It’s that time of year again when I pay one of my favourite restaurants in Adelaide a visit. Armed with the Festival of Food voucher, we drive up to the picturesque Windy Point to see what dishes they have in store for us. The cost per person this year is $47.50 which entitles you to an Entree Tasting Plate, a main course (if you pick one from the a la carte menu, you pay the difference if it’s over $35.50) and house made petits fours.

We start off with the housemade Olive Bread with Hindmarsh Valley butter. The bread was freshly baked and the olives gave it a subtle fruitiness which was quite nice.

The Entree Tasting Platter consisted of (from front to back) Crumbed Pressed Pork with apple relish, Smoked Barramundi Belly and Caper Tart with gribiche, and Cauliflower, Fennel and Roast Garlic Soup.

The Crumbed Pressed Pork has a nice firm crunchy exterior. Enclosed was a cube of well marinated, tender, succulent, lean pork. Pork and apple go well together so it was only natural it was served with an apple relish. There seemed to be an inconsistency with this particular entree. While mine was fine, others commented that their pork was cold or fatty.

The Smoked Barramundi Belly and Caper Tart has a nice shell that was firm and buttery. The sharp salty taste of the capers complemented the subtle smokey flavours of the barramundi belly. The flavours were further enhanced by the sweet mustardy flavour of the gribiche.

The Cauliflower, Fennel and Roast Garlic Soup was warm and yet refreshing. There were subtle licorice taste coming from the fennel which was balanced by the mellow sweetness of the cooked garlic.

One of the group ordered an extra entree which was the Wagyu Rib and Seared Scallop. The beautiful work of art that was her dish also consisted of carrot, cumin veloute and a mustard fruit glaze. The scallop was perfectly cooked and the wagyu rib was tender and succulent. All the ingredients worked really well together in this well thought out dish.

As a main, I had the Kangaroo Saddle on babaganouj with carrot relish, shaved baby beetroot and Persian fetta.

The kangaroo was cooked medium rare, and was tender and succulent. The amount of meat was generous as I counted more than a dozen small fillets.

The babaganouj was smokey, savoury and creamy. It was perfectly complemented by the sweetness of the carrot relish, the crunchy texture of the shave beetroot and the smooth saltiness of the Persian fetta.

This dish was an absolute masterpiece and I would have it again and again.

A friend ordered the Egyptian Egg, Broccolini, Baby Zucchini and Spinach. It came with bearnaise, tomato syrup and corn salt. She said was absolutely wonderful.

She also ordered a side of Roasted Mushrooms with garlic, parsley and gruyere.

The other friend ordered the Sous Vide Wagyu Rump with saffron yoghurt, tagine brik and quinoa tabouleh. The quality of the rump was substandard as it contained lots of sinew which made it difficult to eat. This dish was taken back and returned for another one.

The quality of the rump was better on the second dish, however, the size was smaller than the original cut of meat. This was also taken back and swapped for a larger cut of meat.

On the third attempt, they got it right and my friend got the meal that she should have received originally.

For dessert, we has the Petits Fours which consisted of Citrus Meringue and Salted Caramel Curd Chocolate.

The Salted Caramel Curd Chocolate had a nice chocolate flavour. The liquid caramel filling had a decadent rich buttery finish.

The Citrus Meringue was light and airy with a firm exterior. Like a solid cloud, the heavenly sweetness simply melted in your mouth.

The staff tonight certainly had a lot of patience, especially when things went wrong. I felt they acted very professionally and did everything possible to ensure that our dining experience was the utmost best. When one friend couldn’t make it and there were only three of us, we were shifted to the window seat that had magnificent views of the city. I had a great dining experience and that’s what I’ve come to expect when coming here. My friends, on the other hand, didn’t have such a faultless night, however, they were happy with the outcome in the end.

Realistically, you’re not going to have the perfect experience every time you dine at the same establishment. As in life, things go wrong, and it’s how the restaurant deals with it which is most important. At the end of the day, it’s still one of my favourite restaurants and one that I’ll continue to visit.

WHERE: Windy Point Lookout, Belair Rd, Belair