Luxury at Avenue by Nick Munier

Cookie FM Rating – 5/5

When it comes to luxurious dining, I’m a divil for wanting the best in value, presentation, taste and the overall experience. My best friends were absolute darlings and gifted me a voucher for my birthday to use at Avenue by Nick Munier, and boy did this restaurant deliver on the aforementioned. We headed in on a weekday evening (August 25) for date night, which was quiet but still atmospheric and were greeted with smiles and shown to our table, amid a dining room with blue lights, unique artwork on the walls, paint splatter display plates and white leather couches.

The menu itself is full of delicious-sounding options, and I chose the Crab Salad to start, followed by the Veal Escallop as a main. Once ordered, we were treated to homemade fresh bread, which we may have two rounds of because they were that good. When my starter arrived, its presentation really blew me away. It was truly art on a plate – that I can eat! The Crab Salad topped with wild rocket and was accompanied by sweet roasted red peppers, a line of diced veg & herbs with pine nuts, scallion aioli drops that sat on top of splashes of Capsicum pepper purée. Maybe it was too pretty to eat, but I did anyway and it was as delicious as it looked. I also tried his Langoustines starter, and though it was also very delicious, I did prefer mine more!

We both ordered the Veal Escallop as our main course, and it followed suit in how appealing the dish looked. The veal was a generous size, with a Parmesan, smoked bacon, crispy capers & pine nuts topping, sitting atop a bed of diced carrots & caponata served with a side of cider cream and new potatoes. The meat was cooked beautifully, and the whole dish was bursting with flavour, and I savoured every last bite. Himself was also very impressed with the dish, and safe to say there were no leftovers on either of our plates.

I cheekily opted for a dessert too, to share of course, and chose the Chocolate Cremoix. It arrived in a trio; with a refreshing blood orange sorbet, a smooth dark chocolate cremoix (a silky ganache), and a vanilla cream topped with a crunch, surrounded by orange gel drops, mini meringue and orange segments. The intensity of the chocolate alone had me in love, but the combination of chocolate, vanilla and orange is just heaven on a plate!

From start to finish, I was very satisfied. The quality of the food and the service at Avenue is impeccable, delicious and very warming. Nick Munier was also a darling, coming over to our table to say hello and introduce himself. We were also treated to a generous glass of Sauvignon Blanc on the house. Thankfully I still have more on my voucher, so you just know I will be back and this time I’m not sharing the dessert!

Update

Last month (March 24, 2017) I booked into Avenue for dinner before a friend’s leaving party. This time round I opted for the Goats Cheese Brûlée Salad to start, following with the Braised Beef as a main. Just like before, the homemade bread & French butter is such a delicious pre-course treat, that complimented my white wine perfectly. The Goats Cheese Brûlée Salad is such an innovative starter, that really reflects French cuisine. The goats cheese itself was sprinkled with sugar and Brûlée burned, adding a contrasting texture to the soft cheese, that matched its accompaniments perfectly too. The Braised Beef main course smelled absolutely heavenly, and totally delivered in taste too; with the meat cooked to melting point, which was just delicious and made it very easy to devour. All of its accompaniments, including the mash, vegetables and garlic jus that was served in a separate jug, also complimented one another. I also opted for dessert, choosing my waiter’s favourite one; the Cinnamon Shortbread. This was a lovely little dessert, combining three of my favourite ingredients in one; cinnamon, mascarpone and mango! Manager Alanna Feeney also made my evening extra special, with a generous glass of wine on the house, with Nick Munier stopping by to say hello too. Overall this second experience was truly satisfying, even better than my first visit!