Balthazar

Review:

You might be wondering why I put a picture of the bread and butter as the main picture that represents Balthazar Restaurant. It was because they were the most spectacular out of the whole night.

The bread was presented in a heavy duty black pouch, which we first found quite strange. Upon taking the bread, we found a bed of hot stones to keep the bread warm. It was perfectly paired with the black garlic salt butter! It was up there in the list of best butter I’ve ever tasted.

Wood fired bread, butter, black garlic salt – $3

However, our supposedly main dinner night in Perth turned out to be a not-so-spectacular one. Granted they might fill in the checks for being a fine dining restaurant with their nice looking and well-presented dishes.

Entree

My first choice of entree was its crab (fried soft shell crab and crab meat). The watermelon was featured prominently in the dish, but the crab meat was more of a side attraction. It was quite a confusing combination of sweet, salty, savoury, and spicy with a hint of crispy soft shell crab. I love each individual items (and that’s why I ordered it), but I think they were not meant for each other.

Crab, watermelon, jalapeno, shallot, watercress – $23

My colleague told me that the Kangaroo fillet was okay with the mushroom ketchup (or sauce). He also added that the kangaroo would benefit more with a couple of authentic Australian herbs to match the taste.

Kangaroo, peas, radish, mushroom ketchup – $22

In-Betweens and Side Dish

Between the entree and main course they gave us a Palate Cleanser. I guess it really did cleanse your palate as that small icy dish was very sour and quite bitter.

I am also giving a special acknowledgement to the side dish that we ordered: Duck Fat potatoes with rosemary and garlic. They were so tasty and fragrant!

Duck fat potatoes, rosemary, garlic – $12 – and Palate Cleanser

Main Course

The first main course, pork loin and ham hock, had the cool effect: they poured a purple substance into the dish shortly before serving. It also had mouth watering description: Pork loin, ham hock, crackle, mustard, cabbage, maple.

Pork loin, ham hock, crackle, mustard, cabbage, maple – $42

However, once again it fell a bit short in the taste department.

Our other main course was duck. It was probably the nicest out of the four courses.

Duck, carrot, lemon, bok choy, ginger – $46

Dessert

I did not try the Goats Cheese Peach as I am not a big fan of peach.

Goats Cheese Peach – $18

The Banana Mousse looked like a big scary yellow thing in the middle of pretty edible decorations. It was probably one of the biggest desserts ever served in a fine dining restaurant.

Banana Mousse – $18

It is amazing how the cheaper ones constantly outperformed the main dishes in Balthazar restaurant. Our other desserts (the exploding jelly pop and the caramel) were only costing us $4 a piece!

Caramel and Jelly Pop – $4 each

The final verdict for Balthazar Restaurant

When the best dishes of the night were the bread and side dish in a fine dining restaurant, I say it merits a call for concerns for Balthazar restaurant. Service was also quite sub-par.

Did you know?

Balthazar restaurant might have quite the reputation of being one of the best restaurants in Perth back in the days. However, they seemed to have fallen off a few spots from the AGFG list.

Rating for Balthazar Restaurant:

6.5 / 10

Taste: 7.0 / 10

Price: $30 – $47 per main dish

Place: 7.0 / 10

Details:

6 The Esplanade, Perth 6000

+61 8 9421 1206

http://balthazar.com.au/