By Franz Scheurer
It’s been a few years since my last visit and little has changed to the restaurant’s look and feel, though there has been a change of ownership and some quite dramatic changes in fact. The food here was always good but now it’s gone up a notch further. While past service was perfunctory at best, now it’s friendly, knowledgeable and the staff seems happy to be there. In fact this is one of the defining attributes of this restaurant: everyone seems to be in good humour. An open kitchen showcases a couple of chefs who never seem hassled and obviously enjoy their craft and even find time to share a joke in the middle of service.
I ordered a pre-entrée of six Albany rock oysters, served with 2 different toppings: mirin & seaweed, and mandarin, cucumber & celery salsa; the oysters were so good they really didn’t need any garnish at all. A side order of toasted Turkish bread and excellent Dukkah was very good, served with good olive oil for dipping.
We tried the ‘Duck Parfait with Port & Mouha Masa, with Cornichon and Olives’, the ‘Zaatar Dusted Squid on Fattoush Salad with Lemon Yoghurt’ and the ‘Mesclun & Rocket Salad Leaves with Fine Herbs, Pear and Walnut Vinaigrette’ for entrées, all presented very well and surprised with clean, fresh flavours. The zaatar dusting on the squid left a definite thyme flavour that worked well and the wonderfully smooth pâté packed a punch. The only other parfait I’ve tasted that works as well is Justin North’s at Bécasse in Sydney.
For mains we ordered the ‘Baked Lamb Ragout’ layered with eggplant and broad beans, the ‘Aubergine and Potato Curry’ with Basmati rice, pappadams and raita and the ‘Szechuan Spiced Pork Belly’ served with roasted sweet potato and an apple, cabbage and coriander salad. The lamb was so good, you’d swear it was cooked by a Greek mother. The pork belly was seventh heaven, soft, gelatinous, tender and obviously from a female pig, showing off good, crunchy, salty crackling. The bed of salad worked well as an accompaniment - this must have been the dish of the night. The curry had terrific flavours, the only complaint being that it wasn’t heated well enough.
For sweets we barley managed to share a ‘Mandarin Brûlée’ and again, it was a credit to chef Sam El-Koury.
Ze Arc of Iris is, as far as I am concerned, a must visit restaurant in Margaret River. It’s not fancy and it is noisy (except for a few tables towards the back) but the food is simple and fantastic and the service is good. I could easily return night after night while staying in Margaret River.
Score: 7.5/10
For more information:
Ze Arc of Iris
151 Bussell Highway
Margaret River WA 6285
Tel.: 08 9757 3112