Sepia is the creative collaboration between two of Sydney's highly regarded food identities - the renowned seafood wholesaler George Costi of De Costi Seafoods and award winning Sydney Chef Martin Benn.

Martin Benn began his cooking career as a Chef at the Oak Room in London learning French gastronomy under Michel Lorrain. From there Benn moved to work at the Landmark and later the Criterion, where he came under the tutelage of Marco Pierre White. Relocating to Australia in 1996, Martin spent two years at Sydney's Forty One Restaurant. In 1999 he then gained a place at Tetsuya's, learning the fundamentals of Japanese cuisine from Chef Tetsuya Wakuda and mastering them to become Head Chef at the age of twenty five.

When eating at Sepia you can definitely taste the merger of classic french cuisine and the flavors of Japan. It is a great merger. Having eaten at Sepia twice now, the kitchen delivers consistently great food and the sommelier does an excellent job matching the wine with the food.

The course to choose is the degustation menu, where you really can get a sense of what Chef Benn is trying to achieve with his culinary vision. I added the fresh oysters to the menu because oysters in Sydney can never go wrong. The appetizer round was magnificent with the Sashimi being the highlight. The Sashimi Tuna is so flavorful and melt-in-your-mouth tender, you just want to have more of it.

After the appetizers, the menu moves in to seafood. This is where Chef Benn's kitchen really shines. The flavors are deep and lingering. The squid tastes like perfect al dente pasta - I have never been a big fan of squid, but this version of it... I can eat it every day. It is that good.

The kitchen also added an additional course to the menu. This has happened during both my visits. I don't know if it is planned but it certainly makes you feel special as a diner. A very nice touch. During my last visit, the surprise course was an excellent Marron (local crayfish) cooked perfectly.

The two main meat courses was Wagyue Beef and Venison. The beef was one of the highlights of the menu, with the beef blending perfectly with the red onion juice and the wasabi fried potato. An excellent dish which really showcases the fusion of French and Japanese flavors. The Venison didn't work for me personally. The chocolate crumb is too overpowering and doesn't give the venison justice.

The menu also ends on a high note. The Pre Dessert works as a great palette cleanser and then one of Chef Benn's signature dishes finishes the meal. The Winter Chocolate Forest is rich. I repeat, it is RICH...But the flavors are great and if you don't leave Sepia satisfied, you must have a stomach the size of an elephant. Chef Benn has found a great food philosophy, Sepia is a wonderful restaurant, the staff is friendly (they actually volunteered to sell me the chef's backup Thermomix, when I told them how difficult it is to find one in the US), and overall you will leave Sepia a very happy diner.