Ananas has returned to The Rocks, ready to reclaim its place among Sydney’s finest French restaurants with its elegant interiors, refined, authentic cuisine and an impressive wine list showcasing the best of France.
You may recognise the name Ananas, and perhaps even remember dining there during the modern French brasserie’s acclaimed 2012 to 2016 run. Meaning “pineapple” in French, the once-hatted restaurant has made a glamorous return to The Rocks, reopening just next door to its original Argyle Street address on level one above Lebanese restaurant Sahtein.
The team behind Ananas is keen to stress that this is not a reinvention.
The restaurant retains its original name, remains in the same historic building and continues to embrace the same brasserie spirit that made it a favourite the first time around. However, as Hunter St Hospitality CEO Frank Tucker explains, the former venue was “simply too large to operate comfortably.”
Now relocated upstairs into a more intimate (yet still suitably spacious) setting, the refreshed layout aims to create a polished dining experience that “works sustainably in this space”.
We headed to the iconic sandstone building, ready to experience Ananas’ long-awaited return and see whether the brasserie has what it takes to earn back its coveted hat.
Kir Royale and oysters to start
To get to Ananas, you have to enter through The Collective’s iconic archway and make your way through the courtyard to Sahtein, where you’ll walk up the stairs and be greeted by a host.
We started our evening at the standalone bar with a Kir Royale cocktail (a concoction of their House Kir Liqueur and Louis Roderer Collection 246 Champagne), which was crisp, fruity and deliciously sophisticated.
The stylish space features bar-side stools alongside plush burnt-orange lounges, offering the perfect spot to either settle in for a leisurely pre-dinner drink or perch while you watch the bartenders do their thing.
If you’re seeking a prelude to dinner, order a dozen creamy Sydney rock oysters and load up on the Vermouth Mignonette with chives.
The tableside preparation and plating of Rilettes de Crab. (Images: Isabelle James).
Tableside preparation, Escargot and Tartare de Bœuf
After polishing off our oyster appetiser and Champagne cocktails, we were shown to our table. Ananas strikes a clever balance between chic sophistication and playful charm, with pineapple-inspired lamps dotted throughout the space, which gets a lot of its character from its beautiful sandstone bones and wooden beams.
Our advice when dining at Ananas? Order as many entrees as possible. The Rilettes de Crabe ($33) is prepared tableside, with the waiter combining meaty spanner crab with chives, a pinch of salt, green apple (adding that nice bit of acidity) and cucumber, before mixing in a spread of housemade condiments. Served on crunchy lettuce leaves, it’s a must-order not just for the taste, but also for the theatrics.
The Escargots à la Bordelaise ($28) features snails baked with a red wine and bone marrow butter, finished with parsley and an Espelette crumb. Our waiter tells us these snails are from Thailand, meaning they have a less chewy consistency than those from Europe.
I’d describe the consistency as similar to a mushroom: a melt-in-your-mouth dish that’s perfectly buttery and indulgent. Even your fussy friends who declare they’d never eat a snail would still enjoy these.
My final standout entrée was the Tartare de Bœuf ($29). Any French restaurant of this calibre needs a strong steak tartare, and Ananas absolutely delivers. Served with crisp pan de mie toasts, the hand-diced beef mixed with housemade condiments is prepared exactly as it was at the original restaurant, and rightly so, because if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it!
Left: Pommes frites, cabillaud en papillon et chou-fleur rôti, right: Merguez d’Agneau and Ratatouille. (Image: Isabelle James).
The best Plats Principaux and Garnitures
One of Ananas’ greatest strengths is the breadth of its menu – there’s truly something for everyone. We shared the silky Roast Sommerlad chicken with mustard and tarragon ($75 half/$140 whole) alongside butterflied Murray cod (Cabillaud en Papillon) served with sauce vin jaune and chives (market price), two beautifully executed dishes designed for lingering over with the table.
If you’re feeling adventurous, order the Merguez d’Agneau (spiced lamb sausage), which comes with a tomatoey ratatouille. Although my must-order main has to be the Bœuf Braisé Chasseur ($47): a braised oyster blade (which is a cut of beef taken from the shoulder blade of the cow) with hunter sauce and wild mushrooms. This is the main that encompasses what French food is known for the most: it’s indulgent, rich, and demands to be consumed with a glass of red.
For sides (or Garnitures), the Pommes Frites and Salade Verte are perfect for pairing with any dish. But whatever you do, make sure to order the Chou-fleur Rôti, a simple roasted cauliflower with confit tomato vinaigrette that took the crown of our favourite small plate thanks to its perfect texture (I hate when cauliflower is served too soft) and delicious smoky taste.
The desserts worth saving room for
You may have polished off a bit more than your stomach can handle at this point, but I have to stress: save some room for dessert!
If you dine at a restaurant called Ananas and skip the Baba d’Ananas ($27), you’re doing it wrong. This rum-soaked savarin (a light, ring-shaped sponge) is sliced tableside and served with cooked pineapple, crème fraîche Chantilly, and a final pour of house-infused pineapple rum. It earns extra points for presentation too, arriving via a purpose-built dessert and digestif trolley (aka more tableside theatrics!)
The huge Profiterole Géante ($19), a sure upgrade to a normal-sized profiterole, is made up of choux pastry, hazelnut praline mousseline and raspberry sorbet. The combination of refreshing raspberry paired with the rich hazelnut and soft pastry makes it the ultimate sweet treat to share.
There’s also the ambitious Mont Blanc façon Bombe Alaska ($26), a clever fusion of two classic desserts. Combining the nutty richness of a traditional Mont Blanc with the caramelised meringue of a Bombe Alaska, it layers chestnut sponge with prune and Armagnac beneath clouds of torched meringue, all finished with delicate strands of classic chestnut vermicelli. Innovative, complex and completely delicious.
Our final verdict
Even though I’d heard great things about the OG Ananas, I wasn’t sure if Ananas 2.0 would be able to live up to its previous venue’s acclaim. It’s safe to say that my expectations were surpassed, and that I would recommend an evening at Ananas to anyone looking to enjoy authentic but creative French dishes without booking the long-haul flight.
While the menu leans into premium ingredients and rich, decadent dishes, the pricing feels surprisingly restrained for this calibre of dining. Most mains sit under $50, while the majority of entrées come in below $30. There’s also a strong-value $99 four-course set menu, which includes bread and oysters to start, a choice of one of four entrées and one of four mains, followed by sorbet for dessert.
It’s certainly not a cheap night out, but for the quality of the food, service and overall experience, the price tag feels more than justified.
We’re officially crowning Ananas our favourite new French dining destination in Sydney, thanks to its chic interiors, warm atmosphere, polished hospitality with tableside flair and, most importantly, its exceptional dishes.
To book your table at Ananas, click here.
Sydney Travel Guide dined as a guest of the team at Ananas.
