It Just Has To Be Delicious

Posts tagged ‘Wildflower’

Wildflower, Treasury Buildings, Perth CBD

I have been to Wildflower before, three years ago, and didn’t have the best experience. I decided to give it another try this year for my birthday lunch. It’s now under the direction of chef Paul Wilson, and I liked the idea of the Flow lunch menu – two courses for $69.

We were greeted by a very enthusiastic waiter (who I think we met last time) and directed to our table. We had a view of the Swan (sort of) and it was a nice enough table.

I was happy to see that the drinks menu had some zero alcohol options and we chose a Pear and Ginger Spritz and a Sans Gimlet, both very refreshing.

We were served the most awesome sourdough to start. Great bread with a wonderful crispy crust. We were even offered a second round of bread which we happily accepted.

I liked the idea of having the kangaroo to start however it was the only dish that couldn’t be made dairy free, so I went for the crocodile tongue with kohlrabi, pepperberry and charcuterie XO which was very good. I wished I had saved some bread to mop up the sauce.

My partner chose the eggplant with bush tomato, samphire and kelp. This was good, fresh and herby, he enjoyed it.

For mains he chose the Wagin duck with cauliflower, toasted greens and Geraldton wax. This was an awesome dish, tender tasty duck with a crispy skin.

I chose the wild caught snapper with buttermilk, ikura caviar and sea parsley. I’m not quite sure how they made dairy free buttermilk, but the chef somehow achieved it. The fish was topped with some sublime oyster crackers which had an intensely oystery flavour (similar to some that Todd makes at Twenty Seats), and the whole dish was really good and well cooked.

We also had a side of pumpkin with pepita fudge, thyme and bayleaf. A good choice, although the only choice for us as the other options contained dairy (raclette and quandong/peach).

It was a lovely meal and we could have had dessert but chose not to (there was only one dairy free option), although I did try a zero gin and tonic – Lyre’s blood orange which was very good.

They gave me a sweet Happy Birthday plate with some strawberry gum petit fours.

Overall it was a good meal, with some stand out dishes and I would go back for more.
I’d like to see more dairy free choices, and I would prefer that the drinks menu specified the variety for the alcohol free section – I thought they were gins but it wasn’t obvious. I would also ask the waiters to tone down their interactions a little – they seemed very keen and a bit overenthusiastic on telling us that everything was going to be wonderful, before we had even tasted it. This came across as a bit fake, but maybe they have been instructed to behave like this. They were quite sweet though, and helpful with our dietary requirements.

Last Visit – February 2025

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Wildflower, Perth CBD

For a long time now Wildflower has been one of Perth’s most talked about fine dining venues. Chef Matthew Sartori is famed for his skilful use of native ingredients and in-season ingredients to create a gastronomic journey for the diner. The restaurant is situated in the distinctive Treasury buildings and the lighting was quite subdued on our visit so please excuse the dim photos.

This venue had been booked for quite a while for a big birthday meal, but the pandemic rules changed just before our visit, so with short-notice, we were downgraded from a 6 course menu to a 4 course version with a shorter sitting time, but we decided to continue with the plan as it was too late to book anywhere else. The waiter enthusiastically showed us to our table and promised us an amazing meal. I chose a sparkling rose from Voyager Estate to start with.

The amuse bouche was a light bun with eggplant and nasturtium leaf, quite pleasant.

We asked for a dairy free menu and WIldflower were very accommodating with this, bringing olive oil and balsamic instead of butter for the bread.

The first course consisted of marinated heirloom tomatoes with fresh curd, anise myrtle and miso. The lovely intense tomato flavours danced on the tongue, and I happily finished the plate.

The second course was cured line caught snapper with Geraldton wax, finger lime and ginger. The waiter explained that it usually came with creme fraiche, but as we were having dairy free, they’d leave off the creme fraiche. To be honest this annoys me. In this day and age it’s easy to find suitable dairy alternatives, and I would much have preferred a substitute rather than leaving it off altogether. It was a nice dish, but it did need another element.

For the third and main course we could choose between duck and lamb, and we both chose the Wagin duck with gem lettuce, fig, liquorice root and anise myrtle. A nice dish, and good flavours, but it didn’t blow my mind.

Dairy free dessert was an off-menu special. Marinated strawberries, strawberry sorbet and strawberry gum mousse. Again, nice, but not memorable.

Birthday petit fours were served with a candle, a jelly and a fudge.

It was a nice meal, a good example of fine dining, and a great use of native ingredients which have quite a unique flavour. The waiter kept telling us how magnificent everything was, but really, honestly, I don’t think it lived up to the hype. I’ve had better fine dining in Perth at several other venues, and at $139 per head it really needed to blow me away. It wasn’t the gastronomic journey that I was hoping for.

Last visit date – February 2022

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