The BathHousE product reviews

It was with great enthusiasm I accepted an invitation to dinner at this restaurant, as I had been here in the past and was eager to see whether the food was of the same quality.

My friend and I arrived and I was pleased to see that there was access for wheelchair patrons. We entered and were greeted by a friendly young lady (Theresa) who directed us to our table and asked us if we were happy with where it was in the restaurant. My first impression of the place was 'Hmmm, nice first date restaurant.' The use of diffused lighting and candles on the tables gave the place a nice cosy and friendly atmosphere.

After we both were seated, and had ordered a couple of drinks, a quick look at the menu provided some particularly mouth-watering choices.

Deciding to go with the 'Tasting Platter' first, just to see what, of the selection of entrees, was the nicest. The unanimous vote going to the Leek and Potato soup shooters. And the addition of smoked salmon as a garnish was, in my opinion, wonderful. The Blue cheese and peanut wontons had to be my next fave. The subtle creaminess of the blue cheese mixed with the peanuts was rather tasty.

Then, being a fan of mushrooms and of pasta, I chose to order the Fettucine Funghi. I was then asked if I wanted the regular sized meal or the large. Glutton that I am, I decide to go for the large. BIG mistake. What came to the table was quite a sizeable bowl of fettucine and mushrooms. Getting stuck in with great gusto, I realised after about a third of the bowl that it was going to start getting the better of me before too much longer. Combining the perfectly cooked pasta with trhe mushrooms was great, my only small gripe would be the use of tomatoes in the sauce, as they tended to overpower the other flavours - especially the apparent parmesan, which I could not detect at all. Apart from that a great vegetarian choice.

Next came the offer of dessert or coffee. Not being sure I could even LOOK at another bite of food, I opted for a coffee to finish. I ordered a skinny flat white and was a little shocked when what I thought was a rather small cup of coffee came to the table. It is true, size doesn't mean anything. It was full of flavour and a great strength. The reason I say this, is I have had coffees from other restaurants and have been particularly disappointed with their quality.

Overall, a great place to take family, friends or that someone special. Good food and a great team of helpful staff make this a place I will go back to again.

We arrived at 6:30pm, and were offered the first table inside the ramp entrance, a great spot in clear view of the passing staff, but out of the way of the main walkway to the outdoor courtyard. With the windows behind me, I had no trouble reading the menu.

We started off with a serving of Hot French Stick, which was french stick with a delicious herb butter grilled on, and drizzled with garlic aioli... a.k.a. garlic mayo for those not in the know. This proved to be a great variant, beating garlic butter hands down. Sorry guys, but I plan to steal this idea for my next social gathering. :)

Unable to decide on a main course at such an early stage, we opted for the Tasting Platter, a sample from most of the entree dishes. On the unexpectedly large plate that arrived on the table we found shotglasses of the Potage of Leek and Potato soup, with slivetrs of smoked salmon garnish, sliced breads, a couple of dips, marinated honey olives, petit smoked fish and kumara cakes, some blue cheese and peanut wontons with a raspberry sauce, some half-cap mushrooms stuffed with bacon blue cheese then crumbed and deep-fried.

The soup, it was agreed, was totally delightful, to the point where I found myself asking the cost of another 2 shots to tide us over until our mains arrived. Not a great fan of salmon myself, but I found it was a great compliment to the soup's creamy flavour. One thing, the soup left an almost cheesy aftertaste in my mouth... and that really appealed to me.

The olives, mushrooms and wontons... not my thing so I left those for my cohort. I did try an olive, since I have never really given them a serious tasting... and shall stick to my guns next time. Not to my taste.

The smoked fish and kumara cakes were a very close second to the soup for me. I love the flavour of smoked fish, and when mixed with a sweet starch flavour like kumara, rolled and fried... then served on a bed of crispy noodles and topped with a delightful coriander and sweet chilli tartare... -drool- ... the noodles were a stunning textural contrast for the soft cakes, really giving you something different to chew on.

As for the breads and dips... not really appealing after the Hot French Stick, but the hummus dip was wonderful with the remaining crispy noodles. I have not the foggiest idea what the other dip was... appearing like a watery aioli but having no flavour strong enough to beat out the other foods, it was a bit of a mystery.

Time for mains, for me the Scotch Fillet, medium, served on a mash with steamed cauliflower, broccoli, courgettes and carrots, with crispy-fried onion rings, all dressed with a port wine jus and bearnaise sauce. After a 34 minute wait (pretty normal for the dish and the level of activity in the restaurant that night) it arrived, an impressive stack of food indeed.

The Scotch Fillet itself was cooked perfectly, and balanced on a stack of veges, mash and garnishings. I suspect the veges were a little undercooked, as they had solid bite them still... but I actually like that, Crisp veges are healthier, tastier, and often prived good texture to a meal, and this was the case here too. The mash, after absorbing the full body of flavour from the jus, was a little too slurpy to stay on the fork without something to cling to... bring on the veges.

By the time my body was hollering "Enough! I swear, you take one more bite and so help me I'll..." the plate was devoid of meat and veges, but still littered with the onion rings (never in my feeding preferences anyway) and remaining mash and garnish. Bloated, I was, utterly full.

Forgoing the range of desserts, I skipped coffee and went back to my poison of choice, Bourbon & Coke, no ice. At a very reasonable $5.50 per double, the price was pretty good, however the $5.00 for the bottle of Perrier Water was a little unexpected, especially as we had simply asked for "a glass of water please." Need to watch that when you order, be specific about what you want.

Overall, a good dining experience in a very trendy restaurant. The staff were helpful and not too fussed about who's area it was... if you signalled a staff person, they helped you directly. The lighting was fine in the evening, but as night drew in, it became difficult to read the menu... perhaps some sort of battery-powered portable lightsource for menu-reading? One of those clip-on book nightlights perhaps... they can be sourced at $2 shops even.

I simply must comment on the chairs. Though they look a bit anachronistic and out of place, they really are comfortable to sit in. I usually have back-pain if I sit more than an hour... 2 hours after sitting down, I was still pain-free and was delighted by this fact.

Special note of thanks to Teresa for her wonderful service thoughout the evening, and Nicky, use that lovely smile of yours more often, it really does make a difference. :)