The new dining experience at The Promenade Café features experiential food stations. Photo: Pewpewstudio.
There have been some exciting developments at The Promenade Café, the heart of dining at Hyatt Hotel Canberra.
While the buffet breakfast still delights patrons from 6:30 am each day, the Park Hyatt hotel has unveiled a fresh dining concept, one that celebrates the flavours of Australia from land to sea.
The core of the new à la carte menu is a thoughtfully curated selection of dishes representing the best of Australia’s culinary landscape, showcasing premium local produce. An exciting addition is the experiential stations – more on that later.
Guests can expect classics elevated with modern techniques, such as braised veal ragu, as well as handcrafted pasta favourites like homemade barramundi and crab ravioli. Fresh seafood highlights include Sydney rock oysters and snapper fillet.
Executive chef Mohamad Abdell said: “We are excited to introduce a dining concept that celebrates the diversity and abundance of Australian produce.
“This evolution of The Promenade Café brings a renewed sense of place, highlighting ingredients sourced from our land and ocean while delivering an elevated yet welcoming experience for guests and locals alike.”
A live grill station. Photo: Pewpewstudio.
We head in for an early dinner, with enough daylight to appreciate the gardens just beyond our table.
As we read through the à la carte menu, we notice the seasonal table offering. For $58 per person, you can indulge in the experiential stations that you cannot help but see as you enter the restaurant.
There is so much on offer across the food stations, it’s a full meal in itself. The seafood buffet display features impressive ice-filled receptacles brimming with shucked oysters, mussels and prawns.
Gourmet salads glisten with dressings, accompanied by a swathe of fresh and marinated vegetables, a variety of cold meats, hard and soft cheeses, marinated cheeses, crunchy elements and sauces begging to be transformed into the salad of your dreams.
At another station, a deep tureen of creamy soup sits on a hot plate alongside an array of crusty breads, ready for you to slice to your preferred thickness.
We love the look of everything, but tonight we want to choose from the à la carte menu.
Guests who order steak from the menu can enjoy premium cuts of meat cooked to their liking at The Grill, which captures the essence of Australia’s love of open-flame cooking.
We begin with the signature Hiramasa kingfish and beef carpaccio, accompanied by thick Sonoma sourdough with a crisp crackling crust and tender, spongy texture. We drag slices through a blend of olive oil and vincotto, the caramelised sweetness of the vincotto brings a deep-bodied, fruity deliciousness to the bread.
Almost too pretty to eat, but you must! The Hiramasa kingfish crudo. Photo: Pewpewstudio.
The beef carpaccio is sliced so finely you can almost see through it. Scarlet escalopes of beef tenderloin topped with shaved parmesan, salty capers, peppery rocket and a palate-lifting lemon oil. The harmony of textures and flavours is exceptional.
We adore the Hiramasa kingfish crudo with blood orange in a citrus vinaigrette, a visually stunning dish with colourful, delicate slivers of beetroot. The sweetness and tang of the almost creamy vinaigrette perfectly complement the firm, lush slices of meaty kingfish.
Tender barramundi and crab-stuffed ravioli sit in a seafood bisque that perfectly balances light, creamy and oceanic flavours. The salty pop of salmon caviar dances on our taste buds.
The braised veal ragu tosses wide, tender ribbons of al dente pappardelle in a deep, rich sauce topped with shaved pecorino. The sharp cheese accentuates the depth of the tomato in the ragu (how good is pappardelle!).
Our dish of the night is the smooth, flaky snapper fillet in beurre blanc with finger lime. It looks simple, but with the crunch of crisp skin and the finger lime infusion in the buttery sauce, this dish sings. We relish the sweet, earthy bursts of confit tomatoes on the side.
We finish with a rhubarb and strawberry tart and a passionfruit cheesecake bombe Alaska.
The rhubarb is still crisp, the strawberries fresh and we particularly delight in the luxurious frangipane cream, wedged between thin shortbread discs and topped with strawberry ice cream.
Our dessert of the night is the very pretty bombe Alaska passionfruit cheesecake. The torched meringue coating is the best we’ve had, not too sweet and not eggy. The passionfruit tang in the glaze and each layer within the bombe Alaska make our taste buds happy.
Our dessert of the night: bombe Alaska passionfruit cheesecake. Photo: Kazuri Photography.
The Promenade Cafe is at the Hyatt Hotel Canberra at 120 Commonwealth Avenue. Open for breakfast from 6:30 am to 10:30 am, for dinner from 6 pm to 9 pm. Check out what the Hyatt Hotel Canberra has planned for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day feasts. Follow Hyatt Hotel Canberra on Facebook and Instagram.
