Housed within the ground floor of Sydney’s Intercontinental Hotel—yep, that 170-year-old heritage-listed, harbourside beauty— is the latest eatery to join Circular Quay’s stellar culinary lineup. Decked out with luxe interiors and plenty of French culinary flair, Pont Brasserie nails the classic long lunch, serving up incredible dining experiences for chasers of business and pleasure.
Located directly opposite the Royal Botanic Gardens in one of the prettiest corners of the city, it’s the ideal spot to play tourist or impress your out-of-towners. Just a few steps inside reveal a lengthy dining room lined with plush leather booths, dark timber floors, grand arch windows and floral overhanging installations that double as lighting. A hefty marble bar is enclosed with sturdy bar seats—making that cheeky aperitif an irresistible way to kick off your decadent three-or-four-course meal.
Headed up by chef John Lyons and his Michelin-studded CV, the menu takes on classic French brasserie dishes and treats them to a cheeky facelift, offering up starters like the Balmain bug with roast garlic veloute and bisque or chicken liver parfait with lychee and walnut.
Mains hero locally-sourced fish, meat and fresh produce—with Lyons plating up barramundi with finger lime, lamb loin with zucchini and thyme, and ora king salmon with local asparagus. Ordering for two? Dig into a whole flame-grilled fish, duck or roast chicken with an array of flavour-packed sides. Or to keep things strictly traditional, take your pick from a quality selection of steak cuts—cooked to perfection and served up with peppercorn sauce, artisan mustards and crispy golden fries. Don’t sleep on the O’Connor Superior Grain Fed Angus 1kg T-Bone.
Dessert offers up plenty of temptation, taking on a couple of home-baked favourites. Standouts include the banana bread with N25 caviar, and a choc-chip cookie with milk ice cream and raspberries in Fernet Branca. For cheese lovers, there’s a daily rotation of Aussie fromage paired up with lavosh, honeycomb and plum chutney.
A leisurely lunch or dinner would be nothing without its vino, and luckily Pont Brasserie delivers. Restaurant Manager Erez Gorden has pulled out all the stops, with wines poured by the glass covering off all the best regions, while bottles are split by style and flavour profile—handy if you know what you like but are still getting to grips with the finer points of each drop. He’s also put together a timeless cocktail list that hits all the classics, like a French Martini, Moscow Mule or Manhattan—shaken or mixed with locally-distilled spirits from Pokolbin’s Bimbadgen.
Top flavours and cosy dining nooks aside, there’s an extra detail that’ll shoot Pont Brasserie straight to the top of your must-visit list. With a host of private and shared dining spaces to choose from, they can cater to groups of all shapes and sizes—up to 130 of your nearest and dearest to be exact. A big win for when you’ve been tasked with wining and dining clients or hosting the next big fam reunion.
Just jump online to book for a crew of up to 12, and beyond that you’ll be in the helpful hands of their trusty booking team—they’ll pull together a boujie degustation or leisurely food and wine pairing, tailored to whatever wild requests your guests might throw at you.
Whether you’re on the hunt for a private dining room to wow guests with a sleek CBD feast, or a quick lunch spot for a good feed with colleagues, Pont Brasserie is your new go-to. to scope the full menu or lock in a table.
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Image credit: Supplied, Pont Brasserie