Dinner at The Fig

Quite often I've been for brunch at any number of 'The Fig' cafe's along the coast of Perth.

Each time I've curiously pondered at the "lunch" and "dinner" menu's and creatively dreamed of what I would get if it was lunch or dinner.

I finally got the chance to visit the Naked Fig in Swanbourne for dinner.

On a beautiful summer's night, the view was gorgeous, The Fig was settled not to far from the beach. Similar to all the Figs - the restaurant was very busy this Saturday Night.

We were seated inside and ordered the roasted vege salad to share for starters. This was classified as a "light" meal, however i was so curious to try it, I managed to convince everyone else on the table that it would be a nice start to our meals to share...Unfortunately I didn't get a photo of this one, but it was delicious!

The crumbled fetta over the roasted beetroot, sweet potato, rocket, spinach leaves, pumpkin with pine nuts and fresh pumpkin seed bread. The salad was drizzled with a balsamic reduction. This was a lovely start to the meal! I could have 

For mains I ordered the Grilled Salmon with Beetroot risotto. The salmon was cooked wonderfully with that gorgeous pink flesh peaking through in the middle of the fillet. I would have probably preffered the salmon to have been cooked a little more rare and had that pink flesh more prominent throughout the fillet, but it was lovely nonetheless.

Grilled Salmon with Beetroot risotto

The beetroot rissotto was bright pink in colour and quite sweet in flavour. Creamy and smooth. I guess I was surprised by the taste as the pink colour can be quite distracting, but it had the cheesy risotto taste blended quite nicely with the beetroot. 
The asparagus was cooked but still had that nice crunch - I could have done with 10 times more. (But that's just the inner-asparagus lover in me - shouting out for more!!!)

Jack ordered the special of the night which was a Mussel Seafood Chowder with a spicy tomato broth.

This was a dish that failed to impress. The mussels, although cooked nicely, were floating in a "tasteless and very unspicy" sauce which failed to have any chilli, let alone a flavour at all. Not something that you think would feature on the "specials" menu. Although both Jack and I have a huge love for chilli, this dish failed to show any sign of spice or heat.

There were quite a few macadamia encrusted roast lamb cutlets sitting on the tables around us... maybe this was a favourite we hadn't been notified of...?

A little dissapointing.

Although the service was fantastic and the "Mai Tai" cocktail ordered tasted beautifully refreshing and sweet with mint leaves adding a zing! It looked fantastic and had the appeal to take you away to Thailand for a brief moment. 

Overall it was a pleasant experience, however I'm not sure I would return to The Fig in the future for dinner.

Considering I absolutely love the "brunch" menu offered at "The Fig" cafe's, and have been more times for brunch that I can count on both hands...I think I will just stick to brunch in the future!

Highs: The ambience of the restaurant, the view, the selection of vegetarian options on the menu.

Lows: The mussel chowder special. 

Overall: 4/10

Would I return? Probably not for dinner. Brunch - yes!