Bentley, Surry Hills - Dessert Degustation with a side of rage

3 November 2010, 04:44

I had heard good things about Bentley (320 Crown Street, Surry Hills). A sexy new interior fitout, food with crazy awesome presentations and best of all a dessert degustation menu ($40). We were here to experience desserts by the one and only Lemonpi who was finishing up her run at Bentley before jetting off on holidays. Four courses of lip smacking dessert deliciousness had been planned for a late birthday pressie for Billy and so we had been eagerly waiting all month for desserts. The night started off great. But. Yes there is a but… Rage has been dulled a tad thanks to some alcoholic beverages and the passage of time on my leaky memory.

After some dinner snacks at Mizuya, our group of four was led to our table. Napkins were placed with a flourish on our laps, water poured immediately and a platter of thickly sliced bread with olive oil lands on our table. We stare at the bread uneasily and as a waitress floats by we tell her we are here for dessert. “No worries” she replies with a smile, “would you still like the bread?” We decline as we are eager to see Y’s dessert creations but 2mins later a waiter zooms to our table and says, “I understand you’re here for dessert only? It’s just that this table was sold as a full three-course meal.” He sounds incredibly peeved and Billy replies, “we made a booking for the dessert degustation menu online.” The waiter shakes his head, “we have no knowledge of this.” Bewildered we look at each other and before we can say anything he sniffs and says, “whatever, you’re here now” and walks away. And then the slow, burning onset of rage as he studiously avoids us for the next 15minutes. It is almost laughable when our wine menu gets plucked from our table and deposited on the table next to us before we’ve placed our drinks order. Finally just as we were debating on walking out, our original waitress returns to our table of isolation. She is lovely and polite, a stark contrast to the unpleasantness of the previous waiter. Gah. Had the waiter asked, we would have gladly moved to the bar seating!

But anyways. Enough talk. Time for pics.


First off the dessert blocks is the Caramelised pineapple with barley cream and beer sorbet. Still seething from waiter rage I got about halfway thru this dessert before anything registered. A definite standout was the nubbins of sweet dehydrated pineapple hidden beneath the perfect creamy quenelle. I could totally eat bowlfuls of the stuff! Mmm fruit in compacted form.


A vision of white is placed before us, behold the Milk cake with magnolia ice cream and white chocolate. Thanks to the wonders of liquid nitrogen, a crisp white globe sits atop a bar of spongey milk cake. The meringue-like ball is stabbed, and the remnants of my anger disappears as the shards dissolve on my tongue, sugar replacing bitter thoughts.


Frozen cheesecake with mango and blueberry arrives with a cloud of lime foam so delicate and ethereal, the blueberry powder a striking sight to see. A dollop of slightly tart blueberry compote is balanced with the sweetness of the mango slices fanned beneath the smooth quenelle of cream cheese. The scatter of buttery biscuit crumbs eases my mind and the plate is soon scraped clean.


I had been looking forward to the last dessert, the Chocolate sponge with cherry sorbet and coconut and it does not disappoint. The chocolate sponge is airy and light as a feather, and the combination of the sweet cherry sorbet, pool of dark chocolate ganache and the coconut tuille reminds me of a deconstructed version of a Cherry Ripe. The cap of toffee is fun to crunch into until it decides it doesn’t want to part with my teeth.

The ensuring sugar rush of the night has brought the smiles back on our dials and while we try to peek into the kitchen on the way to the bathroom, we fail to spy Lemonpi but we promise ourselves that one day we will meet the master of desserts. For now we will continue to stalk you online Y!

1. Such great pics! That pineapple and beer sorbet dessert is the bomb. I remember being gobsmacked when we ordered it a while ago… I think The Hungry One nearly died. Beer sorbet. He just kept shaking his head and smiling.

   — Tori    Nov 3, 05:25 AM    #
   
   

2. Hi Suze! Nice photos! I love those desserts. I hope I get the chance to try them too. :)

   — marvs (eatmarvin.com)    Nov 3, 05:30 AM    #
   
   

3. The desserts look amazing but bad attitude always turns me off a restaurant, no matter how good the food is.. argh!

   — Betty @ The Hungry Girl    Nov 3, 08:36 AM    #
   
   

4. oh my – is it wrong that I want sweets for breakfast after seeing your lovely photos ;)

   — Lisa (bakebikeblog)    Nov 3, 09:28 AM    #
   
   

5. Man, I loathe rude service! More fool them though Suse as now we all know about the rude grumpy waiter-man. Desserts look great – glad they eased your rage.

   — MelbaToast    Nov 3, 09:55 AM    #
   
   

6. how rude!!

   i hope they are nicer when i go there this friday night!

   — marj    Nov 3, 10:03 AM    #
   
   

7. A slight inconvenience on what sounds like a stellar evening of desserts. You should go on a saturday for lunch, seven course degustation for $50. Well worth the money in my opinion!

   — Matthew (Masterchef)    Nov 3, 10:07 AM    #
   
   

8. The food here is great. Yes. I was also turned off by the service. Although those desserts do look great.

   — Nicole    Nov 3, 10:37 AM    #
   
   

9. I hate bad service and I definitely would have complained to their manager or walked out if not for the idea of eating some of Y’s lovely desserts!

   — Trissa    Nov 3, 10:41 AM    #
   
   

10. Liquid nitro also works well on people.

    “How about you just…cool off” sunglasses

    — the ninja    Nov 3, 11:14 AM    #
    
    

11. gosh what a horrible waiter >:( !
    yumm frozen cheesecake ^^ lol the meringue-like ball looks like it has an angry face

    — Vivian - vxdollface    Nov 3, 11:18 AM    #
    
    

12. Y’s desserts were indeed the sweet redemption of the evening. The liquid nitrogen ball was awesome and lol, that toffee definitely didn’t want to part with our teeth. A very apt description!

    — Helen (grabyourfork)    Nov 3, 11:24 AM    #
    
    

13. I LOVE the idea of dessert degustation! That cranky waiter must not realise it’s appeal – he should be selling it to the skies!

    — Shann    Nov 3, 11:35 AM    #
    
    

14. Oh those look so lovely and I can tell they were packed with flavour and texture.

    Bah humbug to the 2nd waiter but atleast you got dessert in the end.

    — Tamz    Nov 3, 11:42 AM    #
    
    

15. I’m glad you ended up enjoying these gorgeous desserts despite the first encounter!

    — Maria @ ScandiFoodie    Nov 3, 11:45 AM    #
    
    

16. oh wow, the Chocolate sponge with cherry sorbet and coconut looks fantastic! that would be great for morning tea :)

    — gastronomous_a    Nov 3, 11:47 AM    #
    
    

17. i hate bad service, it’s just disgusting!

    — laura (Starloz)    Nov 3, 11:58 AM    #
    
    

18. Just looking at that made me run to the fridge and grab some tiramisu gelato for brekkie…!!!

    — Orion    Nov 3, 12:40 PM    #
    
    

19. Thanks for the great review. Bad service is unacceptable. Will make sure we only go there for the dessert (but we might book it as a full dinnner just to piss them off) ;)

    — Shaun    Nov 3, 01:54 PM    #
    
    

20. Shame about the bad attitude but luckily stellar dessserts make everything better!

    — mademoiselle delicieuse    Nov 3, 02:08 PM    #
    
    

21. YUM x 1000000!! just look at that foam on the frozen cheesecake!! drools

    — Rhonda (TheDaintyBaker)    Nov 3, 02:28 PM    #
    
    

22. Myself and a friend were lucky enough to go have some desserts last week too, to farewell Y. Loved the pineapple and the beer sorbet! Genius!
    Sorry to hear you had bad service. Especially there. I’ve always found it very good.

    — Reemski    Nov 3, 02:38 PM    #
    
    

23. I can kind of, maybe, see the waiter’s side but it seriously wasn’t cool to have that put on you guys in any way, especially when you guys did the right thing. Seriously lame customer service.

    That aside, it was good that you were able to still enjoy those lovely desserts.

    — Simon @ the heart of food    Nov 3, 02:49 PM    #
    
    

24. I’m so over rude and snooty waiters. It takes monumental amounts of restraint not to tell them where to shove their menus.

    Thank gawd the night ended on a sweeter note for you :)

    — Karen | C&C    Nov 3, 02:51 PM    #
    
    

25. Dining is not just about the food and even if you are served the most perfect meal rude service can kill the meal completely.

    The desserts look devine, beer sorbet, wow.

    — Sara @ Belly Rumbles    Nov 3, 02:54 PM    #
    
    

26. We were also luckily enough to try Y’s desserts! She is a genius, period.

    — Howard    Nov 3, 03:13 PM    #
    
    

27. At least the night ended sweetly… What was the point of the waiter venting at you? As if that would make you all of a sudden go “Fine, let’s have three courses”

    — Tina@foodboozeshoes    Nov 3, 09:32 PM    #
    
    

28. wow! these desserts are stunning! shame about the service and well that waiter who served you guys sounds rather amateur!

    — panda    Nov 3, 11:29 PM    #
    
    

29. Mmm milk cake!

    I think rude waiters need to realise they’re in the wrong profession >:(

    — Ayana    Nov 3, 11:58 PM    #
    
    

30. You tell the story so well, I can almost feel the icy gaze of the uppity waiter. The desserts more than make up for it, don’t they? They’re so beautiful!

    — OohLookBel    Nov 4, 12:05 AM    #
    
    

31. ok aside from the rage, the desserts look FANTASSMO, especially the frozen cheesecake with mango and blueberry!! Or maybe it’s just a skillful photographer ;)

    — catty    Nov 4, 04:09 AM    #
    
    

32. Ouch, I swear I felt as if I was sitting there with you guys with that rude waiter, must have been that bad of an experience to start off with hey? So know what you mean by not being able to appreciate the start of a meal because of things like that. You really do need a clear mind to truly appreciate fine art =)

    — angie    Nov 4, 11:09 AM    #
    
    

33. wow, the dessert looks yum. how did they fare compared to tomislav’s degustation?

    it sucks to hear that their service was bad though.

    — lifeis2munch    Nov 4, 02:07 PM    #
    
    

34. Pity bout taht waiter but goddamnn those desserts look soooo good!!

    Haha I still have yet to meet this elusive master of desserts too

    — FFichiban    Nov 4, 06:52 PM    #
    
    

35. What a shame you got crappy service but at least the other waiter was nice about it all and you got to end the night with some amazing sweet treats! Y is a genius :)

    — Jacq    Nov 4, 07:02 PM    #
    
    

36. these desserts are to die for! great pics and descriptions suze, one again I am dessert degustation-ing vicariously through you!
    Oh i so want to try this!!

    — Gianna @TheEmptyFridge    Nov 4, 11:28 PM    #
    
    

37. I hope the waiter washed his face after pulling his head out of his own arse.
    On a cleaner note, those desserts are beyond sexy!

    — john@heneedsfood    Nov 5, 08:05 AM    #
    
    

38. Ah, at least you have tasted Y’s desserts firsthand, I’ve only been able to stalk her online so far :P Sheesh, I cannot stand snooty waitstaff!

    — shaz    Nov 5, 10:15 PM    #
    
    

39. that’s disappointing.. we went on the same night and our waitress was not only very charming but also good looking. bonus points! :D haha i stabbed the liquid nitrogen magnolia ice cream too! it looks just like meringue! ohhhh how good is that beer with pineapple and barley cream? and i don’t even like beer. we originally went just for the dessert dego too but my friend had never been before so i ordered the foie gras parfait for her to try (i needed to try it too just to make sure it was still good) and then the waitress recommended the smoked eel parfait which is now my new favourite bentley dish :P** i can’t believe you still haven’t met Y, you’ve only been stalking the master of desserts for like ..forever! unfortunately for you, she was keeping herself pressed against the wall so you wouldn’t have been able to spot her from the hallway. i prefer the less covert method of walking into the kitchen and yelling out her name.. but then i am not a stalker so.. :P

    — cathy x.    Nov 6, 12:16 PM    #
    
    

40. Those desserts look fantastic. As I wrote on Helen’s post, I have been there before once and had rude service, and I have not been back!

    — Susan    Nov 9, 05:58 PM    #