thevcritic

7.5 Recommended

Drinks  8      Ambience  7      Service  7      Value  8     

We hired the upstairs room from Nick at Mr Falcon's for a birthday function on a Saturday night and had an excellent time. Although this place is fairly new and so doesn't have an operating kitchen we were allowed to bring our own catering, and we were offered ample fridge space for the massive cake we bought.

There were a few hiccups (not enough wine glasses/buckets/staff/beers) but I'm sure as time goes on this place will better handle large groups. I've also been there for a quite(r) drink with friends and really enjoyed Nick's friendly expertise, the reasonable wine list, and comfy atmosphere.

Will definitely be back, so nice to see Glebe earn itself another nice drinking hole!

Feb 07, 2012

8 Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  7     

Came to Orto for dinner on a Friday night, we were early for our booking but the lovely Hostess seated us at the bar so we could enjoy a cocktail while waiting for our table. The restaurant wasn't quite what I had pictured, I think I had imagined something with dim lighting, not such a high ceiling, and, perhaps, a more rustic vibe to match the "garden" image. But the venue was charming nonetheless, with a very clean kitchen you can see right into!

The lavender cocktail I ordered was a treat, creamy, smooth and gently perfumed. My partner enjoyed a mint julep that was everything it should be, although I thought it was quite expensive. We shared a bottle of wine, a Riesling I think, that was very satisfactory.

Prawn bisque was the starter special so my partner ordered that and enjoyed it immensely. I began with a "bite" of peach and mozzarella which made for a beautiful combination. For mains I had the beetroot carpaccio which was interesting, done so that it retained crunch almost as though it were pickled.

The flavours were excellent: fresh, zesty and surprising. My partner had the trout wellington, which he liked, but I found to be a bit on the bland side. The potato salad as a side was a nice (and substantial) addition, done exactly the way that I make my own potato salad. Sadly we were too full for dessert, but extremely satisfied all the same.

Would love to come back and try new things, glad to see that with the nice range of starters, sides and bites a shared meal with friends here could be very reasonably priced.

Feb 07, 2012

7.5 Recommended

Drinks  8      Ambience  7      Service  7      Value  8     

We hired the upstairs room from Nick at Mr Falcon's for a birthday function on a Saturday night and had an excellent time. Although this place is fairly new and so doesn't have an operating kitchen we were allowed to bring our own catering, and we were offered ample fridge space for the massive cake we bought.

There were a few hiccups (not enough wine glasses/buckets/staff/beers) but I'm sure as time goes on this place will better handle large groups. I've also been there for a quite(r) drink with friends and really enjoyed Nick's friendly expertise, the reasonable wine list, and comfy atmosphere.

Will definitely be back, so nice to see Glebe earn itself another nice drinking hole!

Feb 07, 2012

8 Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  8      Value  7     

Came to Orto for dinner on a Friday night, we were early for our booking but the lovely Hostess seated us at the bar so we could enjoy a cocktail while waiting for our table. The restaurant wasn't quite what I had pictured, I think I had imagined something with dim lighting, not such a high ceiling, and, perhaps, a more rustic vibe to match the "garden" image. But the venue was charming nonetheless, with a very clean kitchen you can see right into!

The lavender cocktail I ordered was a treat, creamy, smooth and gently perfumed. My partner enjoyed a mint julep that was everything it should be, although I thought it was quite expensive. We shared a bottle of wine, a Riesling I think, that was very satisfactory.

Prawn bisque was the starter special so my partner ordered that and enjoyed it immensely. I began with a "bite" of peach and mozzarella which made for a beautiful combination. For mains I had the beetroot carpaccio which was interesting, done so that it retained crunch almost as though it were pickled.

The flavours were excellent: fresh, zesty and surprising. My partner had the trout wellington, which he liked, but I found to be a bit on the bland side. The potato salad as a side was a nice (and substantial) addition, done exactly the way that I make my own potato salad. Sadly we were too full for dessert, but extremely satisfied all the same.

Would love to come back and try new things, glad to see that with the nice range of starters, sides and bites a shared meal with friends here could be very reasonably priced.

Feb 07, 2012