We arrived late on a Friday night, and found this large restaurant filled to capacity. The maitre d’ informed us that there was a half hour wait for a table, but offered us a seat at one of the counters. We immediately found the menu confusing. There was a selection of food from each station, ranging from grill to Japanese to stir fry and other Asian fare; and with so much on offer, we were unsure how it all worked. The eclectic choices made it difficult for us to decide, but after several minutes we finally settled on our orders.
We started with a glass of Wolfblass Cabernet Sauvignon and a Crawford Riesling, which hit the spot. It soon became clear that the counters were where confused waiters congregated to find the tables they were looking for or to take a breather. Throughout our meal, servers placed food on either side of us—only to readjust their positions or consult their colleagues before moving elsewhere.
Finally, some food was brought to us: Our starters arrived about 10 minutes apart which, since we were sharing, meant we were able to comfortably finish one before going on to the next. The paper rolls were fresh, with whole prawns in each, but they were nothing we hadn’t tried before. The crab cakes were also tasty, with generous amounts of crab meat. Both entrees were very large, and we had to stop eating to make room for our main courses. Again, these were nothing out of the ordinary, although the portions were huge.
The whole grilled fish came with what was described on the menu as salsa verde, but was actually more like a bowl of oil with a few floating greens. As a result, the dish was a little plain. The roast chicken fared better, well cooked without being dry, but again, was nothing particularly impressive. Our side order of creamy mashed potatoes never arrived, so we canceled it.
Having been to the restaurant’s champagne brunch before, we were eager for dessert, but struggled to make it through our dessert plate for two comprising three kinds of ice cream (chocolate, banana and raspberry), banana crepe, lemon tart, raspberry pie, and chocolate and aniseed slice. Everything on the dessert platter tasted fresh and lovely.
Overall we found the food competent but not inspiring. The restaurant had a lively atmosphere because it was full, but given our seating location and the standard of the food, we felt like it was a little bit mass market rather than intimate fine dining.
