Dinner at Artespresso (Canberra)

We were about 13mins behind our 7pm dinner appointment at Artesand I realised that they had given our table away. I was alittle pissed because it was not informed of the "holding" policy, and the fact that I had proactively called them TWICE at 6pm and 6.45pm to reconfirm our attendance really made it unacceptable. Parking is also a bitch in Canberra city by the way, especially with the weekend crowd down for the art exhibition.




The manager seated us reasonably fast to another table at the back. I wont dwell too much on it. Service was mediocre and the place was bustling with endless stream of customers.



For entrees, we had seared scallop and spiced pumpkin soup. My scallops were supremely average and in fact, they were sliced pretty thinly. It was adequately seared and while tasty, a little too much oil. The pumpkin with yabbie was a complete disappointment. It was bland and somehow the spice made it weird. Wont recommend it to anyone.For main, we chosed roasted pork belly (speciality dish) and the beef. I opt out on the Lentil and got green beans instead. The meat was cooked to prefection but it was extremely salty. Somehow, the meat was salty and they still drizzle sea salt on it, overkill.

The beef was however better. It was very very tender and fantastic, but only to be spoilt by the weird Yorkshire pudding with horseraddish.



To end the night, I had my chocolate pudding dessert which was finally something good out of this place. I was contented. My husband's panna cotta wasnt at all impressive and we could easily think of many places in Sydney that win hands down with this dish, such as Fish Face and Jonahs.

The remaining night was a horror for me. The salt in the pork belly main dish took its toll on me and I was downing water non stop to stop my thirst. I was so bloated but I couldnt stop. I have never been so thirsty after a meal. My fussy body just isnt accustomed to overdose in salt and msg so the reaction is acute.

So verdict, give this place a miss unless you really do not care what you chomp down your throat to your belly. Rating, 5.5/10.