Epicurean

Buffets are the epitome of happiness for me and just when I thought I had tried every single buffet in Sydney, the Crown opened a brand new dining experience with the Epicurean open kitchen buffet. This is possibly one of the most luxurious and sophisticated buffet restaurants I have ever stepped foot into, how was the food selection? Keep reading!

Epicurean at the Crown, Sydney

The opening of Crown Sydney at Barangaroo signaled a new destination for wealthy Sydneysiders seeking to stay, play and indulge in a modern tower that brings together the opulence of a luxury hotel with prestigious restaurants and rooftop bars. At my level of income, a night’s stay at the Crown is out of the question but indulging at one of its highly anticipated restaurants? My bank account is ok with that… (I think).
*Edit: thank you to my friends who paid for the Epicurean as my birthday present, the price list is included at the end of this blog.

Epicurean is the new buffet restaurant boasting an open kitchen and offering a variety of cuisines as well as panoramic views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and surrounding waters. Is it worth the hype? Let's get into the good, the meh, and the bad of this buffet restaurant.

The good

Seafood

If you are a seafood lover then Epicurean will be love at first sight, the seafood selection is delightful and you can try anything from fresh oysters to swimmer crab, scallops, prawns, lobster tails... you name it and it's available. The selection is extremely fresh and well presented with customers lining up to pile their plates with an array of seafood from oysters to scallop ceviche.

My recommendation is to get a plate of oysters and then go back for seconds and thirds - there are so many seafood options available hence it's impossible to try everything in one go. I highly recommend the juicy, fresh and mouth-wateringly yummy oysters as well as the swimmer crab and lobster tail. But if you love prawns, why not go for an entire plate (or two) of prawns - nobody is judging. However, please note that the seafood bar is filled with raw seafood so if you want cooked mussels or prawns - you will need to move onto the Asian or Italian section.

Let me share with you an example of one (of many) perfectly balanced seafood plates - featuring half a dozen oysters served with a wedge of lemon, smoked salmon, scallop ceviche, kingfish and crab. It's so easy to get lost in the excitement of oysters, lobster and crab that you overlook the other delectable options such as the flavoursome scallop ceviche or the perfect slices of salmon and kingfish just waiting to be consumed. The seafood bar is definitely a must-visit at Epicurean - I promise you will be spoilt for choice!

Sashimi

I'm a huge sashimi lover and the Japanese station offered the tastiest, freshest and thicc-est cuts of salmon, tuna and kingfish sashimi from all the buffets I've been to in my life. I'm not sure if the photo does the sashimi any justice but the glisten and colour truly reflects the freshness, umami and premium quality of the sashimi selection on offer for guests.

The Japanese station also offers sushi and nigiri but everyone went back for seconds of the sashimi - there are sashimi chefs who are slicing salmon, tuna and kingfish around the clock to ensure that you are tasting the best and freshest cuts of fish. This was delightful, moreish and heavenly - please don't skip the Japanese station if you visit the Epicurean!

Desserts

The first thing I noticed as I entered the beautiful and spacious dining room of the Epicurean was the vibrant assortment of desserts to my right - the dessert stand features a rainbow of delectable, scrumptious sweets from macarons to tarts, cakes, jellies and everything in between (yes… there is a chocolate fountain for the little and big kids amongst us).

I’m not sure about you but I have a massive sweet tooth so it’s hard for me to say no to any and all forms of desserts when visitng a buffet. Note if you are celebrating a birthday the staff willl arrange a birthday dessert platter for you which is a really nice gesture. [reference photo a bit later in the blog]

From the desserts I tried - I really enjoyed both the strawberry pistachio baton cake and the dark chocolate raspberry mud cake, however, these options may be a little heavy for those on a full stomach. If you are on the verge of unbuttoning your pants but don't want to miss out on the sweeter side of life - I recommend trying the lighter desserts such as the sweet jellies or strawberry and marshmallows dipped in the chocolate fountain.

Thank you Epicurean for being so considerate and arranging a birthday dessert platter for me - this featured three different types of chocolates/toffees, coffee and baileys choux pastry and a lemon/passionfruit tart. In future I will definitely try all of the desserts first before I'm too full with food - the handcrafted and diverse selection of sweets is ever-changing and I can't wait to see what decadent desserts are available on my next visit!

The average

Charcuterie platter

The most soul-crushing moment of my life (aside from Covid-19 ruining 2 years of the prime years of my 20s for me) is the discovery that I am lactose intolerant. Now being Asian this really shouldn’t have come as a surprise - my ancestor’s genes aren’t really doing me any favours but this meant a significant reduction in dairy, cheese, ice cream, and dessert intake. Subsequently, I have become considerably pickier when it comes to dairy products, including charcuterie platters because it has to be worth the lacteeze tablets.

The Epicurean offers a station with a selection of cheeses, cured meats, pate, jelly/jam and crackers so you can create your own charcuterie plate. My friend and I shared this plate and to her credit - she picked a fantastic array of cheeses (including my fave - blue cheese), cured meats, pate and crackers. But I couldn't help but think that all of this is readily available at Woolies or Coles and we could've created our own charcuterie board at home with not much difference in taste. It's tricky to source premium ingredients in a buffet-style setting - if you are keen to give this a go, I'd definitely recommend curating a plate for the table as this is good, but not amazing.

Italian/meat stations

The meat and Italian station is right next to the cheese/charcuterie selection and it is quite an impressive sight - waiters are ready to slice and serve all cuts of meat from beef and pork ribs to steak and there's also pizza, pasta and marinated seafood waiting to be consumed at the adjacent Italian station.

My plate isn't piled at maximum capacity with food because I wanted to try a little bit of everything. The presumption that the meat would be the highlight was quickly shattered due to the dry, overly chewy texture of the meat - the gravy helped add some moisture and tangy flavour but it really couldn't save the texture of the meat itself. I enjoyed the cooked mussels, beef stroganoff, ravioli and steamed fish but nothing stood out to my tastebuds.

The bad

Beef pho

As a kid growing up in Bankstown, I had access to the best and most authentic pho restaurants in the area. I have tried everything from Pho An to Gia Hoi and Thang Long so my expectations for pho are perhaps unrealistically high - Epicurean, sorry but this is not it.

From a commercial perspective, I understand the novelty of having someone cook your pho in front of you as this reflects the effort to maintain freshness (nobody wants to have rice noodles that have been soaking in the broth for hours) but where are my bean sprouts, cilantro and sprigs of mint?

Don't get me started on the beef, there is a reason why I always ask for raw beef in my pho so it can be cooked to a tender, melt-in-your-mouth consistency by the broth. Epicurean's pre-cooked beef was so tough to chew that I just left it in the broth and stopped trying - the saving grace is the authenticity of the broth and smooth, slippery noodles but it's not enough for me to want to get this again on my next visit.

Asian station

Never has the saying "don't judge a book by its cover" been more applicable than to this plate of disappointment from the Asian station. Admittedly I was quite full by this stage and my stomach just wanted me to stop eating but I'm curious as to how Epicurean got this so horribly wrong.

The hargow and siu mai tasted like they have both been reheated from the frozen food packet - these definitely did not taste hand-made and were kept lukewarm in the bamboo steamer, which enhanced the acrylic aftertaste of the dim sums.

Moving onto the char siu and roasted pork - these tasted extremely leathery and dehydrated without any of that succulent, juicy tenderness from the Chinese BBQ meats you can buy at any good Cantonese restaurant or BBQ meat store. They were so hard to chew and swallow I had to spit out the pieces of meat - save your stomach space for the seafood, desserts and sashimi. The Asian station had other stir-fries and options but I wouldn't put it high on my list to try.

Price Guide

Final rating: 7.5/10

In recent years, buffet restaurants have become a bit of a hit or miss (much like the lottery) - usually, they are either good value for money with low-quality food or expensive but serve high-quality seafood with mediocre offerings at other stations. The Epicurean falls within the latter category - don't get me wrong, the highs of seafood (especially oysters), sashimi and dessert were wonderful; I also couldn't fault the service at all; however, for the price range, I would only return for a special occasion as the other food options are average at best.

Let me know what you think if you visit the Epicurean buffet at the Crown, until next time - happy eating to your heart (and stomach's) content!