It is that time once again where we go to one of Adelaide’s fine dining restaurants. We had a hankering for French style food, and so we selected the restaurant below the Pullman Hotel, called Parc.
Parc is immediately open to the hotel reception, which did give a little strange feeling that we were sitting in the lobby. Perhaps they should install a wall to enclose the restaurant to make the experience more defined and refined. At the entranceway to the dining area is a well-stocked bar, and a small area for the staff to greet guests. We disclosed our reservation details, and then we were taken through the mostly empty dining area to our table by the window. The restaurant only filled up much later, mimicking the French approach to later dining times.
We started with cocktails. We normally like to choose something that is unique to the restaurant, instead of just our favourite fall-backs of a Cosmopolitan or Whiskey Sour. This was a Fig Gimlet that was garnished with a slice of dried kiwi fruit. The enthusiastic mixologist personally brought them to our table for our enjoyment.
From the menu, we selected the burrata and tomatoes, drizzled with a balsamic glaze, and a mushroom tarte.
Our main course was the scotch fillet with bearnaise sauce, and the coq au vin (it is a French restaurant after all…) accompanied by mange tout (snow peas) with haricots verts (green beans) and broccolini with pine nuts.
The Maitre D’ came over to greet us, and he was enthusiastically telling us that he had some more wine that was not yet on the list. He was French, and his passion for wine really added to the experience. We were a little overwhelmed with the choice of wines that he rattled off, and he reiterated that we could ask him for any wine, and there was a chance that he may have it.
Our focus was on the food, and so we selected a wine that was within our price range, and settled to enjoy the dining experience.
Whilst it was an enjoyable experience, and the food was great, it did feel like we were in the hotel lobby, and it was a little pricy for what we got. For an authentic French dining experience, we will go the 20 metres across the square to ‘Le Pas Sage‘ as a preference.
