A few weeks ago, I was kindly invited to try the new Ladies Lunch package at The Village. The weather was nice and breezy at the time which is perfect for a chilled out midday lunch or a simple catch up session with you girl pals. It has got me curious since most of my friends are actually guys so I do wonder if they would like the food regardless of the namesake.
On most days, The Village seems to operate as a bar at night with various shared plates including pizzas and chips to nibble. On Saturdays, the bar opens early for a bistro-style lunch if you prefer a relaxing day to chill rather than party all night. The venue is actually spaced out to include a ground floor with a bar, an outside courtyard and a dining area plus an upstairs bar area. The flowers and plants decor around the venue gave it an overall cute and chilled atmosphere...though I can't comment on what this venue would be like later in the evening or very late at night.
We started off with a glass of sparkling and a starter plate of olives and nuts to nibble. Because of the amount of food coming up, we barely touched the nuts but the olives (dosed with olive oil) were too addictive to ignore for the both of us. They also weren't too salty so it was easier to polish up.
We were excited to see the neatly-presented shared plate on various entree dishes when it arrived to our table. The shared platter consists of (Clockwise L-R on below photo):Salt and Pepper Calamari with Parmesan Aioli and Fresh Lemon, Sweetcorn and Basil Cappucino with Tempura Cauliflower, Butternut Pumpkin Arancini with Buffalo Mozzarella and Fresh Basil, and Rocket Pear and Parmesan Salad with Lemon Oregano Vinaigrette.
The seemingly small range of shared plates definitely appeared to be light but the stomach says otherwise. We actually really enjoyed the rocket, pear and parmesan salad the most because of its light and fresh texture and it was fun biting into the cheese. The calamari seemed harder and even slightly grainy in terms of texture then we would have liked but the flavours were there. We both had a surprise reaction with the pumpkin arancini which tasted mild at first but the spicy flavours creep onto your taste buds very quickly. The sweetcorn and basil cappucino was another fave of ours with its warm, soup-like, creamy texture which would be perfect during the winter.
For our main dish, we were given a choice of seared fillet of huon salmon or the crispy skinned confit chicken. As that Ol El Paso ad goes, why don't we have both? These main dishes were served with a bowl of crispy chips on the side.
The huon salmon was CC's choice of main, which, in my opinion was the highlight dish. The salmon skin was so crispy while the salmon fillet was soft and well cooked with a slight pinkish colour. This is serious melt in your mouth stuff. It came with a marinated feta, rocket and parmesan salad that I didn't try but CC said it was nice but of course the salmon was the winner.
On the menu it said that the confit chicken would be served with a white potato and shallot salad with red wine jus however it ended up having the same creamy and cheesy base with marinated feta cheese as the salmon dish. It was a slight bummer because I was keen on trying the salad and dipping the chicken with the jus. Thankfully, the chicken was reasonably tender and juicy and the skin was even better with its golden crispy and succulent texture. Compared to the salmon, I thought that the serving size of the chicken was decent enough to fill you up if you order this as a stand-alone dish. Also it was nice dipping the chicken and chips into one of the puddles of the spicy sauce that was used with the arancini in the shared platter.
It was good that the service staff took its time between meals for our stomachs to settle rather than putting everything on the table at once because we were struggling at this point. But yeah gotta save some room for dessert right? We awed when the platter full of colourful sweet delicacies arrived to our table. The dessert platter consists of macarons (lemon, orange and lime), white chocolate panna cotta, nutella tarts, mini-lemon meringue pie and a couple of orange slices.
We started off with the macarons, which we thought were very sweet. The small lemon meringue pie had a soft texture while the nutella tart was not overly sweet and slightly bitter. We both shared the white chocolate, which we found to be sticky, firm and not as wobbly as we expected. However, the flavour was nice and the decoration of black sea salt on top was very cute. After the amount of savoury and sweet food, we both grabbed the orange wedges. It was certainly zesty, juicy and perfect as a palate cleanser at the end of the set meal.
Since it was just me and CC tackling this package, it was no wonder we were so full by the end. Nevertheless we had an enjoyable afternoon eating and relaxing on a quiet weekend. The service was polite and not overbearing, which is a plus. If you are keen for a girls day out or planning a special occasion that isn't too wild, or heck even a special double date(!) then this should be the package for you. I'm sure the guys will like the food too if they are keen. Wouldn't mind coming back again to try the other food on the A La Carte menu including the pizzas.
The Ladies Lunch package (including the glass of champagne and nibbles) is available on Saturdays from Midday and made to share for a minimum of 3 people for $59 per person. You can also order it on other days during the week for groups of 15 people or more. Reservations are essential.
Disclaimer: The Random Foodie dined as a guest of The Village, courtesy of Lily at Cav Con. Opinions are, however, my own.
The Village
1 Kellett Way, Potts Point NSW 2011
(02) 8084 6057
http://www.the-village.com.au/
Tue-Thurs: 5:00pm-Late
Fri: 5:00pm-3:00am
Sat: 12:00pm-3:00am
On most days, The Village seems to operate as a bar at night with various shared plates including pizzas and chips to nibble. On Saturdays, the bar opens early for a bistro-style lunch if you prefer a relaxing day to chill rather than party all night. The venue is actually spaced out to include a ground floor with a bar, an outside courtyard and a dining area plus an upstairs bar area. The flowers and plants decor around the venue gave it an overall cute and chilled atmosphere...though I can't comment on what this venue would be like later in the evening or very late at night.
We started off with a glass of sparkling and a starter plate of olives and nuts to nibble. Because of the amount of food coming up, we barely touched the nuts but the olives (dosed with olive oil) were too addictive to ignore for the both of us. They also weren't too salty so it was easier to polish up.
Glass of Sparkling
Selection of Marinated Olives and Nuts
We were excited to see the neatly-presented shared plate on various entree dishes when it arrived to our table. The shared platter consists of (Clockwise L-R on below photo):Salt and Pepper Calamari with Parmesan Aioli and Fresh Lemon, Sweetcorn and Basil Cappucino with Tempura Cauliflower, Butternut Pumpkin Arancini with Buffalo Mozzarella and Fresh Basil, and Rocket Pear and Parmesan Salad with Lemon Oregano Vinaigrette.
The seemingly small range of shared plates definitely appeared to be light but the stomach says otherwise. We actually really enjoyed the rocket, pear and parmesan salad the most because of its light and fresh texture and it was fun biting into the cheese. The calamari seemed harder and even slightly grainy in terms of texture then we would have liked but the flavours were there. We both had a surprise reaction with the pumpkin arancini which tasted mild at first but the spicy flavours creep onto your taste buds very quickly. The sweetcorn and basil cappucino was another fave of ours with its warm, soup-like, creamy texture which would be perfect during the winter.
Entree Shared Platter
For our main dish, we were given a choice of seared fillet of huon salmon or the crispy skinned confit chicken. As that Ol El Paso ad goes, why don't we have both? These main dishes were served with a bowl of crispy chips on the side.
Hand Cut Chips
The huon salmon was CC's choice of main, which, in my opinion was the highlight dish. The salmon skin was so crispy while the salmon fillet was soft and well cooked with a slight pinkish colour. This is serious melt in your mouth stuff. It came with a marinated feta, rocket and parmesan salad that I didn't try but CC said it was nice but of course the salmon was the winner.
Seared Fillet of Huon Salmon with Marinated Feta, Rocket and Parmesan salad
On the menu it said that the confit chicken would be served with a white potato and shallot salad with red wine jus however it ended up having the same creamy and cheesy base with marinated feta cheese as the salmon dish. It was a slight bummer because I was keen on trying the salad and dipping the chicken with the jus. Thankfully, the chicken was reasonably tender and juicy and the skin was even better with its golden crispy and succulent texture. Compared to the salmon, I thought that the serving size of the chicken was decent enough to fill you up if you order this as a stand-alone dish. Also it was nice dipping the chicken and chips into one of the puddles of the spicy sauce that was used with the arancini in the shared platter.
Crispy skinned Confit Chicken
It was good that the service staff took its time between meals for our stomachs to settle rather than putting everything on the table at once because we were struggling at this point. But yeah gotta save some room for dessert right? We awed when the platter full of colourful sweet delicacies arrived to our table. The dessert platter consists of macarons (lemon, orange and lime), white chocolate panna cotta, nutella tarts, mini-lemon meringue pie and a couple of orange slices.
We started off with the macarons, which we thought were very sweet. The small lemon meringue pie had a soft texture while the nutella tart was not overly sweet and slightly bitter. We both shared the white chocolate, which we found to be sticky, firm and not as wobbly as we expected. However, the flavour was nice and the decoration of black sea salt on top was very cute. After the amount of savoury and sweet food, we both grabbed the orange wedges. It was certainly zesty, juicy and perfect as a palate cleanser at the end of the set meal.
The Village Dessert Tasting Plate - selection of The Village signature desserts
Since it was just me and CC tackling this package, it was no wonder we were so full by the end. Nevertheless we had an enjoyable afternoon eating and relaxing on a quiet weekend. The service was polite and not overbearing, which is a plus. If you are keen for a girls day out or planning a special occasion that isn't too wild, or heck even a special double date(!) then this should be the package for you. I'm sure the guys will like the food too if they are keen. Wouldn't mind coming back again to try the other food on the A La Carte menu including the pizzas.
The Ladies Lunch package (including the glass of champagne and nibbles) is available on Saturdays from Midday and made to share for a minimum of 3 people for $59 per person. You can also order it on other days during the week for groups of 15 people or more. Reservations are essential.
Disclaimer: The Random Foodie dined as a guest of The Village, courtesy of Lily at Cav Con. Opinions are, however, my own.
The Village
1 Kellett Way, Potts Point NSW 2011
(02) 8084 6057
http://www.the-village.com.au/
Tue-Thurs: 5:00pm-Late
Fri: 5:00pm-3:00am
Sat: 12:00pm-3:00am
The dessert tasting plate looks great! I like how you get to try a little bit of everything :D
ReplyDeletethe dessert tasting plate looks amazing!
ReplyDeleteI got invited to this too but I nicely declined as I don't really see myself as a lady much lol food looks great!
ReplyDeleteThe food here looks amaze!
ReplyDeleteWow the entree shared platter sounds so different and delicious!
ReplyDeleteMy friend lives right near here! I'll have to let him know about it :)
ReplyDelete