Forget what you know about traditional buffets, The Langham, Sydney is giving the hotel staple a reboot with its new restaurant, Kitchens on Kent.
With a goal to combine fine dining with a buffet experience, the Sydney hotel recently spent five months transforming its 180-seat signature restaurant.
The result is a multi-station, interactive dining experience that will leave you with a whole new idea of what buffet dining can look like.
The Langham, Sydney general manager Gaylord Lamy said the hotel took inspiration from other world cities for the concept.
“We opened Kitchens on Kent so that we could smash the stereotype of what people imagine when they hear the word buffet,” he said.
“And that’s exactly what we’re doing. With our eight open kitchens and live cooking stations, we’ve been called a ‘self-directed, unfussy degustation’ which I think is a great way to sum us up.
“The brunch-loving concept is huge in capital cities such as Dubai, Singapore and Hong Kong but Sydney was missing out.
“Kitchens on Kent has filled that gap; offering a fine dining meets luxury buffet, celebratory restaurant and a place that everyone, young or old, will enjoy.”
Stepping into the ‘kitchens’, guests are met with myriad food options and cuisine choices. Starting with the seafood station, there’s mountains of fresh prawns, oysters and crab to dive into, while a chef prepares sashimi and sushi to order.
Once the first course is complete, it’s time to step into the main kitchen area, where the choices just get tougher (in the best way possible). The Indian cuisine station serves up naan bread to order from the Tandoor oven, while the wok and noodle station allows you to custom-make your own stir fry dish.
There’s also a fresh pasta kitchen, a carvery and a charcuterie table filled with a selection of local and international cheeses and meats. Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options are aplenty to ensure all preferences are catered to.
According to Eric Lo, food and beverage manager at The Langham, Sydney, it’s the themed dining nights guests are enjoying the most.
“On Monday and Friday, we highlight lobster, Tuesday it’s BBQ ribs, Wednesday wok-fried chilli crab, Thursday peking duck pancakes, Saturday we have our suckling pig and on Sunday we have the best Sunday roast in town,” he said.
“But it’s not only the variety and freshness of our food; it’s the experience that our customers receive when they come to Kitchens on Kent.
“We’re an interactive dining restaurant where guests can chat, learn and watch chefs cooking fresh dishes right before you.”
To finish off the entire dining experience, the dessert station is a showstopping feature at Kitchens on Kent, complete with macaron towers, chocolate fountains, hot and cold desserts, soufflés, puddings and all-you-can-eat ice cream.
For the chefs, Kitchens on Kent is a new style of cooking and a rewarding one.
“Giving our chefs the opportunity to be themselves and allowing their personality shine through has been brilliant to see,” said Lo.
“They take extreme pride in the dishes that they’ve prepared for service and love to explain the cuisine, the flavours and even the way that it’s cooked as they cook right in front of our customers.
“It’s a new way of working for some of our chefs, but they’ve fully embraced the experience and are constantly going above and beyond to keep our guests happy.”
Kitchens on Kent also feature two private dining rooms ideal for corporate events and meetings.
