Peter Doyle @ The Quay

I had great seafood, very fresh. Good selection of Australian and New Zealand wines. The area and the views for this restaurant can’t be beat.

I really expected better from a restaurant with Peter Doyle’s name on it. And better for the prices that they charge.
Let me be clear, the view is fantastic. Parked between the opera house and the bridge, this is the quay at its best. Location cannot be beaten.
BUT, as a restaurant it leaves a lot to be desired.
After arrival, we were seated and ignored for a good fifteen minutes. Never a good start. I had to ask the head waiter before we had any attention. Service was cursory and rushed — your average pub would do a better job.
The food was mixed in quality. High points were the scallops for starters, low point was the barramundi. I ordered «top end barramundi» in «Peter Doyle’s special beer batter». I received two tiny pieces of fish (which were admittedly well cooked) atop a mountain of chips. And a cooked half lemon. No salad. No sauce. $ 45. I would have complained but of course the wait staff were nowhere to be found. Seriously, this is food you can get at the corner shop.
So if you do go, go for the view, set your expectations low on service and order carefully.

Well where do I start… Perfect for a long lunch, wining and dinning clients or loved ones.
Sun is shinning… Nice wine menu — Bottle of Shaw & Smith, Vinaigrette Oysters to start, Salt & Pepper Calamari to share and John Dory fillets for a main.
The view is breath taking and the service is great.

One can’t beat the location with it’s spectacular view of the Opera House and Harbor Bridge. It’s almost enough to overlook it’s resturant flaws. I found the service wanting on this slow night. They almost tried too hard on the politeness and under delivered on the basics. Not once asked during my meal how it was. The food was average. I’ve had a good barramundi before and this didn’t seem to be the best cut. They over indulged with the sauces and toppings almost to hid the flavor. I’d try the fillet alone next time, if there is one.

Great place. Very stylish and modern, with a nice view. They make really good sashimi and it’s always prepared with fresh ingredients. The staff are friendly and polite and always serve you with a smile on their face and additionally the atmosphere in the restaurant is great– very warm and comfortable. The only proble is that it can get a bit crowded, but I guess that’s the negative side of this place’s popularity. All in all a great restaurant, that serves tasty sea food at somewhat above average prices.

Definitely one of the finest dinners I have ever had… but, it will cost you! I indulged in the full degustation (I believe it was 7 courses) with the sommelier and his wine pairings for every course. Also, the view of the Sydney Harbour and the Opera House are unbeatable. I would highly recommend if you are willing to pay big bucks for a special dinner… my solo-​tab was US$ 330!

My family had a large event here with about 40 or 50 people, taking up a good portion of the first floor. My uncle had set it up so that we would each have the choice of an appetizer (or as Australian’s call it, an entrée), main course, and dessert.
My sister, her husband, my girlfriend, and I decided that we would each order something different, so that we would have the opportunity to try different things.
The meal started with giant pieces of delicious garlic bread.
For appetizers we had:
— Rock Oysters (2 orders) — very yummy, but came with an unnecessary sauce
— Tasting Plate — good variety of goodies, including prawns with papaya salad, Kingfish sushi, prawn cucumber salad, tuna tartare with pear salad, cured salmon and rock oyster vinaigrette
— Duck Confit — I love duck, what else can I say?
For the mains we had:
— Barramundi fillet served with gnocchi, spinach, tomato confit, and champagne caviar sauce
–Snapper fillet served with caramelised fennel, asparagus, red capsicum (bell pepper) with oyster, pernod beurre blanc & vanilla oil
— Tasmanian salmon fillet — crisp skinned with saffron risoni, chorizo crumb, green pea purée, tomato chutney, and olive tapenade
— Smoked grilled eye Fillet (steak) — with spinach, potatoes, mushroom ragout, horseradish purée, & red wine jus
They were all quite good, but the steak was a little too smoky for me.
For dessert we had:
— Chocolate mud cake — very rich, but not that special
— Sticky date pudding — too sweet
— Strawberry Romanoff Vacherin — Basically strawberries on a pavlova (Australian for meringue) not that good, but not that bad
— Ice Cream — vanilla, chocolate, and boysenberry — not very special
They had an extensive drink menu. I had a couple of pretty good beers from it.
The view is great with a view of both the Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. There appeared to be other floors that weren’t being used that night.
In the end, it was a good meal. They get bonus points for handling our big group well.

Perfect view, right opposite the opera house. We got the travelzoo voucher $ 89 for 2, 3 course so that was good value. Entrée was nice but main and desert was avg, however overall was still worth the money

An expensive tourist trap. Food is alright but nothing to write home about. Fabulous location and views .-)

If I was a tourist noob I’d be losing my mind looking out on a view that sweeps from the Coat Hanger on my left right round to the Opera Hizzy on the right. And just before dessert when the fireworks went off over Circular Quay I would have spontaneously self-​combusted with joyous waterside rapture.
The highlight was the lobster thermidor, a giant spiny sea-​beast hollowed out and filled with enormous chunks of succulent flesh drowned in a decadent mornay sauce. I licked the shell when the waiter wasn’t looking. The old lady in the pearls at the table next to me saw though, and looked at me as if I was an NRL player urinating in an alleyway. Maybe try living a little, lady. C’mon, break out of those constricting societal norms of yesteryear. Lick the shell, old lady. DO IT.
In summary, then: Peter Doy’s on the Quay (not to be confused with Quay upstairs. .. which we did) was a splendid dining experience, but it didn’t blow my coloured socks off like I sort of expected it might. The eye fillet was a bit dry /​not slathered in enough sauce, but then you don;t come to a seafood for the steak, do you?

It’s hard to imagine a better spot to have some lunch and a tipple than Doyles at Cirqular Quay.
Across from you is an uninterrupted view of The Opera House and what feels like right above you, is The Harbour Bridge. Depending on when you go, you might have some trouble finding a table outside but if you can it’s a must. On this pleasant weekday afternoon there are a few tables free so luck was on my side.
Looking through the menu, I realised I may have to break the budget until I saw it. The lunch time special!
$ 29 for an entrée, main and a drink. That’s a pretty good bargain at the best of times so when you calculate into the equation the view and where you are, it turns into a real bargain in my books.
Nice meal, refreshing drink, ripper spot and a fantastic view. And I didn’t even break the budget!

Like the dependance in Watsons Bay, this place if all about fish and seafood. Expect to part with at least AUD 40 for fish and chips. The view, of course, will be superb.