18 October 2009

Cream: Cafe and Bar, Civic, Canberra (1 Oct 2009)

Shop FG10 Bunda Street, Civic ACT 2601
http://www.creamcafebar.com.au


Decor good but meals just OK

While visiting Canberra I noticed the Civic area has undergone a bit of renovation since my last visit a few years ago. There's plenty of new dining options now which are attracting many diners to the area and seems to be the touristy part of town, a bit like the King Street Wharf and Cockle Bay Wharf of Sydney without the water views. The Cream Cafe and Bar looked promising with it's sleek decor and had available seating for our hungry table of 5 without waiting. The meals were reasonably priced although in terms of flavour we found them a little disappointing to what we were expecting. It filled the stomach anyway and perhaps it's more a place for drinks and a coffee and cake?

Duck Risotto: Duck braised in master stock with shallots, chilli, choy sum and shiitake mushrooms $21

Jambalaya: New orleans inspired rice dish with prawns, fish, calamari, mussels, chorizo, tomato and chilli $21

Chicken Risotto: Tender chicken, black olives, roast red pepper, hickory smoked tomato, basil and parsley $21

Linguini with prawns, fish, calamari, mussels, garlic, chilli and fresh herbs $21

Bill

Kapuka Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2009 $36 bottle

3 comments:

Fiona said...

I think Cream isn't as good as when it opened - particularly service-wise. My partner got a luke warm hotchocolate once, and when asked how it was replied "undrinkable" and the girl giggled and took it away (this was when my coffee was empty, so it was clearing time). It was a WTF moment.

Lorraine @NotQuiteNigella said...

Wow, that's a lot of rice dishes! Is that reflective of the menu?

Simon Leong said...

hi fiona, sounds like a case of getting lazy now that they are established. certainly sounds like a WTF moment. rest assure places like this won't last in the end if the service fails to deliver which is one of the most important parts of a dining experience.

hi lorraine, they seem to have other types of dishes but the guests seemed to be keen on their risotto dishes for some reason hehe

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