Lovely warm night, all the doors open and a breeze coming in and to top it off the food and service was great. We;d been told the music is too loud and yes it is for us older generation but with the doors open you could still hear each other. I believe when the doors are shut its impossible to hear yourself on a friday and saturday night. Oh well, we're just old now so go mid week and you will love it.
We had a great bottle of Spanish red and once we'd slightly chilled it off in an ice bucket was a perfect temperature to drink. I wish Perth would get the idea to slightly chill their reds. So much nicer to drink when they're not served at the same temperature of a warm night.
Food was a real delight. We tried the Corn and Manchego cakes with capsicum sauce, field mushrooms, pototo bravos and lamb meatballs with a cucumber and tsatziki.
Presentation is spot on and I could hardly wait to try the corn cakes which are crumbed and deep fried. They were just the ticket, i wish we'd had room to order another. Servings are only 2 for the cakes, about 5 of the meatballs, plenty of potato and small mushrooms cut in half. It was plenty for us.
Complimentary bread is served as well. Definitely worth a visit to try great tapas
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Himalayan and Nepalese Cafe - 419 Albany Hwy, Vic Park
Great menu, you can tell as soon as you sit down there is loads on the menu you can't wait to try.
We shared the mixed entree, 4 of us shared 2 and it was plenty to get a taste of the different entree's they offer.
4 of us then shared 3 mixed plates, goat curry, butter chicken and a specialty of the house Chicken curry. All were delicious and plenty for the 3 of us. The rice servings are generous, you only need 1 serve for 2.
Now to the best part, the Naan bread is the best I've ever tasted. I think its made on the premises and it comes out all puffed up and with a slight oil sheen, absolutely beautiful.
I can't wait to go back and try all the other things on the menu. The service is good, we were even offered a wine cooler for our wine. Imagine that, going to be BYO these days and they offer it to you instead of you having to hassle them.
Pricing is good. Cost was $30 each
We shared the mixed entree, 4 of us shared 2 and it was plenty to get a taste of the different entree's they offer.
4 of us then shared 3 mixed plates, goat curry, butter chicken and a specialty of the house Chicken curry. All were delicious and plenty for the 3 of us. The rice servings are generous, you only need 1 serve for 2.
Now to the best part, the Naan bread is the best I've ever tasted. I think its made on the premises and it comes out all puffed up and with a slight oil sheen, absolutely beautiful.
I can't wait to go back and try all the other things on the menu. The service is good, we were even offered a wine cooler for our wine. Imagine that, going to be BYO these days and they offer it to you instead of you having to hassle them.
Pricing is good. Cost was $30 each
Thursday, November 4, 2010
REDS Cucina - Leederville
My husband is hooked on their home made pasta. We go there nearly every 2nd weekend for lunch now and sit outside with our meals and bottle of wine and watch the world go by.
The waitstaff are great and get to know you quite quickly so its nice to be greeted with a smile when we go now. I try different things every time we go and I like the fact they dont overdo the serving sizes. Too much that you couldn't possibly eat is one of my pet hates.
Try the hamburger with chips. I dont get to eat the chips luckily as Reg uses them to soak up any left over sauce thats left on his plate from the Pasta. The waitstaff like to show the chef the plate as it looks like its been licked clean.
Try the homemade pastas and be surprised by the wine prices as they are really reasonable compared to most other places around. We recommend it highly.
The waitstaff are great and get to know you quite quickly so its nice to be greeted with a smile when we go now. I try different things every time we go and I like the fact they dont overdo the serving sizes. Too much that you couldn't possibly eat is one of my pet hates.
Try the hamburger with chips. I dont get to eat the chips luckily as Reg uses them to soak up any left over sauce thats left on his plate from the Pasta. The waitstaff like to show the chef the plate as it looks like its been licked clean.
Try the homemade pastas and be surprised by the wine prices as they are really reasonable compared to most other places around. We recommend it highly.
The Gate - Success
This is the fabulous local for people in this area. We went with Sharon and Andrew and their 2 kids.
They have a bar area where you can sit casually and drink wine or order bar snack meals. We were actually greeted by the barstaff and we ordered a bottle of wine and sat in the very comfortable bar area. They have a mixture of seating and we sat on a really comfortable sofa while we waited for them to arrive. You dont see too many Hotels that offer you comfort like that.
They also have the Bistro where we had dinner. The food was out in a short time and the presentation was really fun. The fish and chips were wrapped up in paper like the old days and the tartare sauce, Reg thought it was the best he had ever tasted. He doesnt normally touch the sauces with his fish but this time he ate the lot.
Sharon and I had the fish of the day. It was fresh, beautifully cooked and for me just getting use to eating fish, it was just right.
The kids are catered for with smaller meals if they want them as well.
The trip on the freeway only took us about 15 mins so its no different to go here and try it than anywhere else in Perth. Give is a try, its definitely a great spot, wish it our local.
They have a bar area where you can sit casually and drink wine or order bar snack meals. We were actually greeted by the barstaff and we ordered a bottle of wine and sat in the very comfortable bar area. They have a mixture of seating and we sat on a really comfortable sofa while we waited for them to arrive. You dont see too many Hotels that offer you comfort like that.
They also have the Bistro where we had dinner. The food was out in a short time and the presentation was really fun. The fish and chips were wrapped up in paper like the old days and the tartare sauce, Reg thought it was the best he had ever tasted. He doesnt normally touch the sauces with his fish but this time he ate the lot.
Sharon and I had the fish of the day. It was fresh, beautifully cooked and for me just getting use to eating fish, it was just right.
The kids are catered for with smaller meals if they want them as well.
The trip on the freeway only took us about 15 mins so its no different to go here and try it than anywhere else in Perth. Give is a try, its definitely a great spot, wish it our local.
Antico Cafe - East Perth - BYO and licenced
This cafe is still doing a great trade midweek. We went on a Tuesday night, 5 of us. It didnt take long for the tables to fill up. It seems to cater well for big groups.
The garlic bread and bruschetta were both good. The tomato used in the bruschetta was really tasty and seasoned to perfection. The bread was still crunchy.
The boys had the Misto Mare - mixed seafood platter. The calamari comes out in huge rings and the prawns are crumbed. Chips are beer battered. They all thought it was great.
I had a Chicken pasta dish. The flavours were lovely together in a really light cream sauce. I asked for the entree size and it was a really good size for an entree instead of being so big you can't eat it all.
Presentation is just normal Italian cafe style and the service is really good and consistent. We did BYO and with just 1 voucher used from the entertainment book the meal cost us $25 a head. You've got to be happy with that.
The garlic bread and bruschetta were both good. The tomato used in the bruschetta was really tasty and seasoned to perfection. The bread was still crunchy.
The boys had the Misto Mare - mixed seafood platter. The calamari comes out in huge rings and the prawns are crumbed. Chips are beer battered. They all thought it was great.
I had a Chicken pasta dish. The flavours were lovely together in a really light cream sauce. I asked for the entree size and it was a really good size for an entree instead of being so big you can't eat it all.
Presentation is just normal Italian cafe style and the service is really good and consistent. We did BYO and with just 1 voucher used from the entertainment book the meal cost us $25 a head. You've got to be happy with that.
Anduluz - Howard Street, Perth
Jacinta and I went there for lunch on a Thursday and with no trouble got a table, not in main area as they were all reserved. They will take bookings for lunch between 12-3pm.
Meals, presentation is really new and clean and innovative.
Service is fantastic, we told the waiter we normally liked to drink Sav Blanc as all the wines are Spanish. He said to leave it to him and off he went to come back to 2 fabulous white wines, exactly right for us.
You need to try this, its medium priced and the tapas style way of eating is my favourite. The wait staff will help you with the food and wine selection and are very knowledgeable.
Fabulous spot. We loved it.
Meals, presentation is really new and clean and innovative.
Service is fantastic, we told the waiter we normally liked to drink Sav Blanc as all the wines are Spanish. He said to leave it to him and off he went to come back to 2 fabulous white wines, exactly right for us.
You need to try this, its medium priced and the tapas style way of eating is my favourite. The wait staff will help you with the food and wine selection and are very knowledgeable.
Fabulous spot. We loved it.
Christina's - Victoria Park
Went for lunch yesterday. Unfortunately, Christina has not changed the way she does her meals in the 16 years that she's been there.
The Bruschetta bread was soaked and soggy under a huge mound of tomato. Better presentation would be to have just 1 piece of Garlic Bread with a reasonable amount of tomato which needs to be seasoned much better and maybe put this into a dish beside so that we can choose how much we want to eat and the bread will not be a soggy mess. The feta could be just sprinkled on the top.
The Mushrooms which are on the menu as being topped with bacon were also a soggy mess. They had so much sauce and crap on the top the mushrooms were completely flat and soggy. It was tasteless and then they topped it off with all sorts of rocket, sprouts and shallots. Too too much sauce, Too too much going on. Better presentation would be to have the mushrooms with absolutely nothing else on top of them but the bacon and have it them only just going from crisp to slightly softer. Present on a flat white plate with the 6 mushrooms lined up and only have a light sprinkling of rocket/shallots etc on top. To be able to taste it with just the 2 flavours would be nice instead of the soggy mess it came out as.
My friends had the Calamari. Ok tasting but nothing any different to anywhere else. Why not do Salt and Pepper for change and instead of having on top of piles of boring salad, presentation would be much better on rectangular plate such as this one or even better yet serve it with a homemade alioli or tartare.
The Bruschetta bread was soaked and soggy under a huge mound of tomato. Better presentation would be to have just 1 piece of Garlic Bread with a reasonable amount of tomato which needs to be seasoned much better and maybe put this into a dish beside so that we can choose how much we want to eat and the bread will not be a soggy mess. The feta could be just sprinkled on the top.
The Mushrooms which are on the menu as being topped with bacon were also a soggy mess. They had so much sauce and crap on the top the mushrooms were completely flat and soggy. It was tasteless and then they topped it off with all sorts of rocket, sprouts and shallots. Too too much sauce, Too too much going on. Better presentation would be to have the mushrooms with absolutely nothing else on top of them but the bacon and have it them only just going from crisp to slightly softer. Present on a flat white plate with the 6 mushrooms lined up and only have a light sprinkling of rocket/shallots etc on top. To be able to taste it with just the 2 flavours would be nice instead of the soggy mess it came out as.
My friends had the Calamari. Ok tasting but nothing any different to anywhere else. Why not do Salt and Pepper for change and instead of having on top of piles of boring salad, presentation would be much better on rectangular plate such as this one or even better yet serve it with a homemade alioli or tartare. There is potention here but the whole presentation of the meals needs to be revamped. There is absolutely no thought or care put into the meals. We werent even offered any bread. The white wine I ordered wasnt chilled. it was only just cool. Everywhere in Europe has their white wine chilled to 9deg and their red chilled to 15.
They need to get a different chef and some independent help. The restaurant itself is still fine its just the portion control and presentation lets it down in 2010.
Silver Spoon Victoria Park
This is a dont bother unless your happy to sit for ages and wait on your food.
We previously had been to this restaurant 3-4 times and its was fabulous. They had a waitperson there who could show everyone a thing or two for great service. The food was outstanding, I could hardly wait to get back there and try more of their dishes.
But now its gone downhill . The first dismal time was a Friday night and they booked us in for 7.30. The place was full at 7.30. We were dropped at the table. not offered any drinks, nothing and left just sitting there. Once our guests arrived we then HAD to get their attention to order drinks.
No entrees or nibbles were ordered just mains and it took 1hr to get them. They obviously havent learnt to stagger their bookings so we were just left there at least with our wine until the meal arrived. The Chefs here have got it right but certainly not the management.
I sent an email the next day saying it wasnt good enough, the waiting time was too long and they should stagger their bookings but highlighted that food was outstanding. No reponse. We gave this restaurant a big swerve then for months.
Sept 2010 now and we thought we'd give it another go the night before we flew out to Rome. Just us 2 and only 3 other tables of 2 in the house and it still took early an hour again to get our mains. Just too long to be sitting waiting.
The waiter here was so busy making sure that we all knew he was gay. Big deal buddy we've had gay friends for 30 years, we certainly dont care about that, just get the meals out.
We previously had been to this restaurant 3-4 times and its was fabulous. They had a waitperson there who could show everyone a thing or two for great service. The food was outstanding, I could hardly wait to get back there and try more of their dishes.
But now its gone downhill . The first dismal time was a Friday night and they booked us in for 7.30. The place was full at 7.30. We were dropped at the table. not offered any drinks, nothing and left just sitting there. Once our guests arrived we then HAD to get their attention to order drinks.
No entrees or nibbles were ordered just mains and it took 1hr to get them. They obviously havent learnt to stagger their bookings so we were just left there at least with our wine until the meal arrived. The Chefs here have got it right but certainly not the management.
I sent an email the next day saying it wasnt good enough, the waiting time was too long and they should stagger their bookings but highlighted that food was outstanding. No reponse. We gave this restaurant a big swerve then for months.
Sept 2010 now and we thought we'd give it another go the night before we flew out to Rome. Just us 2 and only 3 other tables of 2 in the house and it still took early an hour again to get our mains. Just too long to be sitting waiting.
The waiter here was so busy making sure that we all knew he was gay. Big deal buddy we've had gay friends for 30 years, we certainly dont care about that, just get the meals out.
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