Riverview Hotel - Balmain

We decided to eat out at Riverview Hotel one night. Unfortunately, at night, there was definitely no riverviews in Balmain - nothing but pitch-blackness. For this Sunday night, there was a decent small crowd at both the bar and the restaurant bits of this hotel.

Being seated, I have to say, service was a little lacking. I don't think they intentionally lacked smiles, but I didn't feel very warmed or welcomed. Sourdough was served with butter to start. Nothing great but nothing bad about the bread.

sourdough bread

We decided to share in entree of scallops and beef cheek ($20). The scallops were cooked well and the beef cheeks - though tiny - was quite melt-in-your-mouth and wrapped in crispy pastry. There was some pumpkin puree and some radish on the side too. Was quite tasty but not really WOW.

scallop and beef cheeks - $20

We also decided to share a potato pizza bread ($14). This was thinly sliced potatoes on a thin and crispy base with white anchovy and bits of rosemary sprinkled on top. I liked this quite a bit. It's not smack-bang full of flavour but it's subtly nice and delicious.

potato pizza bread - $14

Hubby wanted to order their black angus scotch fillet. Unfortunately, because it was Sunday, they said that they don't serve it - they only serve their Sunday roast. This was an angus roast with roasted veges and yorkshire pudding. The  beef was served medium rare and really tender. The veges were hearty and the yorkshire pudding not bad. Not a bad dish really.

Sunday Roast

I opted for the Cone Bay barramundi ($33). The skin was scored and super crispy skinned. Cooked quite well in my opinion. I also liked the fennel puree. However, the rest of the stuff - ie. the vinegared tomatoes was wayyy too over-the-top vinegary. Venturing towards the inedible side.

barramundi - $33

Last but not least, we couldn't pass on the hand cut chips ($10). This was deliciousness! Crispy skinned big chunks of soft potato, super awesomely seasoned with rosemary salt, and then dipped in delicious aioli. LOVED it! (hint: need to eat it when hot - coz when it becomes cold, it loses all the crispiness)

hand cut chips - $10

We had no room for dessert and nothing on the dessert menu really piqued my interest. Hence, we passed on it.

Ratings:
Food - 7.5/10
Service - 6.5/10
Ambiance - 7.5/10
Value for money - 7/10
Overall - 28.5/40

Riverview Hotel Restaurant
29 Birchgrove Road
Balmain
NSW 2041
Tel: (02) 9810 1151