The Brasserie

Location: Crown Casino
Link: www.thebrasserieatcrown.com.au
Cuisine: French
Company: Dan

~Food~
We ordered from the pre-theatre menu, which included either an entree or dessert, and a main for $38.50. For entree, we ordered the 'Tasmanian cured salmon, spelt blini, horseradish crème fraîche and condiments' which was wonderfully done. I'm not usually a fan of raw or rare food, but the salmon was cured so well that there was no 'fishy' taste at all. The 'spelt blini' turned out to be a type of soft bread, something a bit like a spanish omelette. The cream and 'condiments' were awesome very tasty and complemented the salmon well.

For mains, Dan ordered the 'Oven-roasted fillet of gold band snapper, crustacean fumet, chick pea purée' while I had the 'Pan-seared beef sirloin maître d'hôtel or with béarnaise sauce, French fries'. The beef was a little tough but the sauce was really nice. Chips were okay, not quite french fries though. The snapper came with some weird chip looking thing, but the sauce smelt quite nice.

Then came the jackpot of the night - dessert of 'Chocolate marquise with pistachio anglaise and vanilla sorbet'. Absolutely awesome! The chocolate marquise was soft and very rich, and the sorbet was the perfect complement.

~Atmosphere and Service~
The service was friendly but sometimes a little lacking. The French waiters had quite a strong accent and it was sometimes hard to tell what they were saying. One waitress in particular seemed to have a limited grasp of English and when I asked if they stocked 'Appletiser', she thought I meant 'appertiser' and she trotted off confusedly and we never saw her again.

The place itself was quite relaxed but classy. Lighting was slightly dimmed but not dark, and the upstairs windows overlook one of the Crown flamethrowers. There is also outside seating for those who don't mind the cold.

~Price~
The menu is somewhat quite expensive. The pre-theatre menu is clearly a good deal as most of the mains alone are around the $40 mark. Only catch for this is that you have to order before 7pm.

~Overall Impression~
Very impressed with the quality and presentation of the food, as well as the atmosphere itself. Will probably try it again when the pre-theatre menu changes.