Zafferano Restaurant is one the finest riverside restaurants in Perth with spectacular views overlooking the Swan River. Its the perfect spot for a relaxed post Christmas dinner to enjoy the Perth summer. We arrive at the restaurant and this is the view from our table.
View
Wine and Cocktails
I have a Mojito to start! I couldn’t think of anything better than the wonderful combination of rum, refreshing mint and then the citrus bite of the lime. I then move onto a glass of Pinot Grigio (Bollini Pinot Grigio Trentino 2010 from Alto Adige, Italy).
The wine has a wonderful floral bouquet which stars on the nose, along with bright aromas of stone fruits pears and some hints of tropical fruit. On the palate there is the strong flavour of the pear with a creamy texture and fresh minerality with a very sweet tropical fruit flavour finish.
We then head straight into the main course…
Main Courses
I go for the…
Zafferano Seafood Plate: Grilled king prawns, scallops, calamari and pink snapper served with stone fruit chutney and Aioli
This dish was all about the fresh produce rather than any culinary application. I just love quality produce with little interference. The beautiful succulent prawns and scallops are nicely seasoned and simply amazing as they retain all their full natural flavours. The firm piece of white fleshed fish was lightly coated and had a nice hollandise style sauce. It was flakey and moist and showcased a natural ‘mild’ flavour.
There was a half piece of scampi with its sweet white flesh beneath a light batter coating. It was quite a treat. The succulent calamari was wonderful as one would expect with the greeting of the intense calamari flavour once you pierced through the thin batter coating. The stone fruit chuntey provided a light fruity / spicy flavour hit for the platter in general while the beautiful aioli was creamy and was the perfect companion to the calamari.
The rest of the table opt for the specials which look lovely…
Special: Mixed Seafood Pasta
Special: Tiger Prawns on a bed of Saffron Risotto
Desserts
For desserts I chose the rather extravagant…
Flambé Crepes: Crêpe with strawberries
These are flamed at your table with crepes, butter, sugar, strawberry, raspberry coulis in the pan with some liqueur added to flame the crepes to provide a lovely smokey flavour to the dish.
The rich fruity flavour of the strawberry and coulis is wonderful sweet introduction to the dish. The smoky liqueur taste of the “flaming” is there, while the beautiful light fluffy smooth crepes which have absorbed all the liquids provide a wonderful ‘melt in your mouth’ tasting experience on every bite. The ice-cream provides a light creamy balance to the fruit in the dish which is amazing!
Balsamic Strawberry Pannacotta: Silky smooth strawberry Pannacotta, served with fresh mint and a sweetened balsamic reduction.
Cinnamon Jam Doughnuts: Warm, raspberry filled cinnamon doughnuts, served with vanilla poached apple, crème anglaise and vanilla gelato
I actually get to steal one these doughnuts… the crusty doughy texture of the doughnuts with the rich sweet jam is purely an amazing tasting experience. A simple dish done oh so well!
Sticky Fig & Banana Pudding: Delicious sticky Turkish fig and banana pudding served warm with butterscotch sauce, vanilla bean gelato and walnut praline.
We finish with a beautiful coffee to farewell the evening!
Overall
This place runs like clockwork while having a very chilled relaxed setting (which is need given the backdrop). We had very good service, a fantastic view and fresh simple seafood with a dessert menu to impress. This is wonderful place to take visitors or for that important business dinner.
