After recently reacquainting ourselves with Black Swan wines at the Cellar Door in the City event — Lady FWO and I made our way out to the Valley(admittedly not a great distance for us) to sample, once more, the food of the restaurant which has always impressed us on previous trips. The dining area looks out over lawns to the vines at the rear of the property, rolling up to the hills in the distance — it is very pretty — while the tasting area is towards the front of the restaurant, although there are plans to extend the building to put in a bigger space for that side of the business. It is an ever changing and innovative menu, and this day a special was available — 2 courses for $ 45, three for $ 57, and it was this we chose. We started with a dish of fried squid, and another of grilled prawns; our mains were barramundi, and vegetable moussaka. As always the case at Black Swan the dishes served up were beautifully presented, and of generous proportion. My squid — fried in a crisp coat of panko breadcrumbs with lake salt and lemon pepper was exquisitely tender, and adroitly flavoured; it came with cold Asian slaw — a gentle hint of chilli heat — fresh green leaves and lime cheeks to squeeze over a splash of tart citrus. Lovely. The grilled Tiger prawns, cooked with their tails, were sweet and firm, served with a risotto cake — crisp, well-seasoned, moist and tender grains, with delicate flavouring, colour and aroma from the infused garlic and saffron –a dash of lemon and basil, with a salad of crunchy green leaves and earthy, sweet semi-dried tomatoes. Another excellent dish. The Kimberley sourced barramundi was baked with its skin — crisp, crackly– the flesh wonderfully juicy and moist — olive and eggplant tapenade added salty tones; it sat on a creamy brandade of potato and leek, leaves of peppery rocket and delicate, aromatic saffron flavoured sauce. We loved it. The final dish, hearty vegetarian moussaka was served in a small casserole dish — full of soft, layered eggplant, in a rich custard of zucchini, eggplant and onion, topped with crusty baked potato. Alongside it a salad of couscous — nutty and buttery — full of cherry tomatoes and green peas, a squeaky, grilled triangle of haloumi and a trickle of balsamic glaze — superb. With our meal, we ordered a bottle of the 2010CSFM — a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot — a wine we have had on previous visits and indeed sampled again at the city wine event. It is a lovely wine — lifted blackcurrant, chocolate and plum aromas on the nose, with more black fruit, mulberry, sour cherry and liquorice on the palate; the tannins are smooth, and the oak treatment leads the wine to a long, full finish. It would certainly cellar well over the next 5 – 7 years and is a great accompaniment to food. We have always found the service here to be friendly, welcoming and attentive and it was no different on this visit, even though it was, as seems always the case, quite busy for an early in the week lunch. Black Swan is well worth a visit when next you are in the Valley — very good food, complemented by good wines, and a lovely setting, make for a very pleasant occasion. We recommend it. A word to the wise, however, as we were leaving Lady FWO, perhaps distracted, stumbled over the little domed bridge at the front — lurching rather inelegantly as I almost caught her on two occasions she yawed away and at length went to her knee — rather like an old fashioned proposal — at which point I raised her back up. She then tottered back to the car under her own steam muttering… unlike the classic Rowan Atkinson sketch, the floor wasn’t deceptively flat, rather deceptively domed. The lesson — look where you are going rather than at a recalcitrant smoker standing near the doorway! It certainly wasn’t the drink!
Rob D.
Classificação do local: 5 Perth, Australia
My vegetarian cousins and I had lunch here yesterday and we were all very happy with it. Everything gets around 8⁄10 or 9⁄10 and the amount of vegan options gets 10⁄10! I had the Veg Burger, which was delicious, and the Blood Cleanser juice which was nice but the beetroot drowned everything else out, sadly. They have a good range of bottled juices(including Charlie’s which is a brand that I like) and more herbal teas for sale than there are stars in the universe(possibly a slight exaggeration). They have a large rear dining room with nice views and an equally large backyard dining area which is right next to the nursery and has a mixed canopy of trees and shade cloth. The small shop at front has the aforementioned teas for sale along with delicious looking(but sadly not tasted) cakes. Recommended.(I’ll be back!)
Steve O.
Classificação do local: 4 Ellenbrook, Australia
Driving down West Swan rd. Decided it was time to taste the food in the Swan Valley again. Seen a road sign Black Swan restaurant ahead. Sounds like a good as place as any. Driving into the driveway you park in bays like you parking on someone’s front lawn. Felt a bit strange but there were actual guide lines marking the spaces. Okay then. The front of the building looks like a rear barn with a small entry door. Walking up to the door you cross a bridge over a very small moat. In the moat there are usual Lion head goldfish but there was one that look like an ornament. It was huge. Because of the rippling of the water. I couldn’t tell whether it was real or not. So my curiosity got the better of me and I decided to reach out and touch it. As soon as I leaned down this humungous carp like goldfish turned and high tailed it out of my reach. Lol. Funny you don’t believe what you see sometimes. Walking in side you are greeted with very ornate timber establishment. With wide open rooms that look out to the vineyards below. The French doors are open to let the outside in and you feel this to be a great place to have a meal. The friendly waitress was quick with a smile and showed us to the table. It was one with the doors opened to a prime view of the vineyards and the hills in the distance. Perfect. Looking over the Menu I found the most of the dishes were at least $ 35.00 and upwards. For the style of the restaurant I considered that to be reasonable pricing. The choice of food was plentiful but with all the choices decided to go with the fish of the day. Fillet of Salmon with crispy skin and mustard sauce with baby potatoes and fried cherry tomatoes. With spinach leaves. The meal was absolutely delicious could have easily had some more. Black Swan restaurant is welcoming and friendly and fastidious staff make sure your dining experience is a pleasant one. The only minor problem was with the doors open to the views outside the heat can make it a touch unbearable. But in all I enjoyed my experience at the Black Swan.
Brenda C.
Classificação do local: 5 Ellenbrook, Australia
We have been here many times before and we always love it! It’s in the heart of the Swan Vally with beautiful surroundings. We particularly enjoy their rose wine and always purchase a few bottles to take home. We always dine during non peek hours so we always get a good table with a view of the winery. It’s a beautiful place to come to on a sunny spring day and during off peek hours it’s really nice. Staff is very friendly and service is quick and the meals are always delicious. It’s a good place for a romantic meal or its also good for groups. It’s a very popular restaurant so booking is essential. Sometimes it’s hard to get a booking during peek hours. The last time we were there I ordered the Pan seared scallops, crispy fried chorizo beignets, pea purée and the steamed greens with pine nuts. It was delicious. My husband had the Slow roasted pork belly, cauliflower gratin’, rocket salad, Shiraz jus which he really enjoyed.
Kevin C.
Classificação do local: 5 Perth, Australia
I had to see for myself what the hype is all about! I must say that Baz and his do a wonderful job! From the moment we walked in the attentive staff were fantastic! Their knowledge of the product, both food and wine, was excellent! The chef did a great job with my order of Lamb Shank Wellington! All other orders from what I could gather were spot on– Scotch Fillet Sqid(salt & pepper) Linguine(chilli prawn) There was a little food envy with every dish that came out! All wines were extremely complementary to our meals! But the atmosphere and view put the icing on a great decision on where to have lunch! One piece of advice is, you should book in advance if you plan to visit the Black Swan on a weekend! Do yourself a favour, believe me you will not be disappointed!
Danny H.
Classificação do local: 3 Australia
Good food and very good service. Had Sunday lunch here with family. However the acoustics are quite bad, very noisy and difficult to have a conversation whilst dining.
Michael C.
Classificação do local: 4 Perth, Australia
Very good setting, excellent Chardonnay for Swan Valley. The food is good but the wait times are too long. However if you have the afternoon without a pressing engagement I would recommend this place.
Caroline C.
Classificação do local: 5 Australia
I first fell in love with Black swan’s 2006 Shiraz Port at the Good food & wine Show. Since then, I have been to Black Swan on a couple of occasions… The first visit to Black Swan was taking my family(visiting from Singapore) to enjoy what is like that Perthians do over the weekends. Its amazing with breath-taking views overlooking the vineyards. Food was great… cheese platter & another sharing platter(olives, sun dried tomatoes, fried salt & pepper squid) was pleasing to all, YUMMY. I’m not a big fan of the wines except for the port) but thats just a personal taste. Family seem to enjoy the wines :) Black Swan was one of the vineyards we visited through my husband’s work. The 3 course lunch was FABULOUS!!! To be able to cater to such a size crowd aint easy. Meals were wonderfully presented, nothing looked rushed or not cooked properly… I truly enjoyed my 3 course meal. Kudos to the chef. Theres always events happening at Black Swan & of course wine tasting. But every weekend, there’s live music that will definitely please anyone looking for a lazy relaxing weekend chilling with mates or loved ones. Staff are relatively friendly. Food is served promptly. We didn’t hv to wait for long. The place is clean, as well as the bathrooms. My Overall experience is a great one. Would i recommend? A definitely 2 thumb up x