Pelagic Bar & Dining: $49 Seafood Meal for 2 Plus Wine Deal

Location: Shop 2, 131 London Circuit, Canberra
Phone: (02) 6162 0752
Link: www.pelagicdining.com.au
Cuisine: Seafood, Modern Australian

I had never heard of Pelagic until the restaurant cropped up one day as a LivingSocial deal. For $49, the restaurant offered two entrees, two mains and a bottle of wine up to the value of $45. Being a bit of a seafood fanatic, and having been fairly disappointed with the lack of decent seafood in Canberra to date, the deal was too good to pass up so I bought it.

J and I finally went to try out the restaurant the other night and it was well worth it. The entrees on the menu were priced at around $20 each, the mains were around $32 each. We ordered a bottle of Wily Trout sparkling to start.

Wily Trout sparkling

I'm no expert when it comes to alcohol, but J certainly is. And thought the sparkling wasn't bad. Especially for the price we were paying.

Balmain bug pasta

Pelagic haven't updated their online menu for a while so this entry is going to be somewhat lacking in descriptions. J was sufficiently pleased with her entree of Balmain bug pasta. There seemed to be a generous enough serve of bug, which was cooked just right, and plenty of pasta.

seared scallops with crispy pig ears and shaved fennel

This may look small, but it was absolutely deliciously. The scallops were cooked perfectly, with nice slightly charred edges and soft tender centres.  The pig ears were so crispy that they tasted more like crackling than like ears, and the shaved fennel added some freshness to the dish. I certainly wouldn't have  minded more, but for the price paid, it was totally worth it.

Yellowfin tuna with roasted tomatoes

From what I tried, the tuna was very well-cooked - and nothing like canned tuna! I have a tendency not to order tuna when eating out for fear it will end up tasting like the canned stuff, but J went for this one, and I think I may have been convinced that a tuna steak is actually quite decent.

haramashi kingfish with mushroom ragout and garlic crisps

Again, if the online menu isn't going to be updated regularly, then don't have one. I had decided on the seared kingfish as advertised on the website's menu, but turned up to find they didn't have the dish. The mushroom ragout caught my eye so I gave this kingfish dish a go. The fish was soft and again cooked perfectly, with a nice crispy skin that bordered a bit on being oversalted. The mushroom ragout was hearty and imparted a beautiful flavour to the fish. 

classic creme brulee

Despite the deal only covering two courses, I could not pass up dessert when I saw creme brulee on the menu. And it was a good decision. The toffee was perfect, making a nice crunch as I broke through the top layer to get to the creamy filling, and had just the right amount of burntness to give it a bittersweet flavour.

The deal was certainly well worth what we paid for it. I'm not entirely sure I would pay full price for the dishes, but I've been told that Pelagic does a decent $15 lunch deal during the week. Might give that a shot one day.

Overall Impression: 9/10