When a restaurant has 360 degree views of Sydney, from the Blue Mountains to the sea, it doesn’t need to be good. If you build it, they will come, and for decades that has been the adage of any incarnation of Sydney Tower (formerly Centrepoint Tower) but these days, Infinity, the revolving fine dining restaurant at the peak of the tower is doing things differently. Of course, it doesn’t need outstanding and attentive service, nor does it need balanced and beautifully executed dishes with knowledgeable local wine pairings. And yet, this is precisely what Infinity delivers. Sydney isn’t exactly short of harbourside restaurants, some of our best have dazzling views, but when we choose to eat at a venue with a view, we acknowledge we’re paying for the vista and with a bit of luck, the rest of the experience will match up.
Whom among us hasn’t been duped into spending $30 on a mediocre burger and chips in the harbour city simply because we wanted a good view? It is this precise scepticism that gives Infinity its strength - the opportunity to truly surprise diners with friendly, polished and knowledgeable service; with entrees of Abrolhos Island scallops, charred to the danger point of burning then pulled back from the precipice to counter the intense sweetness of the scallops flesh. Flakey and firm pan fried Eden John Dory fillets sit pretty next to a surprise hero of what is essentially a zucchini slice, cooked in a fish stock so intense you would be forgiven for thinking there was something much earthier and more bovine going on there.
Paired with a crisp and floral Hunter Valley pinot gris, restaurant manager Hamish Sullivan theatrically explains the reasoning behind each wine pairing, to ensure the first bite is as delicious and complex as the last, with the vino humming along in the background.
While you could happily follow the two or three courses with satisfaction, there is no harm in straying over to a Riverina Angus beef tenderloin fillet for an additional $25, impossibly tender without sacrificing flavour and dressed simply with a demi-glace so rich it nearly sets on the plate. Some like it hot, however, and for that an accompaniment of whipped horseradish or a rip-snorter of housemade mustard is the ticket.
An onyx glossed cylinder of Valrhona chocolate mousse hides layers of passionfruit cream and a base of caramel crumb, finished of course with a touch of gold leaf, arrives just in time to push you over the edge from elegant sufficiency to truly over the top. But when you lunch at a high altitude finer diner, it makes sense to throw in a little more opulence and see what sticks.
If you can manage to take your eyes off your plate for a moment, you’ll notice you’ve steadily been rotating, a different view of Sydney shining through the floor to ceiling glass windows at each glance; tall ships moored at the Rocks, then hazy indigo mountains in the distance, all with a surprising side effect of nostalgia. If you’ve been living in this city for long enough, it’s easy to take for granted the pockets that your memories live in, but when they’re slowly revealed from the one vantage point, tales spring up around the table of kindly chess players comforting one diner as a broken hearted teenager. Of inimitable wild nights strolling up William Street towards the coke sign in Kings Cross. Of first kisses outside St Andrews, and of dancing in Hyde Park fountains. Infinity has well and truly shaken off the school excursion years and stepped into a fully realized experience worthy of its geography, with a surprising detour down memory lane.