Devonshire, The

8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  8     

We had the 8 course degustation with matching wines and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. We were there on a busy Saturday night, the place was buzzing, quite loud but not over the top. Service was great all night, dishes came out promptly but we were never rushed, and the owner gave us a run down of each wine as it arrived which was a nice touch. The space is nice and simple, nice touches like a very well decorated bathroom.

The food varied from reasonable to outstanding. The cod brandade was a nice start, crunchy on the outside and smooth and flavour packed on the inside. The heirloom tomato salad was great, the whipped goat curd was a beautiful accompaniment. The smoked angus tartare was good without being exceptional, but the salmon with squid ink "noodles" was exceptional, perfectly cooked and wonderfully balanced flavours. It was perhaps a bit heavy on the crispy element which had the tendency to dominate flavours if too many of them got into the one mouthful, but was otherwise perfect.

The prawn ravioli was probably the low point, it needed a bit of a sauce or some additional flavour to give it a lift, but it was well cooked.

The pork was a beautifully flavoured dish, although the neck element was overcooked. It was a lovely dish though.

We thought the popcorn with the rice pudding was unnecessary, and it lacked any rice flavour/texture. It was a bit ho-hum, even though we normally love raspberries and peaches. The choc sorbet/mousse with salted caramel parfait was superb though. The parfait was more puddle than parfait, but the flavours were top notch.

The matching wines were all good without having any real standouts. The sauvignon blanc was probably the pick. The beer selection (only 2 lager style beers) left a bit to be desired, a bit more choice would help.

All up we had a great meal, and would happily return to try the a la carte menu.

Feb 10, 2013 

9 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  10      Value  9     

Love, love, love this place. Been twice now and food is great and waitstaff know their wines and menu. Highly recommend the degustation with matching wines. Jan 13 menu is delish! We'll be back when menu changes later in the year.

Jan 11, 2013 

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  8     

I really like this place, although it's not perfect, it's very close to home and gives the balance of Mod Oz + French that I like best. I've been here about 8 times.

Main pros - good value, intimate, non-pretentious personalised service in a small restaurant, not crowded or noisy, has tasty butter (!), good portion sizes. Some of the best things have been scallops, pork four ways. Food often imaginative, but not threatening or bewildering. Wines always good and well matched.

Main cons - sometimes they have new foreign wait staff who are not as polished as the local long-term staff.

Jan 08, 2013 

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  8     

The food here is absolutely amazing! Great service too but not many waiters on a Friday night. Restaurant is a little small and can get quite loud.

Read more on my blog

Dec 02, 2012 

8.8 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  9      Service  8      Value  9     

Take advantage of the pre theatre 2 courses for $45 deal with free BYO on Tuesdays and this place is a winner. Service was attentive without being fawning, decor is elegant and the food fantastic. We BYO'd as did the table of wine buffs in for the degustation beside us. The staff handled their wine matching requests with aplomb and managed to stretch each bottle to 10 exact shares. Impressive and recommended.

Nov 22, 2012 

7.5 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  7      Service  8      Value  8     

Came here with my girlfriend on a voucher, which made it extraordinarily good value for 8 courses. We were asked if we wanted wine pairing with the courses, so we didn't get tricked like one of the previous reviewers - maybe they were mistaken? (I did go through something similar at Aria).

The courses were all lovely - I particularly liked the beetroot salad with goat curd, and the coffee sorbet. The braised short rib of beef was also delicious (with a smoked pepper hollandaise that complemented it really surprisingly well), but was served with the biggest problem element - anchovy beignets which were intolerably salty. Apart from that, the only other complaints were about the dessert course, with the banana mousse and coconut ice-cream being forgettable (and the praline having a slightly strange flavour), and myself not liking the flavour of the red velvet cake. I would stress again that the food was overall, brilliant. I would happily return again.

The service was informal and unobtrusive, great if you prefer relaxed over pompous, whilst the decor was slightly chintzy, but in keeping with the informal but still classy atmosphere.

Nov 20, 2012 

9.8 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  10      Service  10      Value  10     

Our party of three went there with a voucher. Restaurant had a great ambience, was spacious and comfortable.

All the ëight courses of the degustation menu were very well executed and presented. Quite a work of art with a lot of finesse. Even though the portions were small, we were quite full at the end. Only one small drawback was the sea mullet tasted very "muddy".

The service from the waitress and waiters were very friendly and attentive - great service. This restaurant is recommended.

Nov 03, 2012 

8.3 Highly Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  9      Value  8     

We went here for a romantic night out, and were not disappointed.

Seating at The Devonshire was spacious, which added to the clean and elegent setting. There was no need to yell to be heard over the roar of the other tables, and you dont have to worry about bumping elbows or scooting past another couple to be seated.

We chose the Degustation dinner which did not disappoint. My partner is a trained French and pastry chef, and his only complaint was the pastry in the tart. The staff was friendly, the food was delicious, and the wine pairing went perfectly with each course.

Oct 02, 2012 

4.5 Below Average

Food  7      Ambience  5      Service  3      Value  3     

Myself and my boyfriend visited The Devonshire, using a voucher, the staff were very friendly and attentive to our needs, we found the food was very good, but maybe the food was too creative!, the staff knew we had a voucher, this entitled us for a glass of champagne and 8 courses, but instead we were given a glass of champagne, and a glass of wine with each of the courses, at the end of the meal we had to pay an extra $80 for the wines.

We did not like the way the staff were sneaky in this way, the staff knew we had a voucher but continued to serve us wine throughout the meal. We will not return.

Aug 27, 2012 

7.3 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  6      Value  7     

A lovely little fine dining bistro in an unusual location. It's a bit hard to find but very cosy once we managed to locate it and made our way inside. The wait staff were very friendly and informative of the wines and courses.

The first 3 entrees of our degustation came out very promptly. However, the fourth (a risotto) was at least another 15-20 minutes which is understandable as it takes time to cook. However, not worth the wait. Very disappointed with the salty mussel and bland rice. The main meal was great though not as impressive as the first three entrees.

Slightly disappointed at the end with the unusual tasting salt caramel ice cream and significantly long wait for a coffee - it was supposed to come with the two final courses of dessert but never eventuated, despite a waiter dropping by to say he had not forgotten, then having to remind him 10 minutes later while he was cleaning a table.

It was great food and friendly/funny staff, however the odd location and long lulls in between courses as they got a bit busier wasn't most impressive.

Aug 20, 2012