Hospitality | Sidart Restaurant
Flavour to savour Auckland has a wide variety of cafés, bars and restaurants that can make choosing just the right spot quite a conundrum. But if you’re in the mood for a little indulgence, then award winning restaurant Sidart is here to make your decision just that bit easier. It has become well known for its fabulous food, relaxing decor, ambience and friendly service. Expect fantastic views of the city as you enter Sidart; it showcases a casual and comfortable atmosphere with stylish lighting fixtures, artwork and comfortable seating throughout
the restaurant. With its well renowned food and immaculate service, the fine dining venue is bound to please all. Opened in September, 2009 by Sid and Chand Sahrawat, Sidart is located in the Three Lamps Plaza Mall. The building is a heritage building erected in 1910 as a roller rink and later became the Britannia movie theatre, which closed in 1969. Sid decided it was time to realise his vision and created his very own restaurant, following years of award winning cooking in high profile restaurants such as The Grove Restaurant. Sid is a three time Lewisham award winner; twice as Innovative Chef of the Year and once as Outstanding Chef of the Year. Sidart offers diners with a range of offerings. Take your pick from five to 10 course degustation menu - all available with wine matching - the Tuesday ‘test kitchen’ which is an eight course experimental menu and Sidart’s latest concept, The Chef’s Table. The intimate dining room can accommodate group bookings of up to 40 guests, with options of set menus or tasting menus designed to suit your table. The Chef’s Table is available from Wednesday to Saturday for four to six guests. This gives people the chance to get a closer look into the kitchen and watch chefs creating their dishes and interact with them. The cost is $180 per person, which includes a 10 course meal and a glass of champagne on arrival. Chand explains that when Sidart first opened the restaurant offered a la carte menu. “We now only offer a five or 10 course degustation menu each night. Tuesday’s were our quietest nights so we decided to try new recipes and experiment in the kitchen. This ‘test kitchen’ offers our customers eight courses for $80 and now Tuesdays have become the hardest days to get a table at Sidart.” Sidart has become a proven venue rather than a new concept and, as new venues are always opening up, the restaurant has maintained its outstanding reputation by keeping loyal regulars and continuing to attract new customers by changing the menu every week. Sid Sahrawat believes good food must be devoured and appreciated by the eyes first.
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“We constantly are pushing ourselves to be better, failure is not an option. We change the menu each week so as a customer you
can come to Sidart one week then have a completely different dinning experience the next. “Our menu changes each week to push creativity and also ensure we use the best, most seasonal produce. We have two dishes that have remained popular as they push the customer’s palates. The Roquefort cheesecake and the duck with liquorice, lemon and goat’s curd are firm favourites,” Sid explains. The duo enjoy providing customers with creative food that pushes them to try new flavours, accompanied by great service. “Reading the menu is optional but we only offer degustation menus so the customers have to trust us,” Chand says. Since opening, Sidart has won Metro magazine’s Best New Restaurant for 2010 and Best Dish for 2011. It was also runner up in Metro’s Fine Dining Restaurant category 2013 and was nominated for best short drinks list, best chef and top 10 restaurants in Auckland. Cuisine magazine nominated it in its 50 best New Zealand Restaurants for 2011 and it is number one for best restaurant in Auckland as voted by Trip Advisor members. Sid Sahrawat was also a guest judge for the second season of New Zealand Masterchef.