Cafe Durack

This week we decided to stay local and eat as cheaply as possible due to a fairly expensive dining experience coming up next week. Hence we ate at Cafe Durack, Palmerston, which you will find beside the service station at the bottom of Durack.

When we drove up to the cafe, on dusk, we nearly didn't stop. The tinted windows and no sign of life gave us the impression the cafe was closed. Luckily for them we took a closer look. My first advice to the owners would be to put some brighter lighting outside or some  sort of flashing open neon sign; I'm sure others driving past would have also got the impression it was closed. It wasn't until much later, when it had become dark, that you could notice the lights inside.

Upon entering we found a warm and inviting cafe with delicious cakes on display and an interesting menu. We chose the Durack Burger, Fish and Chips, and Beef Curry.

Durack Burger - $12.50 - homemade beef pattie, egg, bacon, cheese, salad and chips. This was a BIG burger and certainly was a filling meal. The homemade pattie was rather bland lacking in flavour, however it had melted cheese over it which saved the day. The chips were hot and crispy.

Fish and Chips - $15.95 - local Threadfin Salmon, salad and chips. (With this meal you could have a choice between Barramundi or Threadfin Salmon.)  The meal was served with a garden salad and crispy chips. It was a big meal and certainly enjoyable.

Beef Curry - $9.95 - curried beef and rice. This meal was ordered off the special's board. It was a small serve, if you're really hungry you would be better off with one of the more substantial meals on offer. The curry was really spicy, which may not be to everyone's liking. The meat was tender and lean. This was a very ordinary looking meal with no garnish.

We finished our evening with coffee and Apple Pie. We were saved from fake whipped cream by being allowed to have icecream with it.  For me the apple pie was rather bland, I would have preferred some sweetness or extra flavour in it, such as cinnamon. Perhaps if it had been warmed up it would have improved the taste. All their cakes are made on site by the cook and I would have to say they all looked really delicious.

The cafe was not busy, we wondered how many people had driven past not realising it was open. It has potential; the staff are pleasant, the menu is adequate and the cafe itself is clean and inviting. There is also an outside eating area. Their prices are good compared to the size of the meal served. If you are looking for a low key dining experience, this may be the place for you.

Salt n Peppa

Salt n Peppa, Cafe Ristorante, is located on Woodlake Boulevarde, Durack, Palmerston. Ph 8932 1818.

NOTE: Salt n Peppa now has a liquor licence.

This restaurant is a welcome addition to Palmerston's eating establishments. Palmerston has been sorely lacking fine cuisine...now we have Salt n Peppa...this is a must-go-to restaurant.

It has a warm, cosy ambience for diners seated inside, with its ochre hues and panoramic mirrored windows. The outside seating also looked comfortable; diners sitting on the front veranda made a picturesque setting.

The staff were pleasant and waited on us in a professional manner.

We started with Roasted Garlic Focaccia, $6.60 -  four large, delicious pieces.

Moroccan Lamb - marinated lamb cooked medium rare served on a red lentil mash, harissa sauce and a mint yoghurt, at $19.00, was an absolutely delicious meal. The lamb was tender and not too pink; it melted in your mouth. The lentil mash had a slight spicy tang to it which made it very pleasant indeed. The harissa sauce and yoghurt complemented the meal with their unique flavours. The meal was served with baby spinach. I'm not sure if this meal was meant to be hot or warm. It came out warm, I wondered if it had been sitting for a while and had lost its heat. This however, did not detract from my enjoyment of the meal.

Thai Prawns - marinated prawns, vermicelli pancake served with a mixed herb salad and chili, ginger and lemon grass dressing (imported), $28.00. Nine extremely tasty butterfly prawns, a rather plain looking salad, and an interesting looking vermicelli pancake. This was an unusual mix that worked well.

Crispy Skinned Chicken Kiev - stuffed avocado and Camembert cheese served on wilted spinach, potato fritter and a home made hollandaise sauce, $29.90. This meal caused the most discussion at the table. It was chicken on the bone which looked like it had been poached then lightly fried, and it was swimming in chicken jus (which was not mentioned on the menu.) A diner at a nearby table ordered the exact same meal and hers looked quite different, with not as much jus, and the chicken looked crispier with a definite charred finish to the bone. We wondered what had happened to ours.

The meal was served with home made bread rolls, although we did have to ask for them after we noticed that every other table had been served with bread rolls and ours hadn't. They were delicious. It's really good to see a restaurant that still serves bread rolls, so few do these days.

Wildberry Stack

We don't normally treat ourselves to dessert, but this evening we decided to try our luck. Chocoate Mousse, Wildberry Stack and Chocolate Mud Cake. All baked on the premises. The Wildberry Stack was the nicest of the three. All three desserts were beautifully presented and we were especially delighted to find they were served with real cream. The Chocolate Mousse was disappointing, lacking texture.

The chef, Chris, came out to chat with diners at the end of the evening. It's great to see a chef who is keen to learn if his patrons enjoyed their meals, he took on board all our comments. He was eager to chat about his recipes and ideas for future menu changes.

Choc Mousse

Choc Mud Cake

This restaurant was busy, all tables being reserved. Since opening nine weeks ago they have done a roaring trade and have been packed nearly every night.

It would be wise to book if you intend going.

Finz

Finz restaurant is located at the Mantra on the Esplanade, Darwin.

Three of us ventured out this evening - we wanted to try out a restaurant that was a little more up market to see what differences there would be in the main meals. We found a limited choice of 8 main meals however they all sounded delicious.

We waited half an hour for our meals, even though the restaurant wasn't overly busy.

The Pan Fried Barramundi with Asian style broth, Mushroom Chilli, Bok Choy and Vermicelli Noodles was exquisitely presented and delicious. It was moist, flavoursome and just melted in your mouth. Such a pity that it was a small serving, I could have eaten twice the amount. For $32.00 I would have liked a little more.

Barramundi

The Sesame Crusted Atlantic Salmon with Asian Greens, Cucumber Onion and Herb Salad, priced at $32.00, looked appealing and you could tell it was a meal to die for. It was enjoyed immensely with one comment being, "well worth the money."

Salmon

Our third meal was a disappointment. Chicken Breast stuffed with Semi-Dried Tomato, Cream Cheese in a light Red Curry Sauce, topped with Carrot and Coriander Salad, $32.00. What came out of the kitchen was not what was advertised on the menu. Instead of being a stuffed breast it was rolled chicken.

Chicken

Watch this blog for further comments as I'm sure the other diners will  post their thoughts and feelings on what they thought of their meals.

Be prepared to spend up big when visiting this restaurant. The main meals aren't cheap, $28-$35,  most entrees are $18.00, desserts $12.00, side serves $5.50 and children's meals, $10.00. And remember, if you want to leave feeling full, then it's best to order more than just the main meal.

They also have cheese platters on offer, $22 - $32. Certainly a pleasant addition to the menu.

I was a little disappointed to see that the children's meals were rather boring and typical of a fast food outlet... served with chips.

The service was good with staff ensuring that we were happy. We presented a discount voucher upon payment, this being accepted with no problems at all.

Fasta Pasta

Fasta Pasta, located next to the Casuarina Shopping Centre, is a popular local fast food franchise. I'm loathe to call this establishment a restaurant, it's more like an eatery. Being very noisy; it reminded me of an eatery in a large shopping centre. Patrons were casually dressed, overly casual in some instances. Thongs and singlets.


We had to line up to order our food, taking 10 minutes to move along the line. A friendly and courteous young lady took our order, apologising for the wait. We only had to wait 20 minutes for our meals, pretty good considering how busy they were.

Tortellini Zucca; at $16.40 this was a reasonably priced meal. Such a shame I could not eat it all due to the fact that the tortellini tasted like floury dough. The accompanying sauce, chicken and pumpkin tasted delicious. If I'd had a plate of that alone, minus the tortellini, it would have been a great meal.

Due Funghi; This meal was ordered from off the special's board, another reasonably priced meal at $17.90. It looked appetising with its crisp asparagus and porcini and swiss mushrooms.

Linguine Turismo; A delicious meal, reasonably priced at $17.90, however it did not have a lot of seafood.

We also ordered the Cheese Bread - melted mozarella on crispy toasted bread. Mozarella looks great melted, but it lacks flavour.

We noticed that a nearby table, with several young children, were a little agitated as they had been waiting quite some time and their children were getting hungry. A couple of the adults had been served their meals before the children. Food establishments need to consider children when preparing meals. If all the meals can't be served at the same time, then the children should be served theirs first. This would make the dining experience more pleasurable for all concerned.

Overall, I'd say this eating establishment is well priced, with an interesting selection on the menu. As long as you don't mind the casualness and associated noise I'm sure you would find a meal of your liking and would enjoy the visit.

We didn't stay too long, no after dinner coffee or cakes, far too noisy for my liking. We moved on to quieter surroundings.