22 May 2009
Pat Nourse
InterContinental Sydney, 62 Bridge Street, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
+61 2 9247 4777.
It’s pretty much all about the corn and crab soup. A light, golden, almost frothy cloud of sweetcorn cooked in a corn stock, enriched with blue swimmer crab meat and no small amount of cream. Should crab, corn or, indeed, cream not be your cuppa, though, you won’t find Etch wanting. The menu doesn’t exactly sprawl, but there’s substance and variety aplenty. The prawn cocktail and sardines on toast may sound tame, but they come to vibrant life in their execution; Etch is the more casual, dare we say funkier, sister restaurant to Clarence Street’s more grown-up Bécasse, and the weight of talent in the kitchen and on the floor is palpable. It’s definitely the most exciting eating seen at the InterContinental for many a year – and that’s even before you get to the mango trifle.
Source: Qantas The Australian Way June 2009