This review is based on my third visit to Verde – a fantastic restaurant that we tumbled upon earlier this year.
This Italian restaurant is perfectly situated on the corner or Riley and Stanley streets in Darlinghurst, Sydney. While there are other restaurants around, they don’t seem to come close to the quality of Verde.
Inside, you have a split level setup with a bar and lounge on top with a good, but not too busy, seating capacity below.
The staff are very friendly and given the size of the restaurant have a good eye for detail to make sure you’re comfortable and well attended to.
We had been to their cocktail bar in both our previous visits, and their selection is well worthy to have a night for just drinks itself. Get friendly with the cocktail maker, and ask if he can treat you to a special taste that you have in mind.
The wine list at the restaurant is exceptional too. What I love was that the waitress actually asked if we needed help. Based on what we were planning to eat or felt like drinking, she could make a good suggestion. I decided to ask for help – I felt like a sweet wine, and she suggested an Italian variety – it was just what I needed. The lady knew her wine.
You get served a bread roll each while you wait for your food to turn up – but its not a bread worth talking about, so I’ll skip this part.
To start off with, I had the Truffle Infused Ricotta and Spinach Tortellini with Sage butter. Each bite had so much flavour of the cheese and sage butter with the right al dante cooked tortellini. The cheese wasn’t too strong or overpowering, and neither was the truffle oil. There were a few fried sage leaves which added some crispiness to the tortellini.
Mains was a challenge – a Sweet Bungalow Pork Loin, Soft Polenta and Honey Glazed Pear. The presentation was perfect. The pork sat on a bed of mashed polenta with the pear on the side, and a strip of a pork crackling lay on top over the pork and pear. That wasn’t what I was expecting and hence, a surprise to the dish. After munching on my pork crackling, I picked up my cutlery and it was time to tear into the pork. This has to be one of the best pork loins I have ever had. You have a contrast of tasting a bite of meat with either a savoury side with the polenta or the sweet side with the pear. We also ordered a side of their mixed salad that took the edge of the meaty dish when you wanted to bite on some leaves – but my attention span couldn’t deviate me from the pork.
With a good amount of effort and a appetite to match, I was able to complete my main. However, this left no room for dessert.
Bear in mind, in my past experiences at Verde, the desserts haven’t blown me away compared to the entree and mains. But I was half tempted by the special cheese & fruit plate.
On the money side of things, Verde isn’t your cheap meal. Be prepared to fork out up to $20 for entree and unto $35 for mains. Alternatively, you can request a degustation menu for $110 or $160 with wine.
What you do pay for is quality of food, good ambience, great staff and an overall experience. Verde is one restaurant, that I will always return to for a special occasion.
Oh, and I recommend you make a booking in advance. But on the plus side, if you just turn up you could be waiting in their upstairs cocktail lounge until your table is ready. It’s a win win situation.
The first impact of this French restaurant was that it was busy – very busy! We had a booking for 4 made days in advance (just to be safe) and I recommend you do the same, don’t just turn up.
The staff immediately attended to you once you stepped in and we were seated pretty much in the middle of the lower level. The upper level has more tables and a bar.
The menu was perfect with not too much variety, but just enough to make your selection easy from 6 options for each course. In fact, you can view it here – http://www.tabourestaurant.com.au/menu.pdf
We ordered some white wine, and if memory serves me right, I believe we a 2006 Andre Kientzler, Pinot Gris – actually, we had 2 of those!
To start, I had the cheese soufflé – which was perfectly cooked. I was told prior to coming to Tabou, that this could be quite a heavy dish. It wasn’t too heavy, but then again – I had a good appetite built up before leaving home. With each spoonful, the cheese just melted in your mouth and the taste was exceptional, I could do it again for mains.
My mains contained slices of roast lamb loin served with aubergine (eggplant), courgette (zucchini) and anchoiade (?). The lamb was cooked really, medium-rare – just how I like it. The vegetables and sauce however, was quite bland – a bit too simple in my opinion. The vegetables had a nice bit and complimented the lamb well – without them, it would be a plain meat dish with tomato paste. Might try the pork next time.
To top it off, I had another soufflé, but this time it was chocolate and I can’t say that this was my favourite dessert. While the soufflé itself was very nice, the surrounding chocolate sauce was quite bitter – almost tasted of coffee, not what I expected (or maybe I didn’t read the fine lines of the dessert description). But the dates flavoured ice cream served beside it, saved my tongue. We also had a bottle of dessert wine to leave a sweet taste on our palates.
Overall, I enjoyed dining at this restaurant. Yes, it is expensive – especially when 4 of us order 3 bottles of wine at $60 a bottle. If you get a 3 course meal alone, be prepared to fork $70 out. If you have French bottle of wine or two, you’ll soon be looking at 3 digit figures per head. Overall for the quality of food, I may have preferred elsewhere (like Vamps). But the overall experience in itself, was well worth it.
Atmosphere – 8/10
Food – 7/10
Wine/Cocktails – 9/10
Staff – 8.5/10
Value for money – 7/10
I can’t remember the first time I went to this restaurant, but I can never forget the way it’s food taste. One thing about Chinta Ria that I love, is consistency!
They always have that same great flavour and aroma, and never have I felt the need to return a dish back. Overall, it comes with a reasonable price tag – a little pricey, but reasonable.
The menu stocks a good variety of Malaysia style food, and it appeals from vegetarians through to seafood lovers. The curry puffs, tofu quartets and fried Lohbak (mince chicken wrapped in bean curd) are great entree choices. For mains, I have previously had the Red Temple chicken (red curry), Curry lamb, Ayam Ria (stir-fried chicken with spices and veg) – and they all taste amazing. I suggest you try them with coconut rice for a change. I hear the Beef Randang isn’t bad either.
The wine list isn’t short and it gives you a good variety of reds, whites and sparkling. My favourite from their list is - Juniper Crossing Margaret River Chardonnay (Margaret River) and Boat O’Craigo ‘Rob Roy’ Pinot Noir (Yarra Valley).
I haven’t had dessert at this restaurant, because I don’t know if they actually have a menu for that course.
Located at Cockle Bay wharf, near the Darling Harbour in Sydney, the ambience hasn’t been sacrificed in order to provide good food. Their interior is dim lighted and calm, and a large Buddha statue at the entrance almost amazes everyone who comes in for the first time.
One thing that I noticed when I last went to Chinta Ria, was the background music. It’s not pop, nor techno, nor anything commercial – instead it’s repeated chants that Monks listen to when praying. I think it subliminally calms your mind.
Now there are couple of things that disappointed me:
1) You cannot make a reservation. It’s first come, first serve
2) The place can get very crowded and you can end up close to another table
3) It can get loud depending on where you sit, making it a little hard for friendly conversation.
4) A busy night means lack of service – we waited a while before we could place our order and another again before we received our glass of wine
5) The food came out very quick, almost too quick where I felt we were being asked to eat up and leave
Overall, I love dining here and its always had great memories. It is a great experience in itself and I would highly recommend it.
Food: 8/10
Wine: 7/10
Atmosphere: 8/10
Staff: 7/10
Value for money: 8/10