Australian chef Neil Perry rarely eats takeaway, but when he does he heads straight to Baker Bleu in Sydney’s Double Bay for a sandwich.
The decorated cook and owner of Margaret said the little bakery is his go-to for an ‘amazing’ lunch during a busy work day – and it’s not hard to see why.
Started by Mike & Mia Russell in Melbourne in 2016, Baker Bleu is known for its ‘ethical and delicious sourdough bread’ and prides itself on ‘bringing back the joys of real bread using the ancient techniques of long fermentation sourdough’.
‘They use the best bread, best butter and best fillings, which makes them amazing sandwiches,’ Perry told Broadsheet. ‘The coffee is awesome, too.’
Popular sandwich options include the chicken green goddess, the veggie with Buffalo Mozzarella, pickled onion, provolone, avocado and pine nuts and the wagyu pastrami creation with pickled onion, chilli and housemade Reuben sauce.
When it comes to a longer, lazier occasion, however, Perry said a Sunday lunch at Ester is his go-to.
The award-winning restaurant and bar in Sydney’s Chippendale is run by owner-chef Mat Lindsay and famed for its incredible modern Australian menu and simplistic, cosy interiors.
‘Like Peter at Quay, I’m having whatever Mat is telling me to have,’ Perry said. ‘I like it this way as the food is so good, it’s too hard to choose.’
The fine dining hideaway is a favourite of off-duty chefs like Perry and made it into the World’s 50 Best Restaurants because it ‘gets back to basics in the best possible way’.
‘The fit out is minimal, mood informal and selection of wood-fired small plates ruthlessly streamlined,’ the panel writes. ‘Bag yourself one of the hottest seats in Sydney.’
Signature dishes include the woodfired oysters with chicken fat butter, the blood sausage sanga and the fermented potato bread, which celebrity chef Josh Niland raved about recently.
Diners also love the wagyu flank with burnt onion, woodfired leeks and Yamba king prawns which are served with a fermented shrimp butter.
Ester offers an a la carte menu and set menus for lunch and dinner, aside from Saturday dinner, where they offer a choice of set menus only which start from $125pp.
It’s been a successful year for Perry, with his beloved Margaret serving up the world’s third best steak, according to the judges of the acclaimed World Best Steaks list.
Margaret, named after his late mother, commands a handsome street corner done in sleek glass windows in the ritzy Sydney enclave of Double Bay.
The warm and sumptuous interiors are an inviting precursor to flawless modern, produce-driven Australia fine dining, where the steak prices range from $59 to $250.
Margaret’s 1kg CopperTree 36 Month Grass-Fed and woodfired hereford ribeye, served with a simple wedge of lemon and grilled to your liking has won praise from hundreds.
Tender, rich and full of flavour from the fat, bone and fragrant smoke of the wood fire, this steak deserves to be among the world’s best.
Those preferring Australian wagyu to grass fed rib eye, can have theirs served with a choice of dreamy béarnaise, anchovy butter, piquant chimichurri or tarragon salsa.
The number one winner of best steak in the world went to Buenos Aries’ Parrilla Don Juilio in Argentina, and second place went to Spain’s Bodega El Capricho.
