nel restaurant dubbed the CHEAPEST place for top-notch fine dining

>

A stunning Sydney restaurant known as one of the city’s ‘most trendy and exclusive’ has been named one of the cheapest venues for quality fine dining.

nel. Restautant also recently went viral for their ‘Land and Sea’ set menu that celebrates native Australian ingredients and meat.

‘This restaurant has the CHEAPEST fine dining in the city that is totally worth the price,’ said Sydney foodie Steve Chong in a viral video.

nel. is located in the city’s bustling CBD and offers a seasonal degustation menu that changes every ten weeks.

An all food degustation is $145 per person, while the wine pairing is $165 per person. The restaurant also contains a fully equipped bar with specialised cocktails and non-alcoholic drinks. 

Headed by gourmet chef Nelly Robinson, nel’s winter set menu is expertly crafted to provide customers with the ultimate fine-dining experience.

Nelly is a master of invention, with his previous themed degustations ranging from ‘Christmas’ and ‘Once Upon A Time’ to ‘Moulin Rouge: The musical.’

A stunning Sydney restaurant known as one of the city's 'most trendy and exclusive' has been named one of the cheapest venues for quality fine-dining

A stunning Sydney restaurant known as one of the city’s ‘most trendy and exclusive’ has been named one of the cheapest venues for quality fine-dining

nel. Restautant also recently went viral for their 'Land and Sea' set menu that celebrates native Australian ingredients and meat

nel. Restautant also recently went viral for their 'Land and Sea' set menu that celebrates native Australian ingredients and meat

nel. Restautant also recently went viral for their ‘Land and Sea’ set menu that celebrates native Australian ingredients and meat

The Land and Sea menu aims to honour all things Australian-made, from native Australian ingredients to a subtle nod to the country’s adopted cultural cuisines.

Spread over five courses, Nelly uses all parts of most ingredients on the menu in order to minimise waste.

‘We have amazing seafood in our seas and we love to use every part of the whole fish when we cook,’ he told Femail. ‘We’ve also created a dish about everything to do with chickens – from using the eggs to what chickens actually eat.’

‘My restaurant is very close to my heart,’ Nelly said. ‘I’ve been in the kitchen since I was fourteen and I finally realised, almost fifteen years later, that there was nowhere else I wanted to work.’

He went on, ‘That’s when I decided to open up .nel – and I can confidently say it’s truly a unique dining experience.’

Headed by gourmet chef Nelly Robinson, nel's winter set menu is expertly crafted to provide customers with the ultimate fine-dining experience

Headed by gourmet chef Nelly Robinson, nel's winter set menu is expertly crafted to provide customers with the ultimate fine-dining experience

Headed by gourmet chef Nelly Robinson, nel’s winter set menu is expertly crafted to provide customers with the ultimate fine-dining experience

The Land and Sea menu aims to honour all things Australian-made, from native Australian ingredients to a subtle nod to the country's adopted cultural cuisines

The Land and Sea menu aims to honour all things Australian-made, from native Australian ingredients to a subtle nod to the country's adopted cultural cuisines

The Land and Sea menu aims to honour all things Australian-made, from native Australian ingredients to a subtle nod to the country’s adopted cultural cuisines

Set in a bunker-esque space, nel. has been described as a venue that offers an ‘intimate yet relaxed’ atmosphere. 

And as there is no a la carte menu, guests need only make a decision on what beverage they wish to consume.

Nelly also said that he wanted each dish to paint a vivid picture of the theme, and designed and named his food accordingly.

‘Welly Boot, an entrée for Land and Sea, is meant to evoke memories of walking through muddy fields and seeing a wellington boot footprint – and from there you get a dish of beautiful mushrooms.’

The most interestingly bizarre dish on the menu is definitely the Brisket-mite, which is a beef brisket with onion soubise, charred baby leeks, and a Vegemite jus.

Set in a bunker-esque space, nel. has been described as a venue that offers an 'intimate yet relaxed' atmosphere

Set in a bunker-esque space, nel. has been described as a venue that offers an 'intimate yet relaxed' atmosphere

Set in a bunker-esque space, nel. has been described as a venue that offers an ‘intimate yet relaxed’ atmosphere

Nelly’s degustation also caters to vegetarians and pescatarians – with several alternate dishes offered for each course. 

The snack course of the set menu includes leaf-shaped sweet potato, ricotta, a mix of native powder; raw kingfish, chimmichuri, yuzu kosho mayo, tortilla; and scrambled egg, crispy chicken skin, and puffed grains.

Following that, all guests are served mixed grain and bush tomato rolls, with olive oil and native homemade dukkah.

There are four entrée dishes that hero mushroom, gnocchi, swordfish, and brisket respectively. 

Nelly's degustation also caters to vegetarians and pescatarians - with several alternate dishes offered for each course

Nelly's degustation also caters to vegetarians and pescatarians - with several alternate dishes offered for each course

Nelly’s degustation also caters to vegetarians and pescatarians – with several alternate dishes offered for each course

Finally, the three dessert courses are fan-favourites and the subject of the most photography. 

‘The mandarin soufflé was my favourite,’ revealed one woman on Instagram. ‘It was the prettiest!’

‘I love chocolate the most, and no one does it like Nelly!’ said another. 

nel. Restaurant’s Land & Sea Menu 

SNACKS

Fallen leaves

  • Autumn leaf, ricotta, native powder
  • Savory leaf shape cracker sweet potato
  • Herb & lemon ricotta
  • Red powder / Green powder cabbage

Fish in the weeds

  • Fish & seaweed
  • Raw kingfish
  • Chimmichuri
  • Yuzu kosho mayo
  • Tortilla

Eggs & Soldiers

  • Scrambled egg, Crispy chicken skin, puffed grains
  • Scrambled egg in a foam gun, sous vide
  • Crispy chicken skin & puffed grain crumb
  • Roast chicken + Parmesan foam
  • Hay ash

Native Grains

  • Mixed grain & bush tomato rolls, olive oil, native dukkah
  • Mixed grain brioche (pearl barley, bush tomato & quinoa)
  • House made native dukkah
  • Mt zero extra virgin olive oil

ENTREES

Welly boot

  • Mushroom puree
  • Mushroom & truffle soil
  • Oat crumble

Rockpool

  • Squid ink gnoochi chives
  • Confit cuttlefish/picked crab meat
  • Fish stock bubbles
  • Fish soup
  • Neptune’s necklace, karkalla, sea blight

Different kettle of fish

  • Swordfish
  • Tomato ‘ xo ‘ dressing
  • Broccoli puree
  • Bbq spirallgo
  • Florets

Brisket-mite

  • Sous vide brisket 
  • Onion soubise
  • Charred baby leeks
  • Vegemite jus

DESSERT 

Mandarins

  • Souffle Sponge
  • Burnt Mandarin puree
  • Lemon Thyme confit Mandarin segments
  • Carrot, Mandarin,Ginger sorbet
  • Mandarin Sabayon

Taste of the sea

  • Valrhona Orelys Cremeux
  • Chocolate and Sea salt Crumble
  • Caramelised Valrhona Orelys crumbs
  • Salted Caramel
  • Chocolate Rocks
  • Chocolate Brownies
  • Sea Salt
  • Vanilla / Truffle Ice Cream

Wombat droppings

  • Chocolate Ganache
  • Toasted Pepitas, Buckwheat kernels, Toasted Macadamia
  • Riberries