By: rygar069
21/05/2008
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(cont)
I guess it's a sign of the times...after all Sizzler apparently charge patrons upfront so why not this mob too eh???
The downside is that you then need to head back inside up to the bar & order drinks also.
Needless to say, the outside area is now mostly used by tumbleweeds rolling past...most patrons seem content to sit inside, eat, and then pay afterwards.
We still enjoyed our day...the food was as expected, the prices kinda on the high side of OK, the view was splendid...but we mourned for the want of alfresco dining outside :(
I'd now give it only a 5/10. |
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By: rygar069
4/06/2008
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Out to dinner last night with friends who reside near Gateways Shopping Centre in C0.ckburn.
I'd heard a few mixed stories concerning the local pub called The Gate with most praising the decor but not overly impressed with the food or service.
Now this place has only been open for a few months and until recently has been goin through bein the "locals flavour of the month".
The premises have apparently been extremely busy most nights which may account for the mixed reviews I've heard.
Nearly every NEW establishment will go thru teething problems shortly after first opening and the crowds descending therein dont normally reflect the true standards of the venue, kitchen, or staff.
Arriving on a Tues evening, I was glad to see most patrons of the bistro were families, many with young children.
The decor is stylish, modern and very chic...lurve the large painting of the ship gracing the rear wall.
For such stylish decor though, I found it tacky to note each table had the passe ho hum table number on a stick firmly planted as a centrepiece.
Management might wanna consider training their staff to service specific restaurant sections, having a set floor plan thereby removing the need for table numbers to be displayed, or perhaps maybe just having table numbers on display for those tables still awaiting delivery of their order with it being removed afterwards.
The menu and winelist were both good covering most tastes and budgets.
(cont) |
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By: rygar069
4/06/2008
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(cont)
I personally sampled a lurvely salmon steak on a bed of cous cous with seasonal veg. Salmon was not over cooked, and the cous cous was SUPERB!!! None of this miniscule pasty stuff which congeals into a thick paste within your mouth after the first bite...we're talking ball bearing type pellets with a good consistency adding a good texture contrast to both the fish & veg. Being different to that normally presented, it also teases the curiousity and has a good visual impact on the plate. For ~$27, represents reasonable value too!
I also sampled a delightful 300g Sirloin with creamy mash, mushroom sauce, and seasoinal veg. For ~$28 again, good value. The steak was cooked to perfection, with only a small strip of fat left along the fillet as to be expected with this cut of meat. The mash was creamy, the mushroom sauce delightful, and the veg made for an all-round hearty meal.
Kids meals are the usual fare...pasta is a penne in napolitana sauce and for ~$12 as expected comes with a drink and an icecream too :)
Service was friendly and quick.
The venue seems to have finally lost it's oh sooo new kewl factor and is now trading on merits alone.
We enjoyed a lovely meal in a stylish dining room for a reasonable price.
Thanks to all at The Gate for a fantastic night out!
I'd give it 8/10 :) |
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By: rygar069
9/06/2008
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I recently dragged the prettier half down to Freo to experience Char Char Bull at Fishing Boat Harbour, just behind Cicerello's.
Quite nice premises if one can forget for a moment that this is a steakhouse plonked in the middle of a working fishing harbour which you would normally associate with seafood! The views across the harbour are wonderful although the bare metallic roof insulation kinda detracts from the overall decor if one happens to look up for any particular reason :p
People generally venture here to experience a good steak and CCB has a deservedly good reputation to uphold.
They have secured several gold plates amongst other awards and these are prominently displayed around the bar area.
The missus and I both sampled lurvely scotch fillet steaks which were a credit to the kitchen as they were cooked to perfection...one rare, the other well done. These were accompanied by winter veggies as a side dish. We also sampled some turkish bread with trio of dips as a starters.
The service was friendly and mostly professional...we witnessed a disasterous blunder by one staff member who managed to spill liquor across a table of 6pax and the floor nearby. I would hazard to guess however that this incident is the exception rather than the rule.
I was disappointed to note that there was little in the way of dessert or fortified wines available for after dinner despite the restaurant having an extensive cellar of good quality wines.
Desserts are not normally my thing but we did sample a some profiteroles with contreau icecream, jaffa chocolate sauce, liqueur soaked strawberries, and mint garnish...just SUPERB!!!
The meal was washed down with a delightful Voyager Estate Cab Sauv Merlot and 2 glasses of lamentably insipid Grandfather Port to finish.
The entire bill came to around $180 for 2 pax which was then reduced to ~$140 on presentation of an entertainment card.
Be prepared to book ahead as the venue gets quite busy.
(cont) |
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By: rygar069
9/06/2008
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(cont)
Overall, a delightful evening in pleasant surroundings.
I'd give CCB 8/10 and recommend it being worth a visit. |
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By: rygar069
13/09/2008
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Thought I might update this with a cafe I visited recently.
Banco is located on corner of Cape St and Wanneroo Rd Tuart Hill and used to be a branch of CBA many years ago hence the tacky re-name Banco.
It's italian/mediterannean as I'm sure you guessed and the food is quite lovely.
Good size portions, well presented, and cooked with a healthy measure of TLC.
Our table sampled Turkish bread with dips as entree, Thai Caramel Chicken Salad which was FANTASTIC, lamb shanks which were nice...wouldnt rave about em but nice nevertheless, and a Sirloin on mash with field mushroom and red wine jus...again a good job on what should be a simple dish.
Service was pretty ordinary however.
Kitchen rings bell 3 times to announce meals are ready yet wait staff are busily flapping their jaws about some banal trivial matter back over at the bar.
Decor is not to my liking either...concrete floors, curtained walls, and dim lighting just doesnt cut it for me!
With 2 botles of wine and the above food, bill came to ~$125 which when cut 25% through presentation of entertainment card rounded back to ~$100...so I certainly wouldnt complain about the value for money!
Overall a good meal lazily served in poor surroundings.
The gold plates on the wall further testify to the quality of the food...far better than my humble ramblings anyway.
I'd give it 6/10 but would do much better with lighter, brighter, more inviting decor, and staff who actually served customers!
Just my opinion.
Cheers :) |
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By: dissent988
13/09/2008
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| Sounds reasonably good, rygar. Another good one I went to recently was the Mille Cafe in Beaufort Street Inglewood. Again, Italian-fusion, again, good sized portions and both decor and presentation were great. |
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By: crazy_woman20052000
13/09/2008
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Hi,
If anyone passes thru Bunbury, there a great place called "The Walkabout Cafe",in the main street think it called Victora Street!
They Have the best steaks!And the service is pretty good too.
We also like Hogs Breathe Cafe,They have the nicest Chicken Ceaser Salad!
And if you are eva looking for a quick roast meat roll, try out the Mandurah Forum Cavery( Located in the food hall).To all the good places to eat,keep up the great work!! |
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By: petal51f
13/09/2008
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oh yes...7th Avenue in
Midland....great fresh food...big serves...very reasonable prices. I think Hamburger Hill next to the Burswood Dome have better burgers than Alfreds. |
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By: nathanzachary@ymail.com
14/09/2008
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The Jolly Frog at the 'cut in Dawesville,
Expensive but yummo. |
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By: nathanzachary@ymail.com
14/09/2008
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And the Mexican Restaurant near the Rose in Bunno,
Chille con queso,
Avacado dip!
anyone know where else has it? |
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By: falnoc4
14/09/2008
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there is a chinese rest. on the corner of canning hwy and the road that feeds up to booragoon shops.
it is a ripper. |
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By: rygar069
20/09/2008
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G'day Dissent :)
IMO, Mille Cafe in Beaufort St Inglewood is an institution!
Have sampled the menu many times over many years with consistently good results!
Good food, good portions, ok wine list, good decor and, reasonably good location.
My only complaint would be a distinct lack of parking at the restaurant itself...unless you count parking over the road at the shops adjacent to the Civic Hotel.
Definitely one of the best cafe's in Perth!
Cheers :) |
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By: yourejokingref
21/09/2008
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| Villa da Vinci in Ballajura. |
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By: sweetme7772000
27/09/2008
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| Me, I perfer a can of baked beans while watching the sunset at City Beach. |
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By: rygar069
12/10/2008
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Another onr for the collection...
Some months ago now I had to attend the birthday of a fella married to a friend of my prettier half.
This soiree was held at an Indian establishment named The Cove on Canning Hwy in Alfred Cove.
Now I've got to be honest upfront and state that I absolutely detest any food which even vaguely smells of curry or anything remotely resembling curry.
And having said that, I found the meal very difficult to swallow. It fast became one of those meals where you politely smile and nod in an otherwise hopeless attempt to keep the peace :(
The restaurant is located on a major road and it is quite easy to drive straight past it if you arent paying attention to your surroundings. On entering the property however, you find yourself quite amazed by the premises.
Think of a wide verandah English Raj domicile which could have been transplanted direct from the sub continent at the height of British rule during the early parts of last century. Stunning property and the decor is a perfect fit to compliment the surroundings.
Gold plates on the walls attest to the quality of the food although most diners in our group werent particularly impressed with what they were served.
I certainly wasnt...having explained my dislike of Indian cuisine to wait staff, I was informed that they wouldnt serve anything else (I couldnt even partake of kids menu "nuggets & chips) and would have to settle for the mildest dish on the menu...some sort of curried chicken in a milky sauce. I wont go into any more detail because any description I give wont be a true reflection simply because I cant abide Indian cuisine.
Anyway I thought this to be poor service that the kitchen couldnt and wouldnt accomodate a "special" request.
Prices were EXPENSIVE especially considering most of the meals come with naan breads of various sorts and a somewhat small bowl of whatever dish you chose for ~$30 each.
(cont) |
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By: rygar069
12/10/2008
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(cont)
I dunno if we just caught this lot on a bad night but I couldnt honestly recommend The Cove.
Great premises and decor, BUT way over-priced meals and barely adequate service IMO.
I would only give it a 3/10 and that's purely for the premises and decor alone! |
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By: kratos500027
29/10/2008
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Willow cafe in glengarry.
Top notch food, especially the pastas, affordable, nice ambience.
It's located at a small shopping centre which is a bit of a minus for me, but once you're inside you won't be disappointed. |
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By: rygar069
1/11/2008
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Had the joys of going out again for dinner with the family last night :)
Many years ago a friend of mine was head chef at the restaurant at Glen Iris golf course in Jandakot and I thought to visit the place to see what (if anything) had changed.
Back then, the restaurant was VERY SWISH...we're talking the best of the best, run by a top Perth chef using only the best and freshest of ingredients. Bookings were essential esp on weekends where there was often a 2-3 week wait...and remember this is 5-10yrs ago!
Last night we walked up the same lovely agapantha lined entry path to find the restaurant reasonably full.
Not so much the beautiful people set from the past, but several families and those who'd obviously had a late round on the course.
I was immediately disappointed to note that the decor hadnt changed and in the intervening years hadnt been well maintained either. Light fittings hanging loose and dangling from the walls, many of the same light fittings with blown globes, massive scrapes and gouges/chunks of paint missing from the walls :(
Our waitress was also disappointing. She didnt know what specials were on the menu, what soup of the day was nor what the fish of day was???
And when she came back to inform us of such, told us that the fish was snapper. To which my response was what sort of snapper...red snapper, pink snapper, queen snapper etc. Of course, she didnt know this and it wasnt worth the bother to send her back to the kitchen a second time to find out.
Meals also got delivered to the table one at a time instead of all at once, and plates were cleared individually as each was emptied rather than when everyone was finished and the table as a whole was finished with them.
Basically, the service whilst friendly was really shyte.
The winelist was however quite good and contained numerous good quality and reasonably priced whites, reds, and even a few bubbles & c.0cktails for those so inclined.
(cont) |
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By: rygar069
1/11/2008
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(cont)
We opted for a nice Vasse Felix Classic White which represented reasonable value at $27 per bottle.
Meals comprised a chef's tasting plate which proved to be quite disappointing.
This comprised deep fried curry puffs,spring rolls, wedges, a couple of fish cakes, some turkish bread, one dip, some sweet chilli sauce, and a few small black olives and fetta pieces.
If the chef can do little better than charge $18 and provide deep fried crud on a tasting plate, then it really doesnt say much for the rest of the menu.
Mains selected were simple meals - surf n turf, a scotch fillet, mediterranean fish, and kids fish n chips.
The steaks were ok although our intellectually challenged waitress confused the surf n turf with the scotch fillet. I would have thought the simple inclusion of prawns on one dish would make this an easy mistake to avoid...apparently not! :p
In any event, the meals were ok although nothing to brag about.
It did take several reminders to our illustrous waitress however to get the kids ice-cream delivered to the table.
Total cost came to ~$175 for the taste plate, 3 mains, kids meal, and 2 bottles of wine.
Not overly expensive, but certainly not good value for money considering the poor scope on the menu, and appalling service.
I can only rate this a 3/10.
Happy dining and CHEERS :) |
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By: rygar069
16/11/2008
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Took me Mum out for a night on the town recently.
Since she aint a spring chicky anymore, I thought she might appreciate doin the Jerry Lewis Show on at Burswood not too long ago.
As ya do, we had dinner before the show and our venue of choice was Victoria Station Steakhouse.
Now Vic Station has been around forever and to my knowledge has a good reputation for quality food & wines, slightly upmarket atmosphere, for a slightly above average price.
I gotta say I was pretty disappointed in what we sampled.
The restaurant was late to open despite a rather large horde of pre-show diners waiting out the front to get seated and served.
The menu was limited - 2 steaks (~$35), surf n turf (~$50), chicken breast (~$30), swordfish(~$35), fish of day (~$35), was about it for mains choice.
Best thing on entree menu was a chef's tasting plate.
This consisted of olives/fetta, turkish bread drizzled with a dip, char-grilled squid, tempura prawns, and a couple of fish/rice balls. Reasonable food in very limited quantities that seemed almost lost on such a large platter that was poor value at ~$35!!!
The winelist however was a wonder to peruse :)
Very extensive and I thoroughly enjoyed several glasses of 2004 Plantagenet Cab Sav at $14 ea :)
The decor is reasonable although the large moth fluttering above the tables certainly was not...despite several laughable and indiscreet attempts by the wait staff to apprehend the beastie :p
Overall, I'd suggest trying one of the other venues at Burswood.
The Vic Station despite trying to maintain it's upmarket appearance is very much staid, boring, and sadly out of touch with today's vibrant restaurant scene.
I'd give it 4/10 but only for the magnificent wine list.
Happy dining :) |
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By: diamond_dust_1000
3/12/2008
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not sure if this has been mentioned before...but a really beautiful peaceful and relaxing place to visit either for coffee and cake or a meal is...
the rose heritage cafe in carmel
http://www.melvillenurseries.com.au/index.php
http://www.melvillenurseries.com.au/heritage_cafe_ contact_us.php |
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By: rygar069
2/01/2009
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Being the loving person that I am, I recently took the prettier half off for a 'quiet' weekend over at Rotto staying in a premier lakeside room at The Lodge on Rotto.
Now anyone who's a regular over there knows you cant get a better room on Rotto and I'm pleased to say that bar a few idiosyncracies, the room did not disappoint.
I would recommend the open placement of a box of tissues in the room (later found some tucked away at rear of bathroom cupboard), and an aircon for those REALLY hot/cold days would also be a blessing (esp since we do now apparently live in 21C where such ammenities should be standard fare).
The restaurant at The Lodge is also quite basic but the food is great (even if the menu is somewhat limited).
There is a reasonable selection of entree's although we didnt bother to sample these opting instead to just have a main course.
Mains are limited.
There is the inevitable steak eloquently disguised as a beef fillet, fish n chips, a creamy seafood risotto, a seafood pasta in a tomato based sauce, and a lamb rack on mash. Mains are all ~$30 with the exception of the steak ~$35.
Having already sampled fish n chips down @ Quokka Arms (now the Hotel Rottnest) for lunch, I opted for a rare steak while the prettier half went for the seafood risotto.
The beef was nicely cooked and well presented - on a bed of delightfully small and flavoursome new potatoes which came with a lovely seeded mustard sauce. Nice meal but nevertheless still a steak at the end of day and nothing exactly worth raving about.
The seafood risotto however was absolutely to die for - chunks of fish, prawn, and CRAYFISH in a smooth creamy wet risotto chockers full of gruyere cheese. A stunning dish beautifully prepared and a great portion size too! Whilst I had a taste, I could only stare as the prettier half devoured hers whilst I sat opposite, wished I'd ordered this and drooled :p
(cont) |
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By: rygar069
2/01/2009
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(cont)
The winelist isnt too bad although very expensive for what's on offer eg West Cape Howe SSB easily bought in mainland bottlo for ~$10-15 sells for $36 in The Lodge restaurant!
Also enjoyed a couple of feeds at the Quokka Arms.
Fish n Chips ~$25 for lunch just after arriving was quite tasty (lurved the red pepper aioli for the chips!) although I would have liked to see a serving of tartare sauce or even plain ole tomato sauce on the side as well. Perhaps the oil in the fryer needed some attention too since the battered fish looked quite brown and not light/golden as expected. Having said this, the sheer number of meals which come out of the kitchen could be a simple honest reason for the discolouration.
Our fish was accompanied by a lurvely Arlewood SB ~$30.
Simple comment is that it was a nice lunch :)
We also sampled dinner on a Sunday night which although again very tasty...was nevertheless an utter shambles!
We ordered ~1915hrs and didnt receive meals until after 2030hrs which is just completely unacceptable!
There were tables which had ordered before us which still hadnt received their meals when ours arrived and 2 tables nearby who got refunds and left in disgust. These tables were families with kids so we REALLY felt for them and can only hope the kids got some sort of meal elsewhere as most venues (the few restaurants excluded) are closing ~8pm!
Admittedly again the sheer number of meals ordered and churned out by the kitchen is staggering and I can understand that someone is always gunna be left disappointed but wait/kitchen staff need to organise themselves better to avoid this sort of scenario occurring!
When you see a senior waiter walking around with a clipboard full of table numbers from those who've complained about service times going from table to table trying to placate angry & hungry patrons suggests something is seriously wrong with kitchen organisation and systems set-up!!!
(cont) |
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By: rygar069
2/01/2009
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(cont)
Better preparation of ingredients, more staff, more equipment, better ticketing/ordering systems, even STOP taking orders for a short duration if need be to catch up...would make this a better dining experience.
I know we're talking Rotto here but patrons are paying GOOD money and have the right to expect better service than what we saw on this occasion.
In any event, our meals were delicious!
I devoured a chilli garlic seafood linguini...quite spicy but not so much as to be overpowering while the prettier half opted for a chicken breast which although I didnt taste also looked very presentable :)
For this meal, we opted for a Vasse Felix Semillon which at $40 ea is a bit pricey but considering our waiter forgot to charge me for it, I really couldnt complain too much! I ended up going back to the same waiter and he just said congrats on the freebie as he took my order for a 2nd bottle anyway :)
Overall, the food over on Rotto is great.
If you want a quieter experience go to The Lodge or maybe even sample a light meal at Dome coffeehouse.
If you're willing to brave the hordes at Quokka Arms, be prepared to grab whatever table you can, be prepared to wait at the bar to be served, and be prepared to wait for your meals. The waiting suxs but the food really is quite good and the menu is more varied and comprehensive.
I'd give Quokka Arms 5/10 cos the interminable queues shyte me to tears. Score would be much higher if more staff, less waiting for service were possible.
I'd give The Lodge 6/10 cos whilst the food really was excellent, the menu needs to be slightly expanded/varied, the winelist is pricey, and the decor could do with freshening up.
Happy dining everyone and Cheers :) |
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