9 Reviews:
Old Swan Brewery Cafe/Restaurant Function Venue
The original Swan Brewery was a relatively small concern established in 1877 by a partnership between John Maxwell Ferguson, a Scottish sea trader and Captain, and William Mumme, a brewer with German and colonial brewing experience. They purchased the Mounts Bay Road site, and around 1880 the Swan Brewery was constructed. By 1897 they had expanded their operation to the extent that it was described in the Australian Brewers Journal as “….One of the most eminently successful and go ahead concerns of the colonies”.
Incorporating the rich history and panoramic view of the river, Old Swan Brewery was re-opened in October 2001, featuring state of the art micro-brewery, café-restaurant and function venue.
The ‘Thomas Hardwick Room’ pays tribute to the original Brew master, with breathtaking views of the city skyline, modern fixtures and fittings, it is the ideal venue for corporate events, seminars, presentations, wedding and special events.
Original recipe beers are produced on site and our Master Brewer, Hugh Dunn welcomes the opportunity to provide samples of his latest brews.
The café/restaurant, presents contemporary decor, award winning food and spectacular alfresco dining. Open 7 days it is with great pleasure that we present this magnificently redeveloped venue.
Combining history with relaxed and contemporary dining, Old Swan Brewery provides a feature venue for all visitors to our state and local population. Showcasing all that our state has to offer in lifestyle, fresh produce and friendly nature, we are becoming an essential experience.
Open 7 days from 7.30am until late
eatingWA Restaurant Reviews 9 reviews
June 20, 2007
- Overall
After 6 months of being locked away in a little st...
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After 6 months of being locked away in a little studio it was time for us Gyroscope boys to finish up writing our new album and head out to get ourselves a good meal. Dan couldn’t make it, so Zoran and Rob joined me.
Our place of choice, The Old Swan Brewery on Mounts Bay Road. The vintage black and white photos of the place on the wall, and old tools displayed in the foyer instantly give off a warm and cosy feeling. The place has been totally renovated but hasn’t lost any of its old charm.
We get introduced to Amber, our waitress and start by ordering some drinks. A bit indecisive, we are happy to find the tasting paddle on the menu. Five small glasses really do come out on a paddle which is a great way to sample their beer.
For entrée we let Amber decide. She brought out a selection of fetta, olives, grilled chorizo, Turkish bread and dip. All really fresh and a great way to get ourselves ready for our mains.
Being a vegetarian I was pleasantly surprised that the menu indicated all the vego meals which made things a little easier for me. Although the vegetarian selection isn’t huge it offers enough to make it hard to know what to order. I settled for the eggplant and potato gateau with grilled veges, bocconcini and a tomato dressing while my carnivorous friends couldn’t go past the Southwest fillet steak, which was served with artichoke and potato mash with green beans.
After the mains were cleared Amber tells us that the dessert special is sticky date pudding and without even thinking we all placed our orders. Zoran, who is some sort of sticky date pudding connoisseur, was really impressed, as were Rob and I.
The meals tasted amazing, well presented and were the perfect serving size.
Prices are very reasonable in comparison to the quality. Mains between $15 and $35. We left feeling full, but not overfull which usually happens to me.
I’ll definitely be heading back, but I think next time it will be during the day when I can really experience that great view.
Enjoy!
-brad-
April 5, 2010
- Food
Good steaks- we had four steaks- three were cooked...
- Good steaks- we had four steaks- three were cooked perfectly, one was underdone! The lobster was overcooked but the sauce was outstanding. Main meals came without sides, so we had to order those seperately. Deserts were good but uninspiring. Food was generally good, we felt that it was very expensive.
- Service
Service was ok...BUT... we had driven all the way...
- Service was ok...BUT... we had driven all the way to the restaurant earlier to deliver balloons for the table in celebration of a 21st. On arrival- we found that they were not put onto the table! We requested a candle with desert.... again nothing was done! We were terribly dissappointed!
- Ambience
Romantic, gorgeous view, perfect setting for a spe...
- Romantic, gorgeous view, perfect setting for a special occasion.
- Overall
This was such a disappointment- we went to celebra...
- This was such a disappointment- we went to celebrate a very special day and felt that the restaurant did nothing to add to the occasion. For the price of the food we had expected a little more- a birthday two days later at the Grill (Duxton hotel) was so much more professional and welcoming.
March 21, 2009
- Food
All the food was excellent! steaks cooked to perfe...
- All the food was excellent! steaks cooked to perfection all 4 of us had steak and everyone commented on how good the quality of the meat was. Well done Chef! sides and entrees were also of good standard, only fault I could find is that every side dish was sprinkled with sea salt, making your first mouth fall very salty. Overall excellent
- Service
Very poor, slow service with no enthusiasm......
- Very poor, slow service with no enthusiasm...
- Ambience
Was a quiet night with only 5 other tables in are...
- Was a quiet night with only 5 other tables in are section. must say for a open kitchen its was very quiet.
- Overall
Overall apart from poor service it was a pleasant...
- Overall apart from poor service it was a pleasant night. Well done to the chefs! Restaurant staff...Well sort it out
March 2, 2009
- Food
The food is expected but tasty, albeit a bit price...
- The food is expected but tasty, albeit a bit pricey - wagyu or no wagyu. We were dining for a special occasion so it wasn't an issue. Fantastic place to dine if you're into meat and all the glorious ways to serve meat. Cows and vegetarians beware. All of our party were happy with the meals ordered (without exception) - from entrees right through to dessert. Even the vegetarian. For once, an improvised veggo dish that didn't taste like a flustered chef's upending of the garnishes bowl tossed into leftover pasta. Another note, our food waiter was SUPERB and literally saved our night from the incompetence/ambivalence of his peers. Full points for being the only staff member on hand who seemed to know and care about what he was doing.
- Service
I'm still blown away by the rude, ambivalent and o...
- I'm still blown away by the rude, ambivalent and overall surly service that we received from the moment we arrived. We were with overseas guests and were deeply embarrassed at the manner in which the greet/meet/bar staff conducted themselves. Turned us right off coming back any time soon.
- Ambience
Lovely setting - can you get much better really? S...
- Lovely setting - can you get much better really? Shame that the restaurant is operating at a service level that is eye-openingly, conversation-stoppingly rude and obnoxious. Maybe we hit a bad night, maybe we didn't. Fantastic looking restaurant though. Not too sure about the cow hide lounge table..
- Overall
When you're paying premium coin for food/ambience/...
- When you're paying premium coin for food/ambience/service - well, you expect excellence on all fronts. I don't appreciate having a waiter roll his eyes at me and huff off at a simple request to wait at the bar for the rest of our party to arrive. What is that?! That was just 1 incident. Luckily we were with a great group and enjoyed some delicious food. Had I dined as a couple, I would have walked out a lot earlier. Needless to say, bad night or not, I'm not willing to fork again out to find out
August 17, 2007
- Food
- Service
- Ambience
- Overall
Was taken here for a romantic dinner by my lovely...
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Was taken here for a romantic dinner by my lovely boyfriend on Thursday night. Always nice to go somewhere that you have been wanting to try as a surprise :)
We walked in at 7pm and were promptly seated by a lovely smiling waitperson. We got the menus and a water straight up and were left to peruse.
We decided on a bottle of Sav Blanc and some Turkish bread with evoo and balsamic and roasted capsicum dip. The bread was very fresh and delicious.
For mains I decided on the shark bay crab spring rolls, chilli spiced north-west tiger prawns and Japanese coleslaw in the mains size. Nothing really stood out as being spectacular and the coleslaw was rather bland. The prawns were fresh though.
B'friend went for the fish of the day Barramundi on wilted spinach, roasted fennel & saffron vermouth jus. The Barra was a good size and flaked away nicely.
Neither blew us away but both were pleasant enough.
For dessert we decided to share the chocolate indulgence plate, which again was nice but nothing exceptional.
The service was excellent and could not be faulted, smiling and stopping by to make sure we were happy.
The view across the Swan is spectacular and the restaurant decor is very cool.
All in all we had a really pleasant evening, would probably like to go back in summer to sit outside on the deck and enjoy a sunset.
February 17, 2007
- Food
- Service
- Ambience
- Overall
Went to this place with my whole family. It was a...
- Went to this place with my whole family. It was a big open spaced area and wasn't entirely sure on where to go. Anyway, nice place for a relaxing dinner, the view of the river was lovely. We had Turkish bread with dips which was nice. Had a nice glass of red and had fish as main. The serve was a good size and food was great. The children's meals were first served and they also had a good size for the children. Overall, it was a great experience.
November 26, 2006
- Food
- Service
- Ambience
- Overall
The view of the river is lovely and the menu has s...
- The view of the river is lovely and the menu has some interesting items. It’s a wicked place to come for a spot of lunch. My experiences with the dishes vary - some fantastic while others were a bit more average pub-food. Good selection of beers.
January 19, 2006
- Food
- Service
- Ambience
- Overall
I've recently read a review of a dinner here. I've...
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I've recently read a review of a dinner here. I've dined here in the evening as well, and would agree with the 4 star rating.
However, I just wanted to point out that this is also a pretty good place for breakfast. A range of usual and not-so-usual breakfast options, well presented and reasonable service. On this occasion, one of the waiting staff was wearing some of the food, hence the 3.5 star rating there - otherwise, the service was friendly and reasonable. And the views rate 4 stars+ whether it's sunrise or sunset :)
January 18, 2006
- Food
- Service
- Ambience
- Overall
Who would have thought I’d be writing a review, bu...
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Who would have thought I’d be writing a review, but here goes something! My friends and I set out for a night out to the Old Swan Brewery. We entered the building after crossing the bridge and you're momentarily confused by the room that greets you, am I lost or have I walked into someone's private foyer?
We found ourselves walking down some stairs as it was the only logical thing to do. A set of doors greeted us, one to a gallery and one to the courtyard. One automated door opening later there we were, in the air, greeted with South Perth river views. It was hot! Not only that, we noticed a wedding reception in the function room. It was at that point I realised, oh crap... I came underdressed!
So with that we’ll skip with all the informalities and try to get to the food…
At this point I was starving so my friends and I set out to ponder on what was going to make a pleasurable experience for our palates. But as god had intended the outdoor view distracted us for a bit, and out came the drinks first! We finally got to ordering not because the waiters were slow, but because our attention spans were that of a sniffer dog to a cocaine laced room! You can't help but chatter and relax to the surroundings. The one thing that kept at the back of my mind was whether the sailing ship that was docked would actually sail off somewhere... or is it just there for ornamental purposes. If it's the latter, wow!
WA seafood linguine, shellfish cream sauce - this was a safe pick for me. Not only because I was craving seafood but also if I’m eating right on the river, you may as well eat fish. There are three things that I look for in a "seafood pasta" - pieces of flesh/meat that resembles creatures that actually came from the sea and tastes like the sea, the sauce and how it's going to taste. You can tell if the seafood is fresh and believe me it was fresh! The fish was generous and so were the two plump slightly seared scallops still in shells! The cream sauce was gag-o-licious, clearly there was a chef behind the scenes not scared to use flavour and in this case real cream. I’m no expert on what makes quality produce and what makes something fresh but my mouth does, so I guess I’m safeguarded at least in some way! Maybe it's because I hadn't been out to eat in a little while prior to this night but I haven't been impressed with a seafood and pasta combo in a long time!
To go with my pasta I decided on the lemon potato, green beans & dukka egg salad with Persian feta... at first it seemed like an odd combo written on the menu. I mean, what is dukkah eggs? I could go into something here, but I won't. Does anyone actually really know? Well, it appears Google knows and now so do I. It all makes perfect sense to have the Persian feta which like with any good feta, melts in your mouth which is always something special.
My friends are communal people so we were flipping and dipping food in each other's plate. Is it proper dinner etiquette, are you kidding me? Of course it is! It’s the only place in life where you can taste the food on another man's plate!
So the one that caught my eye was the crispy skin salmon, served on a bed of fennel and orange salad with saffron vinaigrette! Crispy it was, salmon it was! Very nice and very light it was! I would recommend it for the delicate ones among us. ;) The other was the osb pale ale beer battered barramundi fish & chips. To me serving fish & chips in a more up-market establishment is never weird, to me it speaks volumes about a place. It’s how you make it and I have to say the chef excelled, the batter was light and left a very thin crispy lining on the burra. The one thing I’m pretty certain though is that the chips were deep fried in some animal derived fat! Let’s face it, any chef that uses dripping to deep-fry chips knows what he’s doing.
After the meal, we were satisfied, but what the hell, we wanted more. the desserts are made to order and at first, the word "dedicated" comes to mind, so the 20 mins cooking time is noted but hey who's complaining. We decided to share and ended up with the bittersweet chocolate pudding served with kirshed black cherries, apple rhubarb crumble served with Belgian ice cream and hazelnut biscotti, the osb bombe Alaska with strawberry liqueur and the ice coffee for myself. We would have licked the plates but the tenants in the penthouses over looking might have thought we were uncivilised. By this time, if our cholesterol levels hadn't sky rocketed, then Alan Bond never used to own the osb...
The one thing to point is that, you may have noticed there was little interaction with the staff and to be honest it was perfect. They were there with a smile and attitude when you needed them and they knew what they were doing. After all there was no need to ask if the meal was okay, thumbs up to that and not only were they easy on the eyes but they were immaculately primped and jgust’d!
This place needs no puffing up, the food does all that for you, so go and take a friend, you will not be disappointed. When you've come across a good thing, you can't help but tell everyone about it...
I’m reserving this place for self-indulgment moments and second dinner dates...
crave
Contact Information (08) 9211 8999
- Old Swan Brewery Cafe/Restaurant Function Venue 173 Mounts Bay Rd, Perth 6000
- (08) 9211 8999
- Visit Website
- View Map
- Modern Australian
- Casual Dining, Alfresco Dining
- Licensed
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