Emersons at Pokolbin 5 out of 5

Emersons at Pokolbin

 

Located within Casuarina Estate

1014 Hermitage Road, Pokolbin

http://www.emersonsatpokolbin.com/

 

Open for dinner Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights from 6.00pm

For lunch Thursday to Monday from 11.00am

Latest visit: 2012

Number of visits: 1

Consistency: Cannot comment yet as have only visited once

Worth a visit: Yes

Possible date location: Yes, save it for a time when you want to impress!!

 

I walk into the restaurant and am blown away by how elegant it is. The very attentive staff take us to our table and we are presented by a superb wine list.

Contemporary Modern Australian cuisine is on the menu at Emersons and it is fantastic.

 

I will be going back to try their eight course degustation menu that they do on Friday and Saturday nights.

 

If you have been to Emersons feel free to leave your rating out of 5 in the comments below.

Alternatively if you have any feedback about this review email me: huntervalleyfoodie@gmail.com

Seraphine at Maitland Art 3.5 out of 5

Seraphine at Maitland Art Gallery Review
January 2013

 

Located in Maitland Art Gallery

230 High Street, Maitland

Parking is easiest off James Street

http://mrag.org.au/cafe/

 

 

Latest visit: January 2013

Number of visits: 2

Consistency: Food consistency is good, service varies depending on how busythey are

Worth a visit: Yes

Possible date location: Not really, unless you visit the artgallery at the same time

 

This little café is open for breakfast and lunch only and is proving tobe very popular.

Seraphine is one of a handful of little cafes and restaurant’s poppingup around Maitland and it is very nice to see such nice little places poppingup.

 

Light breakfast, lunch and morning and afternoon tea is on the menu andit is all very fresh and delicious. They cater very well for vegetarians andeveryone in the group I was with had trouble deciding between a number of greatoptions on the menu. This is always a good sign.

The food is good, well presented and fresh. I have thoroughly enjoyedboth meals I have had here.

On both visits staff took a long time, over 30 mins, to take our order.Once the order was taken though the food arrived fairly quickly. Drinks do takea little while to come. The iced tea full of fresh fruit is worth the wait.  

If you live in the Maitland area definitely give Seraphine a visit.

 

Positives:

·       Great homemade iced tea

·       It is up the end of high street that is not often visited, but onceinside you feel like you are in a modern café that could be anywhere

 

Negatives: 

·       When busy service is a little lacking

 

If you have been to Seraphine? If so, feel free to leave your rating outof 5 in the comments below.

Alternatively if you have any feedback about this review emailme: huntervalleyfoodie@gmail.com

 

Emersons Valentine's Day Menu

Roses are red, violets are blue, this lamb sounds delicious,

who are you going to take with you?

 

This menu is available at Emersons at Pokolbin for Valentines Day Thursday 14/02/2013

located within Casurina Estate 1014 Hermitage Road Pokolbin.

Places to avoid in the Hunter Valley

Places to avoid in the Hunter Valley

I thought long and hard about putting thid list on here. Especially after the following article that strongly suggests against it. http://www.fabulousnorfolk.co.uk/food-bloggers-friend-or-foe/

I have decided to post this though as I wish someone had told me to avoid these places, because I really did not enjoy myself. This is my personal list of places I suggest you steer clear of based on my experiences.

New Capri, East Maitland - I am not sure how this place has been around for so long. Stodgy, cheesey, oily pasta is not my thing.

Crisadas Riverview, Cafe Morpeth - Below average food, cheap produce and average service.

Quackers of Ducks Crossing, Eleebana - When we visited for breakfast on a Sunday morning (
because one of our favourite places was booked out) we were the only people there. This should have been warning enough! This was not a nice breakfast. So very dissapointing as this is a very cute looking place with a relaxed atmosphere.


If you disagree feel free to comment, but make sure you tell me why you think it should be off my list. If you name a good dish I will try it, and if I like it I will humbly admit defeat and take it off the list.

My favorite places

These are a few of my favorite places

For a fancy dinner: Emersons at Pokolbin
located within Casurina Estate 1014 Hermitage Road Pokolbin.



For a delicious and consistently good dinner: Amanda's on the Edge at Pokolbin
Windsor's Edge Vineyard McDonalds Road Pokolbin



For a light lunch: Seraphine at Maitland Art Gallery
230 High St Maitland


For Breakfast: Savannah on Swan at Morpeth
128 Swan Street, Morpeth

Where are your favorite places in the Hunter Valley?

Carrington Place 3.5 out of 5

Carrington Place Review
January 2013

Carrington Place
132 Young Street
Carrington, NSW, 2294
Phone: 02 49 611 116

http://www.carringtonplace.com.au


Latest visit: January 2013
Number of visits: 2
Consistency: Good
Worth a visit: Yes
Possible date location: Yes on a Saturday night. On a quiet night the staff tend to hover and conversation feels awkward if you are seated near the middle of the restaurant.

Carrington place has won a number of awards for their food, but all in the pub food category and this is not pub food. There are no schnitzels to be seen anywhere on the menu. This is food trying to be fine dining, and getting close.

The food is good, and both times I have visited the meal has been enjoyable.Consistency is important and all the dishes I have had in this restaurant have been of a good standard.

Two different bread starters are nice, however one or two other options is needed.

Entrees are varied, well presented and a good size. Staff adjust cutlery depending on what is ordered which is nice.


Most people will be able to find something on the menu that appeals to them, seafood, lamb, beef, chicken and vegetarian are all covered.

Seafood was cooked well, perfectly cooked scallops are always a good sign. Medium rare steak that comes out more medium well is not ideal, however the meat was well seasoned and retained a lot of moisture. jacket potato is served with most mains, but side dishes were suggested by the staff to compliment the meal. The honey carrots had great flavor, but while I like carrots to retain some crunch, I started to think they maybe they had forgotten to cook these ones at all when they were hard to pick up with a fork. The mesclun salad with Parmesan was bland and not really enjoyable.

The open kitchen is very clean, and the dining room is very modern and comfortable.

As you will get to know on this blog, dessert is not my thing. If nothing jumps out at me I will not have dessert. Both times I visited the dessert menu was the same, and nothing looked good enough to tempt me so I cant comment on dessert.

Positives:

• Menu is updated regularly and specials change
• Staff try hard to make you feel welcome
• Decor is nice and modern
• You can start the evening with some drinks in the bar and then move on through to the restaurant  with staff trying to make this seamless by taking you through when you are ready

Negatives: 

• Cheap plastic salt and pepper grinders
• When the restaurant is quiet the staff tend to hover. I was asked how the meal was before I had even swallowed the first mouth full. Also it is nice to have water glasses topped up, however when staff seem to be tag teaming the refilling so that every five minutes there is someone filling it up a tiny bit more it gets a bit much. 
• Wine list is limited

I will be back to try their tapas and pizza. They have some good beers on tap, so I think it is worth another go to try their more casual menu options.

If you have been to Carrington Place feel free to leave your rating out of 5 in the comments below.
Alternatively if you have any feedback about this review feel free to email me: huntervalleyfoodie@gmail.com