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Posts tagged ‘Caversham’

Riverbank Estate Winery, Caversham

Riverbank Estate is a winery with lovely views in the heart of Caversham. I was drawn to the venue when looking to see what Kiran Mainwaring is doing now (former chef at Dear Friends and Co op dining). We booked a table for a winter Sunday lunch, but were pleasantly surprised to see that there are several tables and a food stall laid on in a marquee for those who just want to pop in for a casual lunch. There was live entertainment too and it’s one of those places where people gravitate with their camp chairs and cushions and settle in for a lazy Sunday afternoon drinking wine.

We chose a glass of Rebellious vermentino to start proceedings, a nice drop, not unlike a riesling, with great fruity overtones.

Perusing the menu, I really fancied lobster and chips, so placed my order, but unfortunately they didn’t have any, so I reconsidered and decided to try the wild fish of the day which was crimson snapper served with endive, capsicum, purple cauliflower, orange and passionfruit gel and burnt butter sauce. I asked for the butter sauce to be minimal, and it was – just a few dribbles around the plate. It was a delightful dish, superbly fresh fish with a good citrus zing from the gel.

My partner chose one of the daily specials, brisket risotto, which was really good. Great slow roast brisket on a nice creamy risotto, topped with a little beef jus.

We deliberately skipped starters so we could have dessert, and my partner chose the mixed berry and apple crumble with vanilla bean ice cream and marshmallow. This was a little disappointing, and felt like the components had been prepared separately and put together on the plate. The apple was firm – not the nice stewed apple that you expect with a crumble, the berry seemed to be mainly berry juice, the crumble topping seemed to have been cooked separately and then sprinkled on top, and the marshmallow was just plonked on the side. A more traditional crumble all cooked together (without the pastry case) would have been nicer with some lovely gooey melty marshmallow around the edges, and maybe some custard.

I chose the best dessert. A cherry choc dome with crystallised dark chocolate and cherry ripe ice cream. Everything about it was excellent. Luscious chocolate mousse, crisp chocolate shell, honeycomb, sauce and a very addictive cherry ice cream.

I like Riverbank – I like the vibe of the place, and the food is mainly great. The live music did clash a little with the music from the main restaurant, but it was a cheerful and friendly experience, and we will be back, because I am determined to sample the lobster and chips!

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Last visit date – July 2021

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Restaurant review

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Maison St Honore, Caversham

Maison Saint-Honoré Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

This delightful cafe with gardens is located on the site in Benara Road where Dear Friends used to be. Starting off with humble beginnings as one of Perth’s finest macaron chefs when the macaron craze began, I remember seeing Maison St Honore as a pop up at food fairs and farmers markets. Now they have their very own macaron factory and patisseris, and it doesn’t dissapoint.
It’s hard to choose from the stunning array of cakes and pastries.

Maison 1
Maison 2

Eventually, I settled on a mango mousse and my partner chose a gold chocolate bar. We ordered some teas and settled down at a tale inside. There are outside tables too, but it’s heading for winter and we chose warmth over scenery.

Maison 3
Maison 4

My mousse was nothing short of delicious. It has an almond biscuit base, strawberry jam, mango mousse, vanilla mousse and a sumptuous mango glaze with a sprinkling of dried raspberries.

Maison 5
Maison 6

The gold bar had an almond biscuit base, crunchy praline, chocolate mousse, and a dark chocolate and hazelnut coating, with an oozy caramel layer surprise in the middle. Both cakes were skilfully constructed and delicious, and the tea was good quality.

Maison 7

This is a lovely area of Perth – most perfect for tea and cake in the valley.

Maison 8

Visit Date – June 2019

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Category:

Coffee shop review, Restaurant review

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Wild Swan, Mandoon Estate, Caversham

Mandoon Estate Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Mandoon has a lot going on. The estate is a winery in the heart of the Swan Valley, and they have cellar door tastings, a brewery, an art gallery, a fine dining restaurant, an outdoor area where they sell pizza, craft beer, and hot dogs, and a deli where they sell exceptional sausage rolls. They also have a hotel called The Colony, rooms which look out onto the Swan River, some with balconies and mezzanine bedrooms.

1Having sampled a glass of wine earlier, I decided to start with a cocktail and chose a cosmopolitan. This was nicely made with lovely cranberry tones.

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My partner chose a ginger apple mocktail. He said that it was a lovely blend.

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I chose the marron to start served with watermelon, lime and papaya. It wasn’t a
particularly flavoursome dish and I imagine that it had been prepared in advance and refrigerated. I couldn’t really detect the lovely marron and papaya flavours that I expected.4

My partner chose the Geraldton kingfish with young coconut, umibudo, daikon and lime. It was a good blend of flavours, bright clean and tasty.5

The starters arrived fairly quickly, followed by our bread, which I think was a bit of a mistake, but the bread was a very welcome arrival to help mop up some of the leftover sauces, and was served with whipped butter and a very moreish fennel salt.6

For main I chose the blue fin tuna with cauliflower, green raisin, pinenut and olive. This was delicious, served medium rare, good quality fish with really good accompanying flavours.7

My partner chose the Moojepin mutton with canneloni, borlotti, lettuce and raspberry. Mutton is generally tougher than lamb, and he expected it to be slow roast to make the most of the cut, but it came seared like a steak and was a bit chewier than he would have liked although it was very tasty. All of the accompaniments were rich, hearty and comforting and he enjoyed the dish.8

We also chose side dishes of broccoli, snow peas and beans, and zucchini fries. Both sides were beautifully cooked and we ate them hungrily.

We somehow found room for dessert, but before that I sampled a glass of Mandoon Estate sparkling, which put me in mind of a good prosecco.

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I chose the matcha, lychee, yuzu and caramel, a nice combination of matcha cake with lychee sorbet and dried lychees with blobs of caramel and oblong shaped yuzu cream.

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My partner chose the peach, pistachio, vanilla and sorbet, a beautifully balanced combination of textures and tastes. A vanilla panacotta with blobs of pistachio paste and peach puree.13

All in all, Wild Swan was a good experience – good modern Australian cooking with friendly unobtrusive service, and wines made on the premises. An excellent choice if you want to stay somewhere in the Swan Valley that has everything at your fingertips.

Click here to find out more about Wild Swan

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Visit Date: May 2018

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Restaurant review

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