Bentley Restaurant & Bar (Sydney, Australia)

This is the fourth post in my Eating Down Under series. Other posts in this series include Din Tai Fung, Sydney, Three Fun Food Finds Unique to Australia, and Chef's Gallery.

For the first time in my life, I celebrated Thanksgiving in a foreign country. At least it was with family. Bryan and I were on a three-week trip to Australia and New Zealand with his mom, dad, and sister. After spending a few days in Sydney, we had flown to Cairns to visit the Great Barrier Reef (where I dove for the first time) before spending a few days in Uluru (the Outback) riding camels, hiking, and watching that huge mountain of a rock glow red during its famous sunset.

Before leaving Australia, we returned to Sydney for just one evening before catching an early morning flight to New Zealand.

That lone "stopover" night happened to be Thanksgiving.

Because it was a holiday for us, we wanted to eat somewhere nicer. We'd eaten our fair share of Chinese food and casual bites. After all the rigorous hiking and diving from the previous two locations, we were ready for nice meal.

We decided on Bentley Restaurant & Bar, a place decorated with awards - everything from "Best New Restaurant" by the Sydney Morning Herald's Good Food Guide Awards to being consistently named on Gourmet Traveller's Top 100 Australian Restaurants.

The restaurant did not disappoint and we had a fantastic Thanksgiving dinner. They made us feel like we were home, even though we were tens of thousands of miles away from home. It was an outstanding meal full of delicious, creative dishes as well as great wines. Chef Brent Savage and Sommelier Nick Hildebrandt have created a great place that offers so much to those in Sydney.

In 2013 Bentley moved from its original location at Surrey Hills to the Radisson Blu in CBD (Central Business District) in Sydney. Though the new space is bigger and grander, those who have dined there say that the restaurant has maintained its heart and its "Surrey Hills sensibilities".

Below is a photo essay from our special Thanksgiving meal. Because this meal was eaten over a year ago, it's possible these exact dishes aren't available. However, they do give you a sense of the beauty and quality of Chef Brent Savage's work.

Enjoy!