When you’re looking for a romantic dinner venue, the last place you think of going is to a hotel restaurant. They often lack that something that ‘proper’ restaurants have. Well, here are 3 hotel restaurants in Sydney that break the rule and are the perfect romantic venues for a date night or an anniversary dinner.

I used to think that hotel restaurants were for guests of the hotel only. I thought the only reason you would eat in one was because you either had a voucher with your stay or you couldn’t be bothered to leave the hotel.

As for Christina, she loves room service – I mean loves, but above that, I don’t think she saw much value in hotel restaurants either.

We stand corrected.

The following 3 hotel restaurants are so good they don’t feel like they’re part of hotels at all.

But not only do these places feel like restaurants in their own right, they deliver such an experience that few venues in Sydney – or perhaps even globally – can rival.

3 super romantic Sydney hotel restaurants

Est. – of the Establishment Hotel

Sleek, stylish and the most incredible service you’ll ever find. Est.’s food is off the charts good – Executive Chef Peter Doyle is clearly in his creative element here.

Choose between 2, 3 or 4 courses and then pick which dishes you want from the menu. You can even have 4 desserts if you want.

We came here for our anniversary recently and we had 3 savoury dishes. It worked out well because they brought out beautiful little cakes and sweets for our special night.

You can find the details of our meal here.

Check out our review of the Establishment Hotel here.

Mode Kitchen and Bar – of the Four Seasons Sydney

More laid back that Est. but no less built for romance, Mode’s food is just wonderful. Head Chef Francesco Mannelli has infused this modern restaurant with a classic Italian flavour.

The restaurant, which also magically transforms into the Four Seasons’ breakfast area in the mornings, was designed by friends of ours, Luchetti Krell. Their concept has created a space that resembles the inside of an antique jewellery box.

The little compartments around the restaurant create lots of private spaces that give you that extra level of romance.

The last time we were in Mode, we were lucky enough to try the new autumn menu. You can see the details for that meal here.

Once you’ve finished your meal, you can also head over to Grain Bar, another little gem that’s part of the Four Seasons Sydney, but which feels like a cool whisky bar all of its own.

Check out our hotel review of the Four Seasons Sydney here.

Solander Dining and Bar – of West Hotel Sydney

Somewhere between Est. and Mode in its formality, Solander is the new kid of this trio. Part of the West Hotel, which is the first new-build hotel in Sydney in a long time, Solander has the sleek, modern feel you’d expect from a new, high-end inner-city restaurant.

The food here is a wonderful blend of modern Australian cuisine with influences from around the globe. However, the food always seems to come back home to Australia with uses of native plants and proteins in every dish.

Beautifully lit and elegantly furnished, Solander really pours on the romance.

For more details of the food on our visit to Solander, click here.

So there you have it. Restaurants that are part of good hotels can make absolutely perfect spots for a romantic dinner. With the three we’ve looked at, there’s definitely a bleed through of excellence between the hotel and the restaurant.

And parallels between the quality of a hotel and what you’d expect its restaurant to be like are easy to draw.

The service, ambience, style and the incredible quality of food in these places all come together to create a wonderful, romantic dining experience.

Where is your first port of call when you’re looking for somewhere for a romantic dinner? Do you have a favourite Sydney venue? What do you think of hotel restaurants? Tell us in the comments!