Tonight we are celebrating,
You enter mantra through an over-sized front door, it adds to the grandiose oldie world atmosphere created inside.
The dark wood antique tables are set with beautifully shining glassware calling out for wine.
The menu is a hand written backboard, beautiful handwriting. Unfortunately the Sous Vide Lamb Backstrap was unavailable.
We chose Patrocinio Zinio Tempranillo Graciano Doca Rioja from Spain ($44)
Herb bread with Oil - the oil contained seaweed, salty, moreish, perfectly matched with the rosemary flavored bread.
A wonderful Cauliflower velouté with green pea and chive garnishing, It was very creamy and had a nice Parmesan taste unfortunately the chive garnish was a little overpowering and detracted from the overall flavor
Red Braised Pork Hock with Roasted Green Lobster and crisp Hen's Egg ($36)The boy had been considering the Sous Vide Lamb however that was unavailable he went the pork hock instead. The egg was poached then coated in polenta and fried. whilst the inside of the egg was still runny the polenta on the outside was very rough, not a favorite. The cucumber was a refreshing break to the fatty pork hock although with only 4 slices it hardly counted as a main ingredient. This dish is served with a stock poured over at the table, this was a nice touch and a very nice stock.
Grass Fed Fillet of Beef with Chevre filled Zucchini Flower and truffled potato puree ($35)I ordered medium rare, perhaps I should have ordered rare as the beef was very tough. I loved the chevre filed zucchini flower I didn't realise the flower continued to be attached to the zucchini as it grew, the zucchini was really crunchy and the flavors contrasted well with the beef. The Truffled mash came across as quite nutty and was very creamy. The surprise delight was the little roasted potatoes at first I thought they were scallops (perhaps I had had too much wine) and was delighted how they added texture to the whole dish.
Steamed Broccoli with anchovy Cream ($9) and Roasted New Potatoes with Dijon Cream ($9)The sides were a big disappointment.
The broccoli itself was delicious served in a little butter perfect the anchovy cream not so much.
The potatoes would have been much better on their own, the Dijon Cream coated the skin and didn't really add anything to the flavor, something was need to cut through the grease a light roast potato with herbs and sea salt would have been a much better match. Not even the tiny tongs could make these sides work.
The overall ambiance of Mantra has been well designed, The waitress was lovely and took time to discuss the menu with us. We went on a Wednesday night and there were 3 other tables booked. I believe there are some changes going on in the kitchen at the moment and hopefully things will pick up. We had a nice evening but ultimately the food did not live up to expectations and with so much tasty competition just down the road it's not worth the price
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Mantra on King William
36 King William Rd
GOODWOOD SA
Tel. 08 8377 7201
e-mail: ben.warren@mantraonkingwilliam.com
Opening Hours: Tue-Fri: Lunch & Dinner
Sat: Dinner
Sun: Breakfast
2 comments:
this bit made me giggle:
"the little roasted potatoes at first I thought they were scallops (perhaps I had had too much wine)"
they *look* like scallops in the photo! but too much wine sounds like a plausible explanation!
this bit made me giggle:
"the little roasted potatoes at first I thought they were scallops (perhaps I had had too much wine)"
they look like scallops in the photo! but too much wine is also a plausible explanation!
xx
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