One Tea Lounge & Grill
73 York St
Sydney NSW
One Tea Lounge is an unsuspecting delight. Tucked into York St, its location isn’t one you’d stumble across on your typical adventure to find somewhere to eat. It certainly has a loungey vibe, with old tunes blaring over the speakers, a mellow mood and colours reminiscent of a scene from Mad Men. We instantly fell in love. Baroness and Duchess were filled the the brim with food at One Tea Lounge. It was a show and an experience, as well as a tingly taste bud tango.
It’s all about creativity at One Tea Lounge - David, the owner, is constantly innovating the way the food tastes, and makes you gasp when it arrives at your table. This night was a tonne of fun. Kicking off with the ONE tea experience, served in a mini Ferris wheel, and poured with a billowing bed of dry ice below it, this drink set the tone for the night. We knew we were in for a fine dining experience, with a twist.
While One Tea Lounge may have been the innovators of the Ramen burger, they don’t just do casual food. We really saw the difference in their dinner menu. It had the perfect blend of fine ingredients, yet without the pompous undertones.
The salmon tartare entree was beautiful. Fresh ingredients of avocado, cucumber, tobiko and salmon were an amazing combination. To add to the wow factor, it was presented in a bowl of dry ice. Truly grand. We also loved the Gyokuro Smoked Octopus Avocado salad, which had a interestingly definite weed smell to it, all above board though, with a fresh and smoky taste.
A complete contrast, we also had the Sambal Lollipop corn, which was beautifully cooked, juicy and HOT! Another winner was the Peking Duk Fries, covered in Peking sauce, pieces of duck and were moist and super flavoursome.
The green tea miso cod for main was absolutely stunning. It was a work of art on a plate, with carefully thought out ingredients, complementing each other perfectly. The green tea was subtle in this dish, which meant the black cod could stand out on its own. It truly did melt in Duchess’ mouth, and the cauliflower puree, salmon skins, lemon reduction, and seared scallops all wonderful additions to this dish.
How could we go past the Flaming Wagyu Volcano?! Flames went sky high when this spectacular dish was set alight, with 9 plus wagyu beef, sizzling on a hot plate with wasabi teriyaki sauce. We also tried the other wagyu beef dish, with it’s own lava stone grill - cooked in front of us, our mouths truly were watering as we watched the beef brown.
Dessert is an absolute stand out at One Tea Lounge. Duchess’ favourite was by far the ice cream baogers. With a crispy, almost cinnamon donut like bun, and the perfect amount of ice cream (we had black sesame, lychee and matcha) with miso caramel sauce, these baogers are so naughty, yet so nice.
We also absolutely loved the Matcha Rain Drop, which was a work of art on a plate. The delicate flavour and texture was complemented with matcha molecular beads, berries and a delicious crumble. Matcha is truly the highlight at One Tea Lounge - we also enjoyed the Matcha Lava Bomb and the Matcha Magic - both wonderfully crafted and delicious desserts.
Huge thank you to David who was a wonderful host during our night - he went over and above to provide entertainment as well as delicious food. We loved One Tea Lounge & Grill and the variety of fantastic food served here. Highly recommended for a date night or a fun night out with friends.