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Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Dinner before a show - The Aviary

The Aviary is a short walk from the state theatre center, straight across the railway line. We made a nice early booking online so we could be in and out in time for the start of Other Desert Cities.

The online booking was fine as far as it went, but there was then a follow up phone call the next day to confrim, which I always find a bit odd. Of course it ended up going to voicemail, and the number they left for us to call back on went to a recorded message saying there was no one to take the call...

Using a little ingenuity we managed to get in touch and confirmed the booking, after which everything went beautifully.

The restaurant is decked out in black white and green, with bookish wallpaper that strikes me as a bit messy, but others would no doubt find whimsical.  The lighting was low, keeping with its bar themes, but we could read our menus without engaging the flash light function on our iphones so apprently that's a step up on Rockpool.

The service was lovely and perky, friendly, engaged without being hovering or overly formal.

The menu is designed to be shared, and having eaten there once and getting a feel for how this might work I'd take that approach if eating there again.  As it was, each of us ordered a dish of our own and that worked out fine too.

The sweet and sour pork belly was a hit as was the salt and pepper soft shell crab.  The duck was a bit more on the so-so front, but I think we all have very high expectations of duck these days.

Desserts were very generous in size, and they served us the nicest coffee I've had in a long time. We were in and out in good time without feeling rushed or anxious or needing to clock watch at any stage.  I do believe we'll be back, and this time I'll be saving room for a dessert myself.

The Aviary – Bird Cage Restaurant on Urbanspoon

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