Through a combo of working away and family holidays, the Welshman and I hadn’t seen each other in a few weeks so we decided a fancy dinner was in order. We considered the usual favourites, but decided to try something different: Fraser’s in Kings Park.
I’d never been to Fraser’s before, and truthfully, I’d heard its reputation relied on an outstanding location and not much else. But I’d also heard rumours of an impressive refurbishment, so I put on a little black dress and some ridiculously high heels, and we fronted up for an early dinner on a Friday night.
Parking was free and plentiful; always a good thing. There was a wedding reception in progress on the upper level, which is where we entered (The poor bridal party had their backs to the Perth skyline – what’s with that?). We walked down to the lower floor and into a beautiful wood-panelled room with two levels of seating, lots of booths and floor-to-ceiling glass windows with a view through the trees to the skyline. It was a lovely dining area.
We chose a bottle of Redbank Long Paddock Pinot Gris, and started with ciabatta bread with Margaret River olive oil. The wine was light and smooth, and the ciabatta did exactly what it says on the tin. I guess bread can’t always be too exciting.
For entrée we shared the sashimi (Tasmanian salmon, bluefin tuna, hiramasa kingfish,
soy, pickled ginger and wasabi) for $22. It was served on a bed of ice slivers, and the taste matched the presentation – just beautiful. We also shared the pan fried goats cheese gnocchi with wild mushrooms and burnt butter sauce, also $22.
Look, I never order gnocchi. It’s just potato balls in sauce, right? But this gnocchi… it was incredible. It was served as four big cheesy chunks with a light coating of mushrooms and sauce. Very very rich, but sooo good. I’m sold.
For mains we shared the roast duck breast and confit ‘sausage’ with pistachio and beetroot for $44, and the 350g Kilcoy scotch fillet of beef served with salt roast potato, braised shallot and béarnaise sauce for $44. Usually I love a good duck dish but I found this one a tiny bit lacking – it just wasn’t as tasty as I expected. The steak, however, was cooked perfectly and the béarnaise sauce was very morish.
But on to dessert (my favourite part!) The Welshman scorned the idea of sharing only one dessert (do you see why we’ve been together this long?) so we ordered two, at the waitress’s recommendation: Rich Valrhona chocolate tart with brandy snap and vanilla bean ice cream, and crème brûlée with pistachio ice cream and pashmak, both $15.
The chocolate tart was a little less smooth than I expected – even a tiny bit cake-y – but tasted pretty good nonetheless. And the crème brûlée was rich and delicious, and has renewed my desire to make a successful crème brûlée at home.
The final bill was eye-wateringly pricey, especially when we found out our bottled water cost $8. But the service was fantastic throughout the whole night and the view through the trees to the sparkling lights of the city was pretty enchanting.
I’d definitely go to Fraser’s again. Next time we might save a few dollars by sharing an entrée and dessert, while still enjoying the beautiful atmosphere and sense of occasion that Fraser’s creates.
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