By Luciene Francisco
Why is it that revolving
restaurants are known for bad food? Is
the rent so hight that cost cutting is the only way to survive, or is it that
chefs have to cater to such a wide range of tourists’ tastes to keep the majority
happy?
A recent trip to Canberra
gave me an opportunity to find out. Nothing else was open in The Capital on
this Wednesday night, and we were after a view; so our friendly concierge
popped us into a taxi early in the night. After a confusing few minutes trying
to find our way up and into the Telstra Tower (signage is poor), we were there,
ready to take it all in.
Recently renovated, the
restaurant itself is minimalist – the view is the hero, and rightly so. The
décor is white and modern with a James-Bond-cool bar tucked into a corner next
to the retro looking waiting area. However it’s the food that fills the senses.
Chef Kurt Neumann seems set to shake off any of those nasty preconceptions
about rotating restaurants.
With the food prepared below
and brought up top for service, much of the menu can’t be fiddled with,
although the kitchen was happy to accommodate our youngest guests request for
the giant, tasty ‘Prawn tortellini and green pea velouté with baby maché salad
and white truffle oil’ to be served “without the grown-up stuff.”
We feasted on the meltingly
cheesy and herbaceous ‘Twice cooked zucchini and goat’s cheese soufflé’, mopped
up with delicious, warm bread and salty butter. The ‘Roasted quail with bone
marrow, parsley and beurre noisette and bread sauce’ was picked to the bone,
the accompanying salad a terrific combination of complementing textures. And a
side dish of ‘Green beans with crisp prosciutto and herb dressing’ showed off
perfectly tender beans, which is rare.
The ‘Thirlmere Park duck
livers’ were a little rare, even for me, but oh-so-close to perfect. My main
course of ‘Pan-roasted free-range spatchcock on potato skordalia with petite
ratatouille and salsa verde’ was delicious – good to see such bold flavours and
fine knife skills on display. The benchmark ‘Steak with mashed potatoes’ on
another plate also exceeded expectations and I wished I’d saved just a little
more room to squeeze in another bite. The only dessert we could fit in was the
‘Flourless chocolate cake, cocoa roasted dates and vanilla ice cream’ - a
delicious, sticky mess.
All in all, presentation
and flavours were terrific, if at times too many elements on the plate tended
to blur clarity a little, giving more of a rustic bistro feel (although I’m
actually over some of the more austere presentations currently in vogue).
The other surprise was the
superb quality of the front-of-house staff - friendly yet professional,
obviously used to patiently answering questions about various landmarks, and as
terrific with the kids as the adults.
The wine list was compact
with a nice selection by the glass (although I suspect some wines had been open
a tad too long). The bottle and reserve list read well too, with a few
interesting European wines in each category and some appealing after dinner
drinks. Prices were certainly reasonable and general value for money excellent.
The restaurant floor takes
about 85 minutes to rotate and so, after a perfectly timed 120 minutes
including sunset, we wandered down to our cab in that haze that only comes from
a really good night out. Oh, and the view was spectacular.
Score: 7/10
For more information and
bookings:
Alto Restaurant
Telstra Tower
Black Mountain Drive
Acton ACT 2601
(02) 6247-5518