http://www.thefalconer.com.au
Licenced to comfort
I’ve dined twice at this old charm retro fitted restaurant and the food continues to be good quality comfort food in a nice ambient setting. Service has been friendly, even when they were busy the first time I dined and had to wait over an hour for a table. Booking a table in advance for the second time round was a much better idea. The cheapest bottle of red was the Fat Tree 2008 Shiraz Cabernet SA ($30). I tend to pick the cheapest to see how it goes. It probably wasn’t the most sophisticated but certainly quaffable enough for a casual night of dining. The Antipasto for two ($28) comes with a selection of 4 items. All quite nice in their own right although I wished I’d ordered the Seared scallops ($16) instead with cauliflower puree, prosciutto & balsamic reduction as an entrée which sounded like my kind of dish. Warm Side bread ($7.50, 3 serves) with olive oil and balsamic vinegar helps fill the stomach on a cold night along with the Crispy shoe-string fries with The Falconer aioli ($8) which fairs well as a table share dish.
For those who love their meat you might be inclined to pick the ‘Good & Evil’ beef fillet wrapped in bacon crushed chat potatoes, spinach & béarnaise ($28). My medium rare order is bordering on more rare but still nice and tender although I would have liked the bacon to be less fatty and perhaps rendered of fat a bit more. There was no shortage of béarnaise which I couldn’t possibly finish without having a cardiac arrest. The Orecchiette with braised Hillside lamb ragu ($19) was well-liked and the orange zest used in the Confit duck risotto ($19) gave a nice touch on the palate. For dessert the Warm treacle tart, spiced cream, lavender sugar ($12) was a hit although our high hopes for the The Tom Waits ($12) wasn’t as moist as hoped. More ice cream would have been appreciated in the Affogato with Frangelico ice cream & Golden Cobra espresso ($8) but flavours were good.
SNAPSHOT REVIEW:
PROS: Cosy seating, Nice ambience and lighting, Good range of dishes which aren’t too expensive, Records played for background music, Service was efficient and friendly, Licenced and open for breakfast, lunch and dinner
CONS: Hard to get a seat when busy, A bit hard to get out of booths elegantly and without getting others to move out too, Table support can get in the way of feet sitting comfortably flat
MUST TRY: Anything on the menu that tickles your fancy
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Antipasto for two ($28)
Side bread and olive oil balsamic vinegar ($7.50, 3 serves)
Crispy shoe-string fries with The Falconer aioli ($8)
Excess of béarnaise sauce
Orecchiette with braised Hillside lamb ragu, Sicilian olives, eshallots & tomatoes ($19)
Confit duck risotto with peas, orangge zest & parmesan ($19)
Warm treacle tart, spiced cream, lavender sugar ($12)
