Modern Fine Dining
Dinner Review
With my recent culinary crusade of Vietnam and Cambodia still lingering in my mind and creepy crawly courses of tarantula and snake lingering on my tongue, I was eager to chow down on some great South Aussie tucker. As it was my parents Wedding Anniversary I wanted somewhere that offered a fine dining experience with a matching atmosphere. The Festival of Food offered two options that had not yet been visited in 2012 being that of Windy Point Restaurant and The Sebel Playford, but I chose the latter as I hadn’t eaten there for the Festival of Food in previous years.
Upon booking I asked what parking options were available, to which I was advised that the station in Victoria St would offer secure parking and the staff and concierge would validate our visit to provide seamless and complimentary parking. This proved to be valuable due to the location of the restaurant where limited timed street parks were available.
Entering the restaurant we were warmly greeted by Timika and were promptly shown to our table. Con announced himself as our waiter for the evening and portrayed great energy and enthusiasm from word ‘go’. As Con delivered our rosemary and shallot house bread, whipped butter and tomato crutomat, he took us through our Festival of Food menu options and advised that he would return momentarily to take our order.
After a short but not extended wait, Con returned and politely apologised for the delay while also demonstrating exceptional customer service and relationship skills through his whimsical and light-hearted, yet professional manner. We placed our order for mains as follows:
Mum: Truffle infused free range chicken breast, potato terrine, parma crisp, parmesan custard and micro herb salad
Dad: Clean and sustainable King salmon fillet, warm new potatoes, horseradish crème and citrus spiced beetroot
Myself: Onkaparinga fallow Denver leg venison pan seared with shallots, hazelnut kohlrabi, parsnip crisps and venison jus
Side Dishes: Steamed greens rolled in Udder Delight’s goat’s curd and almond dukkah
As our entrée tasting plates arrived I immediately noticed the well sized individually plated portions of Citrus cured king salmon tartare with avocado crème, cucumber and chives on olive soil, an eggplant, fetta and basil terrine with pickled courgette and Greek salad in a glass. Both the king salmon tartare and eggplant terrine were gracefully smooth in texture and fresh in flavour, whereas I found the Greek salad in a glass to be more like a vinegar jelly with no real ingredient definition that left me wishing I hadn’t saved it for last as a palate cleanser.
As Con collected our plates he was more than happy to receive our feedback and accepted the constructive criticism I gave promising to pass it onto the kitchen. Due to the generous entrée tasting plates, I also asked if we could possibly pause the service of the next course for approximately 20 minutes, which Con affirmatively acknowledged without hesitation.
Almost like a magicians trick, our main dishes appeared spot on time. Our eyes expanded in amazement at the sheer mass of food that made up our mains; I was pleasantly surprised that the Sebel Playford didn’t suffer the ’large plate, small meal’ syndrome many other fine dining restaurants do these days. There was only one question left; will this creative colossal cuisine live up to its visual immensity?
The answer was without doubt, yes! The venison was cooked perfectly medium rare, as requested, the parsnip crisps were exactly as named, crisp, and the jus was thick and intense which formed more of a bolognaise style sauce.
There were more ooh’s and ah’s coming from my parents corners than words which is always a joyous result. My mum’s chicken was perfectly cooked and beautifully tender with the perfect level of truffle to ensure the parma crisp didn’t overpower it. My dad’s salmon had a crisp skin and moist inner structure which was perfectly complimented by the horseradish crème. The steamed greens with goat’s curd was velvety smooth and light enough to pay tribute to our dinner choices.
Once again we commended Con on the quality and flavour of the food and ordered some dessert drinks to chill out and reflect with. Luckily the chocolate ganache and raspberry meringue dessert tasting platter was a smaller quantity as I was already wishing I could unbutton my pants.
We could do nothing but admire the level of quality fare and exceptionally friendly service. We left knowing that the dinner and environment was the ideal choice for such a momentous occasion. My only disappointment was that I hadn’t visited the Sebel Playford earlier, but I am delighted to have discovered another of Adelaide’s dining treasures in such an accessible and common haven.
Darren Richards
(AKA Dougal McFuzzlebutt)
Special Menu Pricing
Dinner Monday – Friday $32.50
Dinner Saturday $42.50
*Bookings and brochure essential. Quote ‘Festival of Food’ when booking
**Full menu options also available
Where: 120 North Terrace Adelaide 5000
Trading: Breakfast: Mon – Fri 6:30am – 10:30am and Sat - Sun 6.30am - 9.00am or 9.30am to 11.00am
Dinner: Mon – Sun 6pm – 10pm
Website: mirvachotels.com/sebel-playford-adelaide/dining
Contact: (08) 8213 8844
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
