Casuarina is located on the first floor of Westfield Marion at the base of the cinemas. This place has been here for well over a decade so I imagine they must be doing something right. If you come here at lunchtime, you only get to see the lunchtime menu which is divided into noodle, rice and roti, vegetable and main courses.

The decor is funky and modern, and the establishment is considerably spacious. The dining area takes up most of the floor area which includes a split level and some outdoor seating. The bar area is located on the right side of the bistro as you walk in from the shopping complex.

For lunch, I ordered the Chicken Pad Thai. The dish took 15 minutes to arrive at my table and was nicely presented. The noodles were flexible and firm, and the chicken breast pieces were tender and succulent. The peanuts were notably absent and a conservative amount of bean sprouts was cooked with the dish. The carrots did provide some sort of crunchy texture but it just wasn’t the same. The scrambled egg wasn’t distributed properly and dish itself was just too salty.

The staff were friendly and welcoming, but the service was quite poor. While the meal arrived promptly, the drinks never arrived. The atmosphere was relaxed and the pricing was reasonable with the lunchtime specials. The cost of the Pad Thai was $13.90 which is good value considering the rents they must paying at the shopping complex. Having said that, the dish was poorly executed, and if I could turn back time and go somewhere else, I probably would have.

WHERE: 297 Diagonal Rd, Oaklands Park