Balthazar, Perth

This restaurant is hidden away and located on The Esplanade on a corner street. It's one of those places that you always pass on your way to the city but never managed to try. As you walk in there is seating similar to a typical pub then further in the restaurant there is a normal seating arrangement however, this was dark and cramped as one of our seat's was next to a walkway and the other was hitting the seat behind. Therefore, it is advisable to book a table next to the wall. Also, there is no parking nearby and from the closest City of Perth Parking area it is about a 5-minute walk.

Entrée: Tasting plate for one

For entrée's we got the tasting plate for one. The cornet with goat's cheese and celery mousse was the best element on the dish but the rest of the elements seemed a but mediocre for the price paid. How hard can it be to warm up a date? - Second from the left. I felt that more interesting techniques and flavours could have been applied to creating this dish.

Palate cleanser: Lemon sorbet

We received a complimentary palate cleanser of lemon sorbet in a shot glass which was nice and refreshing.

Mains: Pork with scallops and crackling

For the mains I ordered the snapper but instead I received the pork with scallops and crackling. This was of concern as such an obvious mix up showed the lack of competence of the waiters as I had even asked the waiter to suggest a wine which I ordered to compliment snapper. They do not take down the order on paper or electronically as they memorise the order however, avoidance this simple procedure has caused failure in their system. The meal was not introduced and was promptly placed on the table by another waiter. I initially thought that the staff were friendly until I told the original waiter of the incorrect dish and I was rudely told that it was what I had ordered which made me feel awkward. 

I had the dish anyway and it was nice with a delightful array of colours and textures in the dish with attention to detail. I especially liked the scallops which were cooked perfectly and the creamy sauce complimented the pork nicely. The pork rounds were wrapped in pancetta. However, I did not like the crackling as it was literally just shop bought similar to Nobbys Pork Crackle that you get from the vending machine (I used to buy this all the time). This was a large disappointment as crackling is what would have appealed to me if I was to choose this dish willingly.

Mains: Beef fillet, mushroom, smoked potato and creme fraiche

I ordered the beef fillet medium cooked. The piece was thicker than to my usual liking; however, this is quite common in fine dining restaurants as opposed to Country Clubs. The mushroom sauce which is my favourite, was overshadowed by other sauces.

Dessert: Strawberries, truffle honey cream, black garlic and licorice ice cream

This dish intrigued me with the unique combination of sweet and savoury flavours of the liquorice and black garlic ice-cream. The black garlic was subtle and could not be tasted but it had a nice texture and was extra creamy. The liquorice flavour was not too overpowering. The truffle honey cream had a thick gelatine layer on the top which I did not like, it had not much flavour and was rubbery in texture. The rest of it was a bit bland. The raspberry sauce was thick and mixed with gelatine but had nice flavours. The strawberries had been preserved in syrup which seeped out with each bite which I enjoyed. Overall, this dish was not fantastic but the ice-cream was nice but there was an overuse of gelatine in the other elements.

Irish Coffee

The Irish Coffee that I tried was too bitter to my liking. I requested a jar of sugar and used about 3 cubes of sugar just to get it to a drinkable state. 

Bathroom