silks brasserie, leura...

So last night V and I stayed in Leura, at the charming Old Leura Dairy. And we decided to celebrate our little one-night getaway with dinner at Silks Brasserie

I had been wanting to try Silks for the longest time, and it seemed like the ideal restaurant for a quiet, romantic dinner for two...

We started out with a glass of chilled Wither Hills 2009 Savignon Blanc (and yes, the rest of the bottle too lol)

V started out with the house-made gnocchi with Milawa blue cheese cream + sage sauce, served with a paprika straw - the gnocchi were light and delicious and the sauce was perfect

I had the pan-seared scallops on avocado and tomato confit, asparagus tips, witlof, cress, panchetta + honey-mustard seed dressing - is it a cliche to say this was orgasmic? The scallops were divine. Possibly. Best. Entree. Ever!

Feeling in the mood for a good steak (as he put it), V ordered the tenderloin of grain-fed beef with forest mushrooms, asparagus, mild horseradish butter + Madeira jus - I actually didn't get the chance to taste any of this dish because it disappeared so quickly! But judging by the fact that there was nothing left on the plate by the time V was finished eating, I'm guessing it was well-received

I took the plunge and ordered the confit of duck Maryland served with duck sausage, pickled pear, beetroot + watercress salad - I know it can be a bit of a risk ordering duck (if badly done, its just icky). But this dish was delicious. The duck sausage was a bit rich for me, and had the taste of pâté (which I hate), but everything else was just perfection

Despite being unbelievably full, we simply had to try dessert! The menu of offerings was far too tempting to pass up

I ordered the caramelised warm banana tart with coconut ice cream - this was really yummy and perfectly made, albeit very, very sweet. The banana was perfectly crackly and caramelised, and the coconut ice cream was a particular standout, full of toasted coconut. So delicious.

On a side note, I loved that the dessert plates were both decorated with a little sugar "S"!

V had the shortcrust Medjool date tart with toasted fig, candied ginger + pineapple compote, served with vanilla ice cream - again, I didn't taste this one, but this time because I really don't like dates or candied ginger. Whereas V is obsessed with both these, and also fig - it was like his ideal dessert! He gave it full marks

The service at Silks was warm and friendly, but always utterly professional, and the venue itself was beautifully and tastefully decorated. Highly recommend