Xanadu

Xanadu in Margaret River is rather gorgeous, perhaps the frontage is not as grand as, let's say Voyager, nor does it have a massively beautiful garden as Flutes or some form of water feature like Watershed,  or as huge as Leeuwin Estate, but there is something rather charming about Xanadu's simple layout of stone walls, high exposed timber ceiling and the fire place in the dining hall. I guess it's their way of saying you don't have to be flashy but we can compete with the best of them. Personally, I agree, I try never to judge a restaurant's interior design or landscape design and extrapolate it to the quality of their food, but of course having a pretty dining room (Xanadu's so cosy!) or lovely entrance always makes for a rather pleasant start to the dining out experience.

We made a very last minute booking, mainly because O taught it would be find just rocking up to any winery for lunch, which I somewhat disagreed on considering it's, well Margaret River. So after realising that restaurants will be packed (from observing Sarachen winery and restaurant) we made a quick decision to go to Xandau (their wines are good and they are on the entertainment card) we booked at 2pm.  So when we got there, the lunch crowd had gone, however, the restaurant was far from empty, majority of the table were taken up by diners. I wasn't feeling all that flash when we got there so I skipped out on trying the wines at the adjacent cellar door.

 We were promptly seated and orders were taken. We opted for shared entrees and a main each, with ice cream for dessert elsewhere.

 There was the mushroom tart - creamy with perfect tart pastry and the aroma of the mushrooms was beauitful. Bf and I had major food envy when this came out!

 

The mushroom tart

Bf and I shared the crispy soft shell crab with ravioli - the soft shell crab was a little soft and soggy from the sauce but the sauce had this delicious mix of herbs and spices through it. A lovely dish, but a little on the heavy side for an entree.  

 

Soft Shell crab and ravioli pasta

There was a small selection of mains to chose from, which is somewhat nice. It shows they have put a bit of taught into it and isn't trying to be jack of all trades, but are trying to perfect (if not have perfected) what they have on the menu. It also makes it easier for you to chose! 

Between the 3 couples we all ended up choosing the following three - all of which were of carnivorous in nature. 

  There was the pork cracking with croquette on the side on top of a bed of apple salad and mash. The crackling I was told was crispy and crunchy, pork was moist and tender and the apple salad added that sweetness and refreshing taste to the dish. 

 

Pork crackling with apple salad and croquette

 

 Then there was the beef rump, which I had, It wasn't what I imagined to come out looking. However, the meat was juicy and the jus was a beautiful red wine reduction. The only problem I did have (and this is probably my fault, because I ordered a cut of meat like this) was the fat throughout it. The taste of the fat was very evident and I really didn't like that, I probably should have stuck to the fillet steak. 

 

Beef rump in red wine jus

Then there was the steak fillet. Beautifully cooked, juicy, tender and medium! The beetroot on top of the beef added sweetness to the dish, while the red wine jus (the same one as the beef) perfectly complimented the dish.  It also came with an almost pie like pastry, which really wasn't needed, but just added the little something. 

 

The steak fillet

We also ordered a side of chips. There was huge chunky things (bigger than the size of my fingers!) and came with paprika aioli. It was a little too potatoey/starchy would have been better if it was smaller in size.

Overall, the food and the service at Xanadu is very pleasant and lovely. Despite myself not feeling one hundred percent it was a lovely lunch at a restaurant worth dropping by if you ever in the Margaret River region.