Irene's choice. Present: ken, Irene, Gerry, Alex, Rod, Louanne
Overall Rating:3.3*
Total Cost per person: $80.00
Ratings scale: Excellent; Very Good; Good; Not so Good; Poor; Abysmal
Greeting and Seating:Very Good
Table Presentation:Very Good
Settling in - drinks breads etc.:Good
Menu selection, variety price etc.:Excellent
Specials presentation:Good
Wine selection, variety and price:Not so Good
Drinks Service:Not so Good
Food Service:Good
Ambiance:Very Good
Music:Not so Good
Food choices:
Breads: Two serves of the Mixed Bruschetta Platter - A mixture of all three on one plate - Caramelised Pear & Double Brie, Blue Swimmer Crab & Traditional tomato and basil. The caramelised pear and brie was my favourite.
Entree: One chose the Garlic Buttered Mushrooms
- Fresh field mushrooms sautéed with garlic butter & house made onion
jam & drizzled with basil pesto served on freshly baked Turkish loaf. he rated this a Very Good. Two opted for the night's special - the Oysters Natural - fresh plump and creamy Tasmanian oysters - rating by both - Excellent. Three opted for the Vietnamese-Indochine Oysters described as "the finest natural oysters bathed in an Asian styled Nam Jim marinade (Soy, ginger, coriander, garlic & chili). Two rated this Very Good however, one declared an oyster as "off" and decided not to eat the others. The reaction of the waitress, who argued that it could not be off, spoiled the tone of the evening for us, and it took the senior waitress to apologise and offer a replacement of natural oysters, which cheered things up a little.
Main course: One chose the night's special fish dish - rated Very Good, one the night's special chicken breast with Pomegranate jus - rated as Good, two choose Smoked Salmon & Lemon Crab - smoked salmon chards and crab meat tossed through cold pressed virgin olive oil, angel hair pasta, wild lemon & aromatic herbs - which they rated as filling and overdone on the pasta side of things. Two choose the Duck and Lychee curry served with aromatic jasmine rice, crispy poppadom & sambals curry - which both rated as Very Good.
Sweets: No sweets were ordered but two affogatos, and several teas and a frangelico finished off the meal.
Drinks: The wine menu was declared a not a strong point as selection was small and the wines on offer are at the lower end of the market. Nonetheless the Shiraz and
the Chardonnay were quaff able.
Summary: Lovely ambiance - even though situated on a roundabout the proximity to the water of the canal estate, not far from the beachfront, gives a nice feel. Tables well presented with linen tablecloths and high quality paper napkins. The menu is excellent and abundantly described in a ultra casual, friendly manner which has the effect of making you feel personally known. It is an obviously popular spot with residents in the area as many diners appeared to be regulars. The down side for our evening was the reaction of the waitress to the "off" oyster. If the diner claims something is off - then it is off and shouldn't be subjected to being questioned.
Unfortunately the situation was rescued by the serendipity of being attended to in plate collection by another waitress, not by training or evidence of a restaurant complaints mangement policy.
A pleasant enough evening but don't know if it's worth the drive from town. I would go again probably if I lived out that way.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
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