C Restaurant – Perth CBD

For Chef and I the C Restaurant evokes thoughts of special occasions, romantic proposals and intimate dinners for two. Saying that, neither of us had actually been, so when we received an invitation (a subsidised meal, not free) to dine at C – we eagerly accepted. It’s a totally unique venue in Perth’s CBD.

We headed into the city mid-week. We parked in the convenient underground car park at St Martin’s Tower and hopped into the lift, eagerly pressing the button to the 33^rd floor! Our booking was for 6pm, as I was keen to see the view both in the day and by night.

As the lift doors slid open, we were warmly greeted by the staff. The contemporary restaurant is stylish and classy with white linen tablecloths and tea lights – perfect for a romantic dinner for two! We were seated at the window. It’s no surprise that the view is amazing! It’s from a totally different perspective than we’d normally have on our beautiful city. I’m always in awe of the Perth skyline when we see it from Kings Park or the South Perth foreshore, but at C restaurant you’re right there, amongst all the shiny skyscrapers.

Chef had to keep telling me to concentrate on the menu – he wanted to order! I could barely keep my eyes off the view and was pointing out all the landmarks. We started our meal with a northerly outlook – we could see NIB Stadium, Forrest Place and its “cactus” art, the Aviary rooftop bar, Perth Arena, the Horseshoe bridge, the State Theatre and much of Northbridge.

We were dining from the four course mid-week dinner menu ($99 pp). We nibbled on a little bread, creamed salted butter and Chittering Valley evoo ($7) whilst we enjoyed the view. If you’re not familiar with C, it’s a revolving restaurant – a first for us! A complete rotation of the floor takes 90 minutes. So you don’t miss out on a thing. The floor moves slowly, but fast enough for you to see it move.

For first course I chose the Huon Valley Tasmanian salmon tartare with pickled beet, horseradish cream, salmon caviar, fresh orange and garnished with dill. The salmon was very fresh and tasty. It was a light dish, a great way to start dinner.

Chef had the exquisitely plated goat cheese panna cotta with vinegar glazed beetroot, blood orange, golden beetroot, apple jelly and roasted pecan nuts. It was pretty as a picture. Having a cheese panna cotta was quite different and it was creamy and very smooth. Chef really savoured this dish.

By now, we’d made our way around to Adelaide Terrace – looking east. Dusk was falling and the neon lights on the Perth city council building were putting on a great show for us.

For second course Chef enjoyed the ‘36 hour cooked’ pork belly with a celeriac purée, apple & rhubarb chutney, chorizo crumb and a calvados jus. It was an excellent piece of pork belly – there was hardly any fat on it. The skin was perfectly crackled. A cracking dish!

I thought the slow braised spring lamb shoulder roulade was full of flavour. On the side was a minted garden pea purée, parmesan custard, cumin foam and Serrano ham crisp.

Now we were looking south towards the Swan River – it was a fantastic vantage point to have a view of the Elizabeth Quay development. I can’t wait for it to be finished – adding another dimension and yet more restaurants to Perth.

For third course I enjoyed char-grilled pitch Black Angus beef tenderloin with pumpkin textures, grilled pickling onion, braised beef cheeks roulade and wasabi beef jus. The beef was perfectly cooked and had a fabulous smoky flavour.

The Char-grilled Wagyu beef sirloin was tender and had that buttery flavour synonymous with quality Wagyu. with spinach & potato gratin, braised beef cheeks roulade, shallot purée and persillade d’escargot, spring vegetables (additional $28). Cheeky Chef gave me a “mushroom” to try – I should have noticed his wicked grin! Good job I like snails!

By now it was night and we enjoyed the twinkling lights of the office towers on St Georges Terrace.

For dessert my pick was the milk chocolate and passion fruit tart topped with hibiscus whipped ganache and a raspberry sorbet. Very tasty and not too heavy.

Chef was in a chocoholic’s dream with and ooey-gooey chocolate fondant, vanilla Ice Cream, caramelized poached pear. He scoffed the lot and looked tempted to lick the plate. I was enjoying my dessert so much I forgot to take the money shot – when Chef cut into the pudding and the fondant flows out! Whoopsie 🙂

All in all we both enjoyed our first trip to C Restaurant. The service was friendly and attentive. The view was to die for and one-of-a kind. The food was, honestly, better than we had expected.

We try to remain impartial when dining FOC or with a big discount. We concluded we would have been happy to pay for that meal, which, with extras would have come to about $250. It’s something that all Perth-lovers should try at least once. It’s a great place to take visitors to Perth too. C Restaurant actually won a Gold Plate Award for “Best Tourist Restaurant” this week! Congrats!!

I’d absolutely return to C Restaurant. I do think it’s a venue perfect for an extra special occasion. I’d love to dine there on Australia Day – wouldn’t that be spectacular! Our friendly waiter was telling us all about it – sounds amazing.

Thank you to Caitlin for organising and to the C Restaurant’s team for a memorable night!

**The C Restaurant is also in the 2014/15 Entertainment book**