Gunners' Barracks Tasting + The Decision

This week we had essentially narrowed down our choices to L'Aqua and Gunners' Barracks. The service we had received at L'Aqua had been excellent, however we were disappointed with the food tasting. The other disadvantage L'Aqua had was that it would require a lot more decoration, however, it was cheaper then Gunners' Barracks. If it wasn't for the food tasting we probably would have instantly chosen L'Aqua.

On Thursday we visited Gunners' Barracks to try the food. Their restaurant is only open during the week for lunch and the menu is a little different from their wedding menu, the latter tends to be a bit simpler presumably to make it easier to mass produce. However, overall the two menus are in a similar spirit.

When we were there we were the only young couple, there were a lot of retirees and a few "stay at home" mothers who were all mainly having high tea. So the kitchen wasn't as busy as it would have been on a wedding day (but the same applied for the L'Aqua kitchen when we went for a tasting earlier). Also the staff knew we were here to evaluate whether to have our wedding at Gunners' Barracks.

Entrees:

1. Seared scallops, squid ink polenta, calamari, green tomato, pickled chilli

Seared scallops and Calamari with Squid Ink Polenta

The first thing with the entrees that stood out was the quality of the presentation of these dishes compared to L'Aqua. The scallops and calamari were cooked perfectly, and the squid ink polenta had a vinaigrette which went perfectly with the seafood.

2. Roasted quail breasts, scotch egg, pea and mint salad, ricotta

Roasted quail

Again the quail was cooked perfectly, not too dry and not undercooked. Diane found the quail a bit too heavy as an entree, and as we had mains and desserts coming I had to finish the dish off. I liked the quail, and the scotch egg (which separated the quail pieces, not sure if it comes out in the photo) but I wasn't a fan of the pea puree. Overall though, both Diane and I were comparing these dishes against the best food we had tasted rather than whether it was edible, which put it leagues ahead of L'Aqua.

Mains:

1. Steamed mulloway, crisp chicken wing, sweet corn custard, baby gem lettuce

Once again the fish was perfectly cooked, and again the presentation of both dishes I felt was ahead of what was prepared by L'Aqua. The crisp chicken wing was there for texture, however wasn't what I was expecting, since all it added was crunch, rather than taste. The sweet corn custard was infused with some spice, which gave it a slight curry taste, but overall was nice. Again Diane only managed to eat half the fish before feeling full, so I had finished off the fish. Typically I'm not a fan of steamed fish, but I did enjoy this one.

2. Fillet and belly of pork, mustard spätzle, globe artichoke, lemon, spinach

The fillet of pork was infused with some sort of spice which gave it a unique taste. However the belly of pork, the skin on the top was probably overcooked, and was too tough for my liking. However overall the belly of pork was still properly cooked and both dishes were very good. This offered a stark contrast to the main dishes we were served at L'Aqua.

Dessert:

1. ‘Croquembouche’, caramelised pink lady apples, chai tea ice cream

I was a bit disappointed with both taste and presentation compared to the desserts at L'Aqua. When Diane ordered the Croquembouche, I was expecting a mini tower to come out, rather than a blob as it was served above. Diane had been clearly saving herself on entree and main, and polished off the whole dessert and really enjoyed it. The chai tea ice cream apparently went well the croquembouche and brought the whole dish together, however I didn't really taste both of it.

2. Strawberry pavlova, strawberry sorbet, toasted almond, mint

I was not a fan of the deconstructed pavlova, the meringue was filled with cream, but overall the amount of cream was pretty stingy compared to what is served with a normal pavlova. I felt they went with the deconstructed pavlova to give it that 'fancy' feel, however I think a normal pavlova would have been a better finish, especially considering this place is known for its high tea.

Overall we probably preferred the desserts at L'Aqua, especially the Mango & white chocolate Galliano, which was one of the stand out dishes from all the tastings. But overall the quality of the food was better at Gunner's Barracks compared with L'Aqua.

The Decision:

After the tasting, we met with Natalie, the venue sales manager again to clarify details around the setup of the dance floor and other details as well as possible dates. There is no doubt Gunners' Barracks was a very popular venue and overall it left us with very little negotiating room as they had wait lists for the dates we wanted. 

L'Aqua was a lot more personal and didn't push the hard sale, as the person selling to us was also wedding co-ordinator rather than a sales specialist. In particular, it was disappointing that on the Thursday, we had asked to put a 7 day hold on 4th Jan 2014, but it was clear they did not want to offer the hold over the weekend as that was their busiest period to make sales. L'Aqua offered very good value for money, however the quality of the view, the food and the interior was unrivaled at Gunners' Barracks. 

It was a very hard decision, and all week both prior and after the tasting we probably had changed our mind on which venue we wanted at least 10 times. In the end while the savings at L'Aqua could be put to decorating the venue, Diane and I both felt that the food would be a let down.

So Gunner's Barracks it is, we are pretty much locked in, for 4th January 2014. It's good getting the venue and date finalised, as it is one of the largest items to get sorted. We will probably take a break over the next few weeks, before starting our hunt for photographers, videographers, DJs etc.

Subsequently, I found out one of my colleagues had attended a wedding at Gunners' Barracks for another colleague at Westpac. He highly recommended it (before he found out that I had actually booked), so this has given some comfort in the decision.