I was recently invited to spend a Friday night at the Parmelia Hilton in the Perth CBD as a guest of the hotel, with the main event of the stay being dinner at the Adelphi Grill. It had been a long week at work (aren’t they all?) and this was an exciting and much welcome start to theย weekend.
I should point out that this photo was taken early on Saturday morning when most of the hotel guests wereย still in bed!
This was the first time I’d stayed at the Parmelia Hilton, and I found the front-counter staff to beย veryย friendly and check-in was quick and efficient. My room was a King Hilton Deluxe, which came withย two features I find essential in any hotel room –ย somewhere to sit other than the bed, and a proper desk to work on.
If you’re not already jealous, you will be when you see the treat was left in my room – yes, it’s edible. The bun was a macaron and the burger was a slab of chocolate cake topped with watermelon tomato and pineapple cheese! The chips were made of sponge cake…and salt-crystals made of icing. Ah, it’s a hard life sometimes.
I have a king size bed at home, but this oneย seemed to be significantly bigger. It was veryย comfortable, withย a pillow “menu” available for guests with fussy heads – I found the supplied pillows to be more than sufficient. There’s evenย a turn-down service, but you can elect just to receive the chocolateย if you’re capable of un-tucking your own sheets.
After an hour or so settlingย into my room, it was time for a drink in the Adelphi Bar and then onto dinner in the Adelphi Grill.
The Adelphi Grill began its life as the iconic Adelphi Steak House & Bar, and received a $1 million makeover in 2013 to give itย a contemporary look and feel whilstย maintaining itsย casual, relaxed atmosphere. The mural pictured here was painted for the Adelphi in the 1970’s by Australian cartoonist Paul Rigby. I don’t think the woman on the right likes it.
The Adelphi is open seven days a week for breakfast (6:30am to 10am on weekdays, 7am to 10 am on weekends) and lunch & dinner from 12 noon to 10pm. You can downloadย the full dinner menu here.
We sharedย a selection ofย starters, beginning with beef carpaccio with parmesan, garlic chips and truffle mayonnaise. ย This was a generous serving of well seasoned, soft, high quality beef – the mayo wasn’t too strong and the garlic chips added a niceย texture and flavour. A great start.
The seven starters on the dinner menu are $19 each.
My favourite starter was the duck tacos –ย minced duck with black beans, char-grilled corn & avocado salsa,ย sour cream, lettuce, and grilled tortillas. It might sound simple, and not something you’d normally expect to be served with duck, but itย was rich andย tasty. It’s alsoย a fun dish as you have toย get stuck in and assemble it yourself.
We did run out ofย tortillas very quickly, so be prepared to ask for moreย (or fight your dining companions for them).
I’m not a fan of shellfish, but I couldn’t deny the beauty of these seared scallops withย spiced chickpea & tomato, carrots and mint labneh. This dish was very popular with the seafood fans at the table.
Speaking ofย things I’m not a fan of, this isย roasted spiced cauliflower withย crumbed bocconcini, cauiliflower & truffle purรฉe and toasted almonds (I’ve tried cauliflower in many different waysย but I’m sorry, I just don’t like it).ย Thankfully I managed to pinchย the delicious fried cheese while no-one was looking.
Mains were of our own choosing, and I selected the “South West Fiery Fillet”, aย blend of “fiery” spices on a 220gm beef filletย served withย chips ($45). I ordered my beef rare, and it was perfectly cooked. I usually don’t order beef orย steak because very few restaurants seemย capable of properly cooking it rare.
Regular readers will know that I am a lover of chilli & spicy foods, and this dish was more on the “spiced” side rather than lip-numbingly hot, but that’s not a bad thing. It’s unlikely that anybody who chooses this will findย the spicingย tooย strong, and I really enjoyed it.
There are a good selection of steaks available at the Adelphi Grill, from a simple 220g Angus sirloin ($42) to a gigantic 600g prime rib served with rosemary potatoes, sour cream & bacon ($65 – yum!) or a luxurious 250g grilled Wagyu sirloin ($75).ย Steaks come with a choice ofย mushroom, bearnaise, red wine or pepper sauce, sensibly served on the side. I chose theย pepper whichย had a decent “kick” to it, and the chips were goodย too.
All main courses at the ย Adelphi Grill come with free rein of theย salad bar, something that seems to have disappeared from manyย restaurants. I can never resist coleslaw, gluten free or not, and was happyย to see it here.
Everyone agreed that the best looking dish of the night was the grilledย chicken breast with potato dauphinoise, soy beans, charred corn, roasted leek and red wine jus ($38). The chicken was beautifully moist, which isn’t always the case when ordering a breast.
The Adelphi Grill also offers a selection of seafood dishes, including this salmonย dusted with chai & fennel seed, seared scallops, potatoes in saffron and coconut sauce, eggplant and spinach ($42).
Aย steak sandwich on the pass ($26).
Being located in a hotel, the Adelphi Grill offers a selection of “room service” style fare such as a club sandwich ($25), teriyaki chicken burger ($26) and fish & chips ($26) so there’s plenty to choose from if you’re not in the mood for a massive steak.
A good side dish can be just as enjoyable as the main event, and theseย honey roasted baby carrots with hazelnuts ($10) were soft and sweet, with great crunch coming from the nuts.
This mushroom medley with spinach ($10) was rich and tasty,ย an interestingย combination of a variety of mushrooms.
Onto dessert, and once again we were presented with a selection of dishes to force into our already-full bellies.
This mango semifreddo with fruit salad and passionfruit essence ($14) would be a light and refreshing end to just about any meal. The semifreddo was beautifully soft, and complemented the fruit on the plate (even the grapefruit) perfectly.
We had the opportunity to speak with the Adelphi’s chefย Chad Miskiewicz during the evening, and he was very proud of this dish – theย Adelphi Grill chocolate & raspberry tart with chocolate fudge sauce and vanilla ice-cream ($14).
The tart is multi-layered withย a rich raspberry mousse inside and topped withย discs ofย crisp, perfectly tempered milk and white chocolate. Itย tasted as good as it looked, with much plate-scraping and spoon-licking by everyone at the table.
These “baby” ice cream conesย come in “surprise”ย flavours ($8) and are presented on custom-drilled boards. I’m not sure if I’d want four of these as a single dessert, but they were really fun and great for sharing.
I’d never eaten at the Adelphi Grill before, despite its long history at the Parmelia Hilton, and given my experience tonight I wish I’d visited sooner. All of theย dishes we tried made with quality ingredients, well cooked and well presented, and I received the added bonus of perfectly cooked rare beefย and coleslaw. The Adelphi Grill is not just another “hotel restaurant” – it’s a quality dining destination in its own right, and one that I would definitely recommend.
So off I went to my very comfy bed with a full tummy, and enjoyed a good night’s sleep in preparation for a big Saturday’sย eating ahead.
Coming up in Part 2: buffet breakfast at the Adelphi Grill, breakfast dessert and a very special morning tea!
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