I've mentioned this before in the history of this blog... but every now and then, my wife and I will treat ourselves to a really nice restaurant for an anniversary or a birthday meal. We aren't foodies by any stretch of the imagination, but it is really nice to try these places out once in a while... just to see what it is like, and just for the whole experience!
This particular time, we tried out the Water's Edge restaurant on Lake Burley Griffon, near the Parliament House of Australia. It isn't one of the pricier places... but just nicely affordable for us!
The Space
The place is sort of nicely cosy in style... albeit a touch old fashioned! For me, it is also a bit on the too brightly lit side of things... as you can see, we came on a pretty quiet night, and they did the seating quite strangely... with partners sitting next to each other instead of opposite each other.
If you want to, you can also book one of the outdoor "domes"... essentially a little climate-controlled transparent (with curtains) private room. Honestly, I thought it was just too weird... and for some reason, your food options are limited when you eat out there!
Ahhhh.. the captivating Canberran skyline... not that impressive at night... nicer in the day. But I'm more than happy not to have lots of skyscrapers!
The Menu
For fine dining places, you can definitely get much more expensive than this! We ended up opting for the three course menu. For this, you do get to make choices within the entree/main/dessert classes... for the five course, you can't!?!??
Of course, there is always the option to order a la carte, but when we do these little nights out, we do prefer to do a tasting or set menu!
The Food
Plus... when you do the set menus, you often get nice little extras anyway! And our stomachs aren't that big that we can manage more than three courses....
So, to start off with... a warm sweet potato/pumpkin soup thing... very very nice, especially on a cold winter night! And followed up with a polenta slice... very much omelette-like in texture.
I chose the quail as my entree... very very nice, if a touch fiddley to eat with a knife and fork. If it wasn't such a nice place, I would have used my fingers!
Meanwhile, my wife went for the scallops... wow, it has been a very long time since we have cooked scallops for ourselves... I will have to start buying them again when we go to the fish shop.
For mains, my wife went for the barramundi. The fish itself was very good... but I did find that the sauce was too overpowering and heavy. Very fishy in taste too... the sauce, not the fish!
I was torn between the steak and the duck... in the end, I got the duck. It has been a very long time since I have had a good duck confit... and this was a really nice one... even if the photo looks a bit brown! Perhaps in hindsight, I would have chosen the steak instead... it was really quite similar to the quail!
Beans and snowpeas with roasted almonds was our side dish... the chips with parmesan sounded interesting, but we needed veggies, and I'm not sure my stomach would have handled cheesy chips!
A little palette cleanser before the dessert... a lemon sorbet with a bit of jelly and mint. Yum!
... and the main event, my wife took a chocolate lava cake... done very nicely... molten chocolate sauce on the inside, and nice a crisp on the outer edges.
I had the orange pannacotta with fruits, I love this stuff! I used to make pannacotta at home, and I think that I should start doing that again... a much simpler one, that I would just serve up with a little drizzle of nice honey... Yep, I'm doing that again!
The Experience
The food was really nice, and so was the service... it was a very quiet night, which made it feel a bit uncomfortable... but that wasn't really the fault of the restaurant... but it does make a bit of a difference!
As far as fine dining goes, this was quite affordable. But that said, I'm not sure that I would come back... I want to try other places, and I think that if this place didn't have the water view and location, it wouldn't be quite as nice.
Opening Times
Monday Closed
Tuesday Closed
Wednesday 12–3 pm, 6–9 pm
Thursday 12–3 pm, 6–9 pm
Friday 12–3 pm, 6–9 pm
Saturday 12–3 pm, 6–9 pm
Sunday 12–3 pm, 6–9 pm
Contact Details
Address: 40 Parkes Pl E, Parkes ACT 2600
Phone: (02) 6273 5066
Website: watersedgecanberra.com.au
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