The rose geranium ice cream was light and floral and sat atop with soft, lightly toasted brioche with a white peach caramel sauce underneath and on top of the brioche. The white peach gives the caramel an additional flavour and the brioche is soft and tender.
The Woods tart $18
We enquired about The Woods tart and it was a yellow peach tart served on a very caramelised puff pastry with little sprigs of thyme and a quennelle of vanilla bean ice cream. The puff is a little too caramelised in parts but the creaminess of the ice cream and the tartness of the fruit combined with the thyme is an interesting end to the meal. Surprises? Yes. But that’s what happens when you go into the woods apparently 
So tell me Dear Reader, do you share dishes with your friends? And did you find the lettuce sexy?
NQN dined as a guest of The Woods
The Woods
Address: 199 George Street, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9250 3160
www.thewoodsrestaurant.com.au
Lunch Monday – Friday from 12pm – 2.30pm
Dinner Monday – Saturday from 5.30pm – 10.30pm
Coffee and pastries – 10am – 12am
Drinks and bar menu – 12pm – 10pm
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33 Comments | Add your own
Wow, this place looks amazing! Great photos.
i like that song too, brings back memories. How cool is that massive stone oven!!
I have fallen completely and utterly in love. This place looks incredible.
Very interesting presentation of the pigeon dish. And the rose geranium ice cream almost looks like sticky ribs:)
HAHHA I love that! The lettuce is fresh and SEXY
Nope its not sexy to me but it sure does look fresh hehe 
I love it when waiters and waitresses make an effort to talk to customers.
Everything looks SUPER DELICIOUS! You know what I was looking at
the dessert I am dying to try the Rose geranium ice cream and toasted brioache and the woods tart!!!
Lettuce for $12? Ridiculous! But everything else looks lovely and worthy of the price.
Very interesting presentation, but I just could not get into that pigeon, it just makes it too real for my taste.
Love the décor, particularly the light above the chef’s table, so cool.
What an interesting concept for such a large restaurant–and interesting food as well. I feel like I live in the backwoods–I’ve never seen ceiling art, or not like this. And yes, I absolutely love sharing food. And yes, lettuce is definitely sexy, especially if eaten with the hands.
I love the ceiling features and some of the dishes look good. Not sure if the pigeon appeals to me though, particularly the way it is plated. Not sure I find the lettuce sexy either but it does look nice and fresh
That is one sexy lettuce… NOT!
Did you eat the pigeon head?
The food is presented so creatively. Really impressed. Not convinced of the lettuce though and definitely not sexy. Maybe I haven’t been around long enough, or maybe too long, but sexy lettuce? Nhu.
Wow, I am impressed by the Ceiling art, really how cool is that!?! Fresh and sexy lettuce, oh dear, I want that!
Hi Em! Hehe I took a nibble of the head. It was good!
Memories: loved Kable’s in the old days – they were one of the first in Sydney to have a proper and very good degustation menu altho’ at quite incredibly high prices . . . Also very much like the look of this place, but . . . The sand whiting and pigeon appeal, but, on the whole I have seen more exciting menus: perchance I had breakfast too recently
! As far as sharing goes, of course – was guilty of that long ere it became acceptable 
! That lettuce sexy? Well, I find a lot of things sexy in life, but we won’t include those overprized iceberg [?] pieces in the count 
!
cause today’s the day the teddy bears have their picnic!
Thanks Lorraine! At least it’s replacing the Christmas carols stuck on repeat.
I love going out with my friends who like to share. It’s so much fun to be able to sample a few dishes rather than only choose one.
MMMM. Peach season! Bring on all the peach things!
We could definitely travel together…we like the same kind of restaurants and food.
I think the coolest part is the letters on the ceiling!
You eat at the most amazing places!
$12 for 1/3 of a lettuce and it doesn’t look like it’s even got dressing on it!
I’ve never heard of a lettuce being described as sexy. I’m not sure about the pigeon head being on the plate either! I do like the look of the restaurant though and the food is stunning in its presentation. I won your friend’s Middle Eastern cookbook on a blog in NY and it arrived today. Well done on the Foreward xx
I showed the lettuce to the tomato in my fruit bowl. It did a wolf whistle. The cucumber was not so excited, but the honey mustard dressing can’t wait to hook up with the lettuce. Please send through contact details!
I love everything about this place – the decor, the ceiling art and the way all the dishes look effortlessly awesome, even the pigeon dish! I wouldn’t be thrilled with paying $12 for a side of lettuce though…
The lettuce does seem expensive for what was served! Mm, crunchy chickpeas are incredibly delicious. I just love the texture! Love the presentation of the pigeon dish as well, though I don’t know what pigeon tastes like…
Wish I saw this earlier in the day! WAs looking for a lunch place at The Rocks
The way the pigeon is served is so interesting… with the head and all! I do like the look of the starters too – both the scallops and salmon esp!
That does look like a surprising restaurant. But sexy lettuce? Well, I never …
I could never sit at the chefs table. I would be too scared those lights would turn into a huge spider and eat me.
But maybe I would risk it for some sexy lettuce.
Sharing dishes is the best fun when dining with good friends.
Perhaps they call the lettuce sexy to mentally prepare customers into thinking it’s super special.I’d only think it was sexy if served by George Clooney,lol! $12 for half of a baby cos, me thinks not!!
Love the quirkiness of the decor and some of the dishes intrigue. I look at that wood fire oven and think of all the yummy food I could bake in there, pizzas, roasts, breads, cakes etc…….
Love to share plates, so you taste everything but sad when it’s really delicious and you don’t want to share!
Sexy lettuce? Well I just need to get me some of that, LOL!
The food looks really interesting but $12 for some seasoned cos lettuce is insanity!
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