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Editorial Review

Reviewed in the June July 2010 issue of Ciao! magazine

Blink and you might miss them. Two tiny salt and pepper shakers sit inconspicuously at the edge of the crisp, cream linens that decorate the dining tables at Sydney’s, the city’s premiere table d’hôte experience. When we politely refused ground pepper, our polished server smiled and said he wanted all diners to trust the chef—a nod of confidence in chef/owner Michael Schafer.

The beauty in Sydney’s five-course fixed price menu, offered for $51, is Chef Michael’s artistry and playfulness. His exquisite presentation and deliberate layering of flavours and textures have captivated diners since the restaurant’s inception in 2004. The world’s finest ingredients—from New Zealand lamb to East Coast Bay scallops—are sourced to create innovative monthly menus.

With stunning riverside views at The Forks, flickering oil lamps and a sophisticated neutral-hued dining room (allowing the colourful food to stand out), the table is perfectly set for a breathtaking meal.

The typical white round dinner plate is swapped out for enormous tableware in a variety of shapes. All plates are amply oversized to frame the restaurant’s edible artworks, like salmon roulade. This starter is a tasteful masterpiece of complementary colours and textures. Soft pieces of pink salmon are drizzled with punched up mustard crème fraîche and caper vinaigrette. Crunchy pieces of pickled carrot contrast against the delicacy of the salmon, while a light garnish of bright green sprouts completes the pretty picture.

Throughout the menu, influences from around the globe are fused together. In the French vein, Chef Michael re-interprets clafouti using goat cheese. This traditional flan-like fruit dessert is served here as a savoury appetizer replete with thick swirls of balsamic reduction, caramelized onions, juicy grape tomato relish and tangy goat cheese.

The kitchen’s artistic flair is showcased in a paint stroke of candied sugar that accompanies all desserts. A yellow candied spear juts out of layered lemon pana cotta and sponge cake that looks camera-ready. It’s served with lip-puckering lemon gelato.

There are plenty of imaginative options on the menu that have an air of refinement. For example, one night’s poached beet salad is served with an Italian twist. Crushed walnuts and creamy goat cheese accompany a mound of spaghetti-like beet curls, that requires some fork twirling to eat. They are dressed in light, pleasing vinaigrette.

Palate-cleansing sorbet is made in-house and gushes with freshness. Sprinkled with granulated honey, bold flavour combinations like citrus-mango-thyme and orange-cranberry hit taste buds in rousing waves.

Entrées are hearty and served with thoughtfully prepared sides. Butter lacquered chicken supreme draws its influence from South America with bittersweet mole sauce and picante prawns. Expertly grilled asparagus is crispy, yet tender. Berkshire pork shank is fit for a king: the hulking piece of meat tenderly falls off the bone, offering just a slight taste of ale. Pour on some brawny au jus to up the bright pink meat’s moistness. Earthy fiddleheads, shredded potato and beets add a rustic touch to this medieval meal.

An upscale deconstruction of the familiar peanut butter sandwich is a great bet for dessert. Tiny cubes of grape jelly and sliced banana drizzled in honey are served alongside a rich peanut butter chocolate brownie. Luxurious cookie dough ice cream wraps up the meal in a velvety blanket of sweetness.

Sydney’s is open Tue-Fri 11:30 am-2 pm and Mon-Sat 5 pm-midnight.

Reviewed in Jan/Feb '05 Issue of WHERE

People in the restaurant industry are abuzz about Sydney’s. They ask, “Have you been yet? What did you think?” and “Who is Sydney anyway?” Putting the last question first; Sydney is the grandfather of co-owner Kate Schafer. Along with Chef Michael Schafer, Kate has returned to Winnipeg to open the city’s restaurant du jour, Sydney’s.

Chef Michael is a culinary auteur and this is their dream restaurant; one that he and his wife have been planning for years, while paying their dues in Southern Ontario. It is nothing less than an audacious attempt to create the best restaurant in the city, while also redefining the way that Winnipegger’s dine. Nor is it the pinnacle of the youthful chef’s planned path of ascent. He envisions more restaurants, a cookbook, a TV show, and the celebrity chef status that will surely follow. This kind of chutzpah is rarely exhibited in Winnipeg, but it reflects the confidence and talent behind the food at Sydney’s. And it generates many “what did you think” discussions.

The concept is a five-course fixed price menu that includes a soup or salad, an appetizer, a palate cleansing sorbet, an entrée, and a dessert. Sydney’s offers four to six choices for most courses, so diners are actively involved in meal planning. And the menu is changed frequently to keep the kitchen creatively focused.

Gastronomic menus are still uncommon at local restaurants. De rigeur at invitation-only Chaine de Rotisseur dinners and $150-a-plate fundraisers, they feature top quality ingredients skilfully prepared and presented in a multi-course dining extravaganza. The crowd at Sydney’s speaks to the readiness of local diners to embrace this concept.

This restaurant, located in the former Remington’s Steakhouse space, has been radically transformed, with seating oriented along the high front windows, and blonde maple wood accenting the historic brick of The Forks Market. Dark wooden decorative touches from around the world hint at the exotic, setting the stage for Chef Michael’s nouvelle global cuisine.

The menu at Sydney’s is still evolving. Despite three changes to date, the theme of international culinary accents on entrées of beef, lamb, fish and Cuban rock lobster is consistent. Ingredients are sourced globally and are generally top-notch; fresh scallops, flash-fried with balsamic reduction, will set taste buds popping. Air light in texture, they make other scallops in the city pale in comparison.

Portions are degustation-style, small, but exquisitely arranged on weighty Rosenthal china. An appetizer trio of minutely round toast points layered with ahi tuna, pickled onions, and chilled mussels out of the shell looks like edible art.

Flavours are consistently delicate, sometimes too subtly so. Hawaiian tiger shrimp features a bracing polynesian glace reduction; the best thing on one month’s menu. But couscous salad layered with kalamata olives, tomato and cucumber is surprisingly bland. And a rice side described as Turkish has only a few raisins and a faint hint of cloves. Ricotta gnocchi with crimini white wine and truffle oil reduction starts slowly then gathers momentum.

This describes the menu in general. It has a flavour profile that builds slowly. Soups and salads are mild. Appetizers are artistic, labour-intensive creations, more nuanced in taste. Sorbets are smooth; peach and rosewater or basil with a hint of lemon. Entrée portions are concise, with the sauces still more robust, although not as bold as the cuisines that they emulate (whether Thai, Indian or Spanish). Desserts bring the tastes to a crescendo, with perfect offerings of sweet apparitions. This is followed, if so desired, with a cheese course, which is a welcome addition to the local dining vernacular.

Service is knowledgeable, relaxed and friendly; one evening bread and water does not arrive for 45 minutes, but nobody at the table much minds.

Overall Sydney’s is an exciting debut that bodes well for the entire restaurant industry. It is not the best restaurant in the city, but it could be. Like some of the dishes on the menu, it just needs a bit more seasoning.

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