Tags

, ,

Dinner with friends in Canberra

IMG_1994One of my friends loves this restaurant and whenever she is up visiting from down the coast, she invites a few of us to join her for dinner.

I drove to the restaurant which is only about ten minutes from my home and when my friend and I arrived, our two other friends were already seated and enjoying  a martini so another round was ordered but I stuck with my usual glass of Sauvignon Blanc.

There is a really good menu of martinis along with non-alcoholic ‘mocktails’.  The food menu is scribbled along the back wall ready to be scratched out when the particular menu item is no longer available – this I was told is to ’86 ‘ something which means it is to have an item crossed off the menu.  Since my last visit they now have paper menus which are easier to read as on my both visits I have sat with my back to the blackboard.

IMG_1990 IMG_1988

The dishes at ’86’ are meant to be shared and I really only go to there to catch up with my visiting friend as there are not a lot of vegetarian dishes.  My friends ordered the chicken liver parfait with jam and toast (not the jam and toast you have for breakfast!!)…they loved it.

IMG_1993

They also ordered the dry aged t-bone steak with salsa verde and béarnaise sauce [this is cut up into smaller pieces before it arrives at the table], the fried chicken pieces with hot sauce and the hoisin duck bun with pickled cucumber.

By this time my friend’s husband had arrived so he ordered a cocktail and after a while another order of the chicken was made as I am told it was delicious.

I ordered the lemon ricotta pumpkin gnocchi with asparagus and chèvre, the cauliflower with house yoghurt and pomegranate and the pea, lime and fennel salad…we all shared my vegetarian dishes and every one of us said the fennel salad was delicious.  I love fennel and this salad with mint and leaves was so refreshing.  But both me and my visiting friend said the gnocchi was a little dry (seemed like it had been cooked  a while before it was served and left out before coming to the table).

IMG_1996

I was rather full by this stage but my friends decided to share a couple of desserts; a chocolate ice-cream dish with maltesers and honeycomb and another dish which was based on cucumber.  I would never have ordered this but when it came out I did taste a little and it was really nice. Who would have thought a dessert made with cucumber would be lovely.  My friends decided to pull funny faces for me to post…(probably one too many cocktails!!).

IMG_2003 IMG_2001