The Grill @ Duxton, Perth

The month of March is Perth's Food and Wine Month, and there are restaurants in and around the Perth area that are offering $15 lunch and $25 dinner deals for the month of March. Most of them offer only a main course meal (usually from a selection of two choices) and a glass of wine for the said price, so obviously not all are good value for the price (especially not for us non-alcohol drinkers), but there are a handful around that gives entree or soup or dessert in addition to the main meal. The Grill at the Duxton is one of them, and I wanted to try it out. The last (and first) time we were at the Duxton was on our wedding night back in August 2004 (a lovely gift from a group of my friends) and I thought that it would be nice to go back there and have a romantic date. So I booked a table for two for Saturday dinner, and informed Rob not to make any other dinner plans for that day.

It certainly was nice to be back at the Duxton as we have fond memories of our last visit here. We know that the breakfast buffet spread is excellent, and were quite eager to try the dinner a-la-carte selections. We were pleasantly surprised to find that with the $25 dinner special, we can choose from four main meals, and four desserts. Each of the main meal costs around $28 and desserts are around the $15 mark. I didn't check the price for a glass of wine, but with just the food, $25 is a pretty good deal.

The service of the waitstaff were good, friendly and professional. The atmosphere of The Grill is intimate enough for a romantic dinner for two. You wouldn't come here in a huge group of say more than 8 people (although the place can accommodate that size) - the quiet setting is perfect for catching up with friends in smaller groups (you don't have to yell to be heard, or strain to hear what other people are saying).





And we come to the food. I do think that the food here is overpriced. Honestly, we probably would not consider dining at The Grill if it wasn't for the $25 dinner special. It's a hotel restaurant, and food are priced much more than they are worth. For around the same price (without the special deal), I'd much rather go to Tsunami.

Main meals

I had grilled snapper on chickpea mousseline with mussels and thai green curry. The fish was prepared well, and the mild curry went well with the mousseline (it's a yuppy foodie term for chickpea mash).



Rob chose the salt and pepper squid served on a rice noodle salad. This was a very mild-tasting dish. The batter coating did not stick very well to the squid, and the cold noodle salad was actually quite bland.



Desserts

Brownie pave served with berries (supposed to come with vanilla gelato which was accidentally left off my plate, but I wasn't too fussed about that). Tastes just like brownies.



Semifroddo with cocoa-dusted pastry sticks. Neither of us had tried semifroddo before - very much like ice cream, but a lot creamier and less sugary. I could only have a couple of spoons of this before it got too rich for me.





Overall, I had a really nice time. It's good to take the time out in our busy lifestyle to have these special romantic dinners just by ourselves now and then (trying to make it a monthly thing).