The Acacia Restaurant product reviews

As we walked into the sumptuous dining area, I was taken with the quiet elegance of the decor. Excellent lighting, at once giving the feeling of warmth without at all feeling enclosed or smothered. We were informed that there was a choice of 'a la carte' menu, or 'buffet style'. After having a look at the range of dishes available in the buffet, we chose 'a la carte' because we weren't overly hungry. Buffet was very impressive looking, and would have been perfect if we had been ravenous, so with our medium hunger, we would not have done the buffet justice.

For wine selection we chose a 2005 bottle of Settlers Hill Chardonnay. Nice medium white wine, went well with the fish. I was impressed that we got invited to sample a range of wines, so we were able to choose the right one. Excellent service from the staff on this one. We asked a couple of questions, and though she had to pop away to get an answer to one of them, we found her to be quite helpful.

For starters, we chose the Trio of breads and dips: baguettes and 'creamy salmon', 'basil pesto' & 'roast capsicum' dip. Each had their own appeals, but for me, the Salmon and Pesto mixed together was delightful. We also ordered a Garlic bread, which was perfect. The flavour was there, but not overpowering. Quantity was less than hoped for, but about right for 'upper level' dining. This ain't no burger bar, buddy.

For mains, I decided on the '200g lager-battered market fish, chunky fries, country slaw and tartare sauce.' This also came with a really nice tomato sauce. The fish was delicious, not oily or overly amine'ated, the batter was dry and crisp without being sharp. The chips were excellent, for chips. Well cooked, not soggy or limp. The tartare sauce was clearly not mass-produced, it was delightful.

Dessert... after going over the menu, we couldn't make up our minds, so got the sampler plate. Small portions of: seasonal fruit topped with citrus sorbet (lemon lime this time), small classic pavlovas with cream and sliced fruit, white choc and baileys parfait with wild berry compote, and a maple-infused bread & butter pudding with anglaise. All were nice, but I am not a fan of berry, so some of it wasn't for me. I adored the b&b pudding... reminded me of a properly cooked triple-stack pancake breakfast I once had...

Overall, the staff were wonderful, friendly but still professional, efficient and knowledgeable, yet willing to admit if they needed to go for more info, such as with wine selection. I was very impressed. Full price would have been $121.50 but using the Advantage+ loyalty programme card we paid only $79.70. Had we used a members-only 'wine certificate' we would have saved another $28. The only little gripe I had was that parking was quite a distance from the main entrance. It was well after sunset, and lighting from the carpark area was vague and indirect light only, no dedicated lit walkways. Even a few dozen solar-powered lights from the Warehouse would have given us something to aim for at least.'