Review: Icons Brasserie

This week we headed to the other side of the harbour to check out the Circular Quay Marriot's house restaurant for a buffet feast we could barely walk away from ...

When we went to lunch at Icons Brasserie we weren't suprised to see it fill up quickly around us. Not only is it home to a satisfyingly diverse buffet, it is also good value. Prices vary depending on the day. Mid-week buffet prices vary between $30-$35 depending on the day, but the dollars go a long way. Of course, an al a carte menu is also available, but there is no real reason to choose it over the buffet.




Speaking of which, the buffet is quite a sight. Pictured above is the salad and cold foods table. The centre of the buffet area is the long centre table which features hot food on one side and a stunning array of desserts on the other. Nestled up the back of the area is a stir fry bar with it's own chef ready to prepare a bowl of whatever combination of meat, prawn and vegetable you want. Filling in the rest of the buffet area are tables of soups, breads or extra sweets for dessert. And of course the people moving about getting plates of food.




Which is what Icons is all about. Sure the restaurant has many good qualities we'll get to later, but the food really stands at the top of the list of things that makes Icons a great place to go for lunch. A nice mix of mod Aus, Asian and European foods are present. Strolling past the rows of food you'll see a lengthy and eclectic mix of fresh seafood, salads, pastas, curries, bakes, cakes, fruits, soups, sweets and so on. The food was of a high caliber as well. As a testament to the high quality of each dish - we had no complaints about the food. The saffron and artichoke fish was a little too saffrony and the made-to-order stir fry a little dry but apart from that all the dishes were worth a second helping. As if we could ever fit a second helping of another dish. I'd say that over about six full plates I would have only tried about 70% of the dishes on offer. It was big. Well, not Las Vegas buffet kind of big but very respectable all the same.




Particularly standout dishes that come to mind were the fresh prawns and oysters, the lamb korma, freshly baked spinach and ricotta puff pastries, and the soup which we think contained the following: pumpkin, lentils and bacon. The desserts especially were a real highlight. Each looked cute and tasty. You can see the jelly came in impressive two tone and the meringues spiraled upward. Believe us when we say that the taste matched their appearance. Except the rather non-descript tub of chocolate mousse hiding next to the fruit which tasted amazing.




Icons is a relaxing place to spend your time. It has a nice aesthetic which blends old school dining with a modern casual feel. The tables could probably use to be a bit bigger especially since there are bowls to either discard your prawn shells or wash your hands. All in all though, it should impress most people. The large dining area also has about three distinct sections which means that Icons steers away from feeling like a big eating hall. Which is nice.




The only significant drawback we found about Icons was the service. Even when business was quieter things took a long time to happen. Before being seated by the maitre'd we were left waiting around feeling lost for a few minutes despite there not being a large influx of customers for him to seat. As a few other people pointed out in the Eatability reviews, used plates took up space on the table longer than they should have before being taken away. Unfortunately, it seemed like the staff weren't working as hard as they should have been. However, we must stress the staff were polite, even if a touch over-chatty.




Ontop of the service speed there were was one minor thing that annoyed us. While seating us the maitre'd tried quite persistently to sell the wine buffet to us, which we weren't interested in. Which was fine and understandable, but upon greeting us our waitress gave us the same spiel again. It's good value, yes, but we shouldn't have had to feel awkward listening to a second offer. Sometimes we just don't want all you can drink alcohol in the middle of the day.




With that out of the way though, we heartily recommend Icons for anyone who is buffet inclined. We found the food and the value impressive. Its a great way to spend an afternoon. Just be sure to get a booking if you plan on turning up after 12:30pm or so.


What we ate:

Too much. ($30 p/p)


Icons Brasserie:

30 Pitt St,
Sydney (Circular Quay), NSW, 2000
+ 61 2 9259 7330


Related Links:

Icons Brasserie on Best Restaurants (w/ photos)

Icons Brasserie on Eatability