Dinner in the Swan Valley at Stewart’s at Brookleigh
It was a spur of the moment decision to visit Stewart’s at Brookleigh in Upper Swan, however I could not think of a more lovelier way to spend my Wednesday night. The property straddles the Swan River and it’s made up of accommodation, a health & day spa, an equestrian centre and of course Stuart’s restaurant.
The restaurant is in an old homestead style building with a modern twist. From the thick pieces of wood framing to the hanging lanterns. It has a sense of elegance yet a very cosy homely feel. We weren’t dressed to the nines and despite this we felt very comfortable, I guess you could say that it had a laid back glamour to it. The perfect spot to chill out after a game of polo perhaps!
I had made a booking earlier on in the day, just in case. The restaurant was bustling but not overly busy which made for a nice chilled out romantic evening. As I had perused the menu earlier on in the afternoon I thought I had made my decision… Until I heard the special of the day!
So here is what Mr. Spittoon and I ordered:
Entree:
Shared plate of shaved “San Danielle” prosciutto & “El Conquistador” Serrano jamon, marinated feta & grilled toast AU$18
Main:
Atlantic Salmon served with fondant potatoes, an avocado guacamole, steamed asparagus, dressed with a Chardonnay butter sauce and served with a wedge of lemon AU$36
Pork loin saltimbocca with sweet potato & pumpkin confit, green beans & Spanish ham AU$38
Dessert:
Flourless chocolate cake served with thick cream, chocolate crunchies and berry sauce AU$12.50
Vanilla cheesecake, lemon curd, caramel almonds berries and meringue AU$12.50
First up, I think all the prices above were great value and they are pretty decent for the Swan Valley as prices are seeming to soar at the moment. The entrée was divine, I love how they took the simple idea of meat, cheese and bread and made it amazing. It was a great start to our meal and teamed up well with glasses of Upper Reach Reserve Shiraz (read my tasting note here) and the Latour Charlemagne Médoc Cabernet Sauvignon (read my tasting note here). The Latour had us both gushing with delight, heavenly!
Next up, wow the mains were awesome! Mr.Spittoon loved his ‘pork 2-ways’ and my salmon… was absolutely divine! The bright yellow Chardonnay sauce round the bottom of the plate was to die for! The worst part of the meal was that they didn’t give me enough of that sauce, I was basically licking my plate to get every last drop of it! It also was a superb match to the Upper Reach Chardonnay (read my tasting note here).
No meal is complete without dessert right? We loved the sound of all 4 desserts on the menu so we figured instead of sharing one like we normally do that we would just get two and share those… Very logical! The cheesecake is actually a new addition to the menu at Stewart’s and kudos to the chef. Such a pretty and very tasty dessert. The mini meringues were gorgeous and that sorbet had us both reminiscing of jellytip ice creams (I’m not sure if these are only a New Zealand thing – think, chocolate, vanilla ice-cream and red jelly all mixed into one). However the super moist and absolutely delectable chocolate cake was literally a match made in heaven for our dessert wine the, Talijancich Julian James Reserve Muscat 1961 Solera (read my tasting note here and find out what a Solera is).
I am literally in a food and wine haze just from the memories of eating at Stewart’s. The perfect spot for a date night (Mr. Spittoon earned LOTS of brownie points for this one) or just a really delicious meal, laid black glamour style. I would definitely go back. Check out Stewarts at Brookleigh menu’s here.
