Bridgetown Hotel Bar & Restaurant

Bridgetown Hotel Bar & restaurant

Visit #1

Service: Timing in a dining experience is an element of importance, and this experience was quite pleasant, it’s nice to be waited on by several people and not be rushed or over-served. On the picky side, the water was presented in a shot glass with no offered refills, even though on the other side of the table I was into the Redback.

Ambience: Even though the bar was very close to the dining area it didn’t impede on the dining experience, and this was also a Friday night.

Food: We started with the house chicken, pork & pistachio terrine with caper berries and tomato chutney, and the honey chilli garlic prawns with jasmine rice. The terrine was nice but not awe inspiring, although the chutney did get raves. As for the prawns, sauce and rice was lovely and there were a generous 12 prawns on the plate as well, nice.

For mains we had the special of crusted pork cutlet stuffed with prosciutto, sage and gruyere, as well as the ridge sirloin steak, rosemary potatoes, garlic sauce and seasoned veg.

The pork cutlet was tasty, even though the prosciutto was shaved a bit thick.

While going with the steak is a bit safe and borderline boring, I was throwing compliments to the chef for the perfectly cooked steak, when you can cut it with your fork despite its thickness, add drooling.

For dessert we had to test their crème brulée, and despite it being on the verge of over cooked and not silky smooth, the hint of cointreau was intriguing – especially as on the menu the flavour of the day was listed as vanilla bean.

Overall 15/20

In conclusion, definitely willing to explore the menu further, feel a need to sample the long list of pizza’s and see if they live up to our high standards.

Suggestion box

Perhaps pander to the female need for water and pop a carafe on the table!

Hidden River Winery&Café Pemberton Western Australia.

Hidden River Winery Café Pemberton Western Australia.

Visit#1

Service 0/5: Insisting the customer wears a tacky paper BIB whilst eating the laksa was embarrassing; to tie it on the actual customer is just an invasion of personal space. The starter of Plain bread was followed immediately by mains, not even enough time to get butter on the bread.

Ambience 2/5: Overhearing one staff member exclaim how much her eyebrows needed to be done made us wonder if perhaps that conversation would have been better behind closed doors.

Having said that, taking in the view out of the window was amazing, rows of grape vines stretching over a picturesque rolling hill.

Food 0/5: this may seem ridiculous, but I assure you getting instant mashed potato in a region known for its potatoes is F***ing ridiculous. Not to mention the obviously nuked frozen veg. The less than inspiring experience continues unfortunately with the breaded chicken breast and truffle butter, I love truffles, but this was not something I could love. The laksa also fell well short of enjoyable with its major lack in flavour and previously mentioned bib. There was an additional dish of chilli served and this was the only thing that could add any taste to what could only be called a soup of dirt.

Overall 2/20

In conclusion, places with first impressions like this usually turn me off having a second try, but noticing the wood fired brick oven on the way in makes me want to wipe the slate clean and come back to do a pizza night. I love eating wood fired pizza, and really love making them.

Suggestion Box

If you can’t afford a chef, which is understandable in small towns, being passionate and creative doesn’t cost anything, in fact it pays.