Review Parlour - Canberra

A sophisticated restaurant with french style indoor decor, a central bar with seating and a more casual outdoor dining area. There are a few cozy nooks for enjoying a drink with friends and tasteful background music does not drown out the conversation. Overall a very pleasant ambiance and equally pleasant staff. The menu is modern cuisine with ‘share plate’ dishes recommended. We particularly enjoyed the main chicken and barramundi dishes. You might need to ask for serving utensils for shared plates. They have a good selection of wines and cocktails that are a little pricey so be aware. 4.5+⭐️

Very sophisticated little place for a quiet drink and some very tasty bar snacks. Great range of beer, wines and cocktails, served by very charming and competent staff. Great decor and music (if a little loud!). Parlour is in a great location, close to the Ovolo Nisha and with heaps of parking.

After two years of COVID postponements and cancellations of our destination wedding, we decided to stay local and booked Parlour to celebrate instead. We are so glad we made this decision. Abby and her team were fantastic! The food was spot on, and nothing was too much trouble. All guests with food allergies were catered for and all kids had special meals. Staff on the evening were very attentive, helpful and super friendly.

Delicious food, charming interior and awesome cocktails. We walked in without a booking and the staff were very accomodating to give us a lovely table on the patio. Service was great, will be back!

Thank you Parlour Canberra, Ben the manager and all the amazing staff for creating such a beautiful wedding for our daughter. From the pre ceremony preparations to the reception function, the whole day was perfectly faultless. I would highly recommend this venue.

Friendly staff, however food could be improved. Couldn't taste the slightest hint of the aged cheese that is allegedly part of the potato croquettes. These were quite bland and but were saved by the spicy chutney accompanying them. The lamb skewers were hideously overpriced at $30. That's $10 per skewer and they're very small. I get that this is a tapas place, however the skewers are from the "For the Table" section of the menu and thus you would expect a larger serve, especially at that price. The roasted carrots did not appear (or taste) roasted at all. They were chopped quite small and looked to have been parboiled/steamed and then maybe pan fried. Would explain why they came out so fast. The Tiramisu was the saving grace - absolutely delicious! This place has a lot of potential, hopefully they take note of where improvements are needed.

Good food, service and great cocktails. Been twice lately 5 x better now than it was a few months ago. New food is different but in a good way.

Perfect for date night or catching up with friends. Nice wine list and well mixed cocktails. The seasonal menu hits just the right spot and has great vegetarian options.

Fantastic decor; lovely, professional staff; great meal; fab music. My friend had a burger and I had the seafood pasta. Very different meals. Both of us loved them. I asked that the pasta sauce not be too heavy. The waiter said he'd ask the chef to make it a lighter sauce. It was perfect amount and they didn't scrimp on the seafood like a lot of joints do and there was no cheese on the seafood pasta (which you must not do!). My friend said the sauce on his beef burger was bespoke and excellent. Lovely place. Don't hesitate.

Held our 50th birthday party at the Parlour room and it was fabulous .. Abby, the event organizer was a pleasure to work with and nothing I asked was ever too much.. the staff on the night were friendly and fabulous and the food was delicious .. I would highly recommend booking out the parlour room for your special occasion celebrations..

Service? What service!Booked for 8:00pm...seated at 8:45. Dinner was ok although overpriced. We asked for and were given a dessert menu then half hour later we had to hail a waiter down to take our order..only to be told it's too late! Other waiter came over and said..no that's fine, you order your dessert, even if I have to make it myself! WTF! Won't be giving this establishment another cent.

We held a 50th here Friday night. Abby was fantastic through out the whole process. Bria on the night had everything organised and the party went off without a hitch. Very accomodating and the food, drinks and service was fantastic. Thanks for making our night so special!!!

Visited parlour with a few friends for a glass of wine and some tapas and dessert, the staff were very friendly and efficient and the food was amazing! Definitely be going back :)

The food and service was perfect.I was with a group of fourteen and was completely looked after with delicious tapas and drinks without having to organise anything. The staff were very polite and efficient. I highly recommend the Parlour. Lorraine

Just had a delicious meal and wonderful service at Parlour. The goat cheese custard was divine - a real mouth sensation! I would love the recipe

We had our wedding at Parlour on Friday, and the reason it was a success was the attention to detail from Abby and Bria, the quality of the food and drinks, the quality service from the kitchen and bar staff, and the venue. If you are thinking of holding a wedding or other function, give them a call

We held our wedding, both cermony and reception at Parlour on 2nd March 2018. We decided on a Friday lunch time wedding as opposed to the traditional Saturday afternoon wedding. We cannot speak highly enough of Abby and everyone that worked on the day of wedding. The set up was just what we wanted, the food was amazing and the atmosphere was exactly what we were hoping for. If you are looking for someone to get married or hold any special event we strongly recommend you look here.

Parlour was the reception venue for our wedding last weekend, and we cannot say enough about how good it was. Not only is the place so beautiful that decorations were completely unnecessary, but the staff were all brilliant from the get-go; from the first enquiry call to last drinks. The food and drinks were amazing, and absolutely everyone was satisfied. Thank you so, so much you guys, we love you! Kiri and Mitch Joyce-Griggs xox

Brilliant! The smallest request is met by fantastic staff and world class service- even for a couple of oldies. Great location, great experience!

I was invited to a birthday party here and was very excited, I had been to parlour before and received excellent service and excellent wine. This time was extremely disappointing. For a table of 6 (with only four other tables in the entire place) drinks were forgotten and food was late. We were ignored by two wait staff, and when we went to the bar to.order ourselves we were told to sit back down and wait for a waiter (which never came). Requests were made once again for service and they were ignored again. This was the final straw and the group decided to leave, feeling very dissatisfied. Will not be coming back or recommending to anyone.

Incredible spot, awesome food menu, and great drinks options. The boys know what they are doing with cocktails and everything I ordered was perfect. Well done!

Food a little overpriced and small portions - but a good place for a drink with friends!

Had the best time at Parlour this evening Ben went out of his way to make us comfortable and was so attentive! Definitely will be recommending this place it's perfect from after work drinks.

Over priced and under serviced! Paid for food at a function and saw little to no food for how much they were charging! Very disappointing!

Average food, average service. Ambiance is nice though. Was expecting a bit more given the positive reviews. Not bad but not great either...

I wanted to give the Parlour a second chance after a poor experience with customer service the first time. I received poor attitude but quick service the first time. The second time I came in, I asked the waitress for a menu. She instructed me to have a seat and that she would fetch me one. 10 minutes later watching her dawdle around the restaurant floor I had to go get one myself. I ordered a glass of Shiraz and a cup of coffee and it took 30 minutes to come out. It takes less than 5 minutes to pour wine into a glass and prepare a small cup of coffee. The waitresses and bartender were rude and restaurant was understaffed. Not sure if management is on top of things as there are similar reviews (even from<br/>5 years ago). Would not recommend this cocktail bar to anyone after experiencing poor service on both occasions. McDonald’s has better service.

What a fun little place. We went here twice, once for a quick lunch on a Saturday and later that evening for drinks. <br/><br/>It’s a very quaint setting like and old time parlour (after the name) with fancy couches and low tables. Many outside tables for then the weather is better.<br/><br/>I went for lunch and they have a lunch deal on where you can have food and a cheap drink ($2 house wine or $4 schooner of beer.) I first went in and the very lovely front of house manager told me all the tables were taken but please take a seat at this lovely couch behind the curtains. Very nice. After some confusion about glass sizes (I’m from Victoria, this is ACT) I got my beer. Ordered the seafood bisque. It was quite a generous serve with some seafood including some lobster / bug (although admittedly the picture on the board showed lots more!). The taste was excellent, quite tangy. The beer was good too. <br/><br/>We came back later in the evening. The place has transformed into very busy night spot! We still managed to get a table and they do table service. Their selection of cocktails was excellent. The whisky choices was a little limited and the wine list was very long! The waiter / bartender was great fun!<br/><br/>Best of all I could walk here from the hotel Ovolo Nishi. A great find and would recommend it!

Great vibe, nice decor. Lovely staff who enjoy what they are doing. The croquettes were crispy on the outside and fluffy and full of flavour on the inside. The G&T’s were massive and served with a nice sprig of rosemary.

Had my birthday here. Absolutely beautiful place, great location. Would recommend sitting outside. Good bar menu and great alcohol selection. Service was fairly poor, our waitress forgot two of our dishes which we had to reorder after an hour and were charged for the forgotten dishes until amended. She wasn’t friendly or attentive and seemed impatient with myself and group of friends. Food was good but price was high and not really worth it.

Great place we went in a group of 12 and the food was really great. A beautiful bisque pork belly and an amazing goat cheese custard. Great feel.

I love the ambience of Parlour Wine Room, semi-darkness with heavy wooden furniture has a cozy feel. Service is good, friendly and attentive. However, their food is just OK. Entree prawns and my main of Gnochi were average. Croquettes and pork belly buns were very tasty tho. A mixed experience, overall.

Does it really take that long to make a martini?<br/>Is it ready so hard to make a dry martini?<br/>Is it unreasonable to request that the olives are pitted?<br/><br/>Tip: If you don't understand the basics of service, don't get a job in the service industry. <br/>Our Waitress was rude and had attitude. <br/>Which brings me to the food. The onion tart was onion jam spread on a piece of dry pasty. Two of my fellow dinner declared the Sardines to be inedible. A third sent the coffee back because it was cold. Not a great night.<br/><br/>Maybe I have over scored at 2.5

SWMBO surprised me with a night out at Parlour Wine Rooms after a pretty hectic day at work, for dinner and a drop of ale to quench my thirst. <br/><br/>Freezing cold outside (Canberra in late autumn) and warmly greeted as we walked into the foyer. Seated quickly at a rather uncomfortably small table. <br/><br/>Handed menus quickly enough (pictures attached) and asked what we'd like to drink. Order was placed and we studied the menu. I decided I was in the mood for a 'raw dinner' consisting of oysters, ceviche and beef tartare. My partner had a pork terrine and a pan fried gnocchi. <br/><br/>Before ordering my dish, I specifically asked about coriander (as I just can't stand it). The waiter did that thing that really grinds me by sitting at the table and having a friendly chat. Normally I don't mind that, but when the chat is specifically about why people don't like coriander and then the fish ceviche comes out with coriander, it's a PITA. <br/><br/>The food:<br/><br/>The ceviche was terrible. Coriander on the first try and the second try just smelt terrible. The oyster was nice enough, but not amazing, but my partners terrine was delicious. <br/><br/>The mains came out and it was a real let down. The pan fried gnocchi was far too oily and left a terrible taste. The beef tartare was nice, but not cleanly cut and no spice. The real bug bear was that the croutons were rock hard. I mean think biscotti. I actually cut my gum on the bread. Not pleasurable at all. <br/><br/>All in all:<br/><br/>Food - 4/10<br/>Service - 5/10<br/>Ambiance - 7/10<br/><br/>Would I return? No.

Worst place ever. I made a booking for 12 people, but turned out they double booked. We ended up having to find a different place last minute.

Enjoyed the 2 for 1 tapas special. Full of flavour and like the ambiance of this place. Can take kids there for early dinner but evenings are usually bustling with adults having a drink or two.

One of the good things about movies at Palace (other than the general lack of kids, teenagers, crowds etc.) is the food options. I had a great meal at A. Baker once and Mocan & Green Grout is still on my list. I'd heard that Parlour was a very nice tapas place but the servings were tiny and expensive. Despite this I somehow ended up here before watching a Friday night movie.

When we got to Parlour, the first question my colleague asked me was 'did you order the burger?' I've got a bit of a reputation for always picking the burger, but in this case it was completely justified. Whilst not part of the $16 lunch specials (a meal and glass of wine/beer included), the Parlour Burger was excellent value for $18, served with shoestring fries in the cutest little pot. The burger itself was very tasty, with the patty cooked to be just a touch pink (perfect), and a

Parlour Wine Room has introduced high tea on weekends for $45 per person. High tea is available on Saturday (morning and afternoon sessions) and Sunday (11am session only). A glass of sparkling wine is included in the price as well as tea and coffee. Since I don’t drink, I asked if I could swap the sparkling wine with something else. Staff were happy to oblige and brought out a mojito mocktail for me. I was asked whether I would like some tea and our waitress was able to rattle off all the teas they had. I chose the Red Apple tea and a huge teapot came out a few minutes later.

Average for me - I was a little disappointed with the flavours of the food and the speed of the service - the ambience is ok although a little noisy. We had the lamb, chorrizo balls, artichoke salad, salmon ad a few other bits, the food looked nice but was not up to scratch for me after experiencing lots of nice tapas bars elsewhere. It was  a little busy and although the hostess lovely enough, service was very slow and a beer was spilt on my jacket and chair by the hostess whilst I was gone - only for me to sit on it later!

Great tapas bar in the New Acton precinct. I went there for a friend's birthday drinks. We ordered the calamari, lamb and croquettes from the tapas menu. They were excellent. Staff were efficient.

I never actually ate here but looking across at it from A Baker people were having a pretty sweet looking dessert. 4/5 would look at dessert again.

The seared scallops with cauliflower puree, crispy sage, jamon and chives ($24) was delicious. Perfectly cooked juicy and sweet scallops that burst with flavour in my mouth. The cauliflower puree was a subtle creamy texture to the scallops while the crispy jamon added a nice salty contrast to balance the dish. I wanted more!

...a recommendation from the lovely manager at Palace Electric Cinema... this sounded incredible as it combined my favourite items, pork belly and wine. Booked a table, headed in, was impressed beyond belief, had a sublime evening at a superb venue. Out of all the venues I have visited in Canberra, this is, hands down, my favourite venue that I will be attending many more times.

Nice venue but incredibly expensive for what you get. Lunch for 3 people was $185. Two of us has gastro the following day. Finally, it may have been an accident but when paying I accidentally hit the Back button on the EFTPOS machine and noticed the waiter had added a $35 tip. That's after paying 10% weekend service charge. Won't be going back.

Parlour wine room. Apalling service, had to get attention all evening, ages it took to be served, had to leave as 20 min after sitting with dessert menu, nobody took the order. Went to the desk and without asking got the bill- did complain- fell on deaf ears- excuse there were only 2 on the floor- no excuse for a very poor service. Will not go there again and certainly not recommended. Not even once Asked how everything was! Plus waitress got orders wrong considering they were not busy on a Sunday evening, had to even ask for water! Grubby seats on the terrace- marked with spilled food and drinks.

Delicious french rise was exactly what we were after, a great reccomendation from the bartender! We had a good selection of tapas to accompany it, the beer battered anchovies are a must! The calamari and pork belly were a tad disappointing, too much batter and not enough crunch to the pork. However the scallops, chorizo and cured beef more than made up for them. Will go back again!

Pretty awful really. I don't think I will ever go back to Parlour. While the food was fine the service was appalling. We were moved three times because the staff had screwed up their bookings. It was really frustrating especially considering that there was no one else there. We ended up going from the comfy couches to a tiny little table in the corner right next to the kitchen door and we didn't even get an apology, we were just told we had to move. I actually think because we looked like uni students (backpacks, laptops etc) they thought they could treat us like crap. I am sorry Parlour, you can't have a two for one deal and expect your customers to dress like French aristocracy - it doesn't cut both ways. I wouldn't bother again, especially when Abaker and Mocham and Greengrout are just round the corner. .

Lunch with the family. My initial thoughts were that it looks lighter and brighter than the old decor (pre fire) but maintains the vintage touches.<br/><br/>Staff were lovely and greeted us at the door, ready to help with anything we needed.<br/><br/>Now, the food. The menu was every bit as pretentious as I had expected. For example, there was a type of sausage on there that even Google hasn't yet heard of (!). Personally, I love trying any new ingredient, but the fact that I had to translate the whole menu to the older generation can be a bit frustrating. I think even the fanciest of menu items should at least have some familiar terms to allude to its contents. For example, writing 'Marcillo sausage' rather than just Marcillo won't make it any less schmancy and saves the waitress having to explain it twenty times a day.<br/><br/>The $16 lunch menu is a great concept as you also get a drink. Portion sizes are reasonable, albeit a little uneven. For example, my pork belly papardelle was large and filling but my husband's popcorn squid with ancient grains was a bit light. <br/><br/>The range of choices was good but lacking in a couple of those 'safe' options you expect for fussy eaters. The base ingredients for each were: lamb, egg, vegetarian, squid and pork. A beef or chicken might make it easier for some people. Having said that, I rarely go past a pork belly dish so I was set.<br/><br/>Food was lovely. My pasta was seemingly fresh and the ragu was delightful. <br/><br/>I would definitely go there again, particularly because I liked the atmosphere, the staff were very attentive and the menu suited my tastes. However just keep in mind that it may feel a little overwhelming for the more mainstream palate who might have been hoping for simple cafe style lunch dining.

Quality Tapas and wine list for fair value. Have enjoyed some excellent tapas here - particularly the pork belly - and the wine list has diverse and interesting options of good quality. It's fair value and as one other reviewer has said, "this place should be more popular"

Care factor?. When you book a table for 12 for a birthday dinner at 7.45pm, you don't expect to turn up and have the front of house staff exclaim " you're early! Come back at 8pm". We question it, but dutifully come back at 8. After being ignored for 5 minutes, she barks "Your table isn't ready yet, come back in 10minutes". This happens twice more with an explanation of "the table before you went from 15 to 30 people and they're just leaving". At 8.30pm she points to a tiny coffee table by the fire where a group of 8 is paying the bill. REALLY?? you expect 12 adults to have dinner on a coffee table? If you can't fit us in, don't take the booking! By this stage we are ravenous and haven't even been offered a drink.<br/><br/>We left still waiting for our table, and went next door to A Baker where, despite a busy night, they set us up at the bar and gave us amazing food and service. We actually felt like they CARED about us and our custom! <br/><br/>We won't be going back to Parlour, nor will our friends. Go next door to A Baker where the food is fantastic and they care about service.

This place should be more popular. Just ate here tonight, they have a cheap Tuesdays special which is $30 for a 2 course meal and a glass of wine. <br/>The interior is really beautiful, I don't know what the old parlour wine room looks like, but this is very pretty! Just a great place to bring your significant other for a few quiet drinks. <br/><br/>The food menu is condensed to 1 page; it's called a wine room after all and not a restaurant. There is a good balance of meat/ seafood/veg options as well as tiny snacks/bigger tapas plates/full blown meals. There's a choice of 4 desserts. If anything, the menu is well thought out and succinct, and makes ordering easy.<br/><br/>What we got:<br/>*Complimentary bread and dipping oil. Filler upper-er while you wait for other plates to arrive - which happened pretty damn fast!<br/>*Cider battered anchovies - The fish is also marinated in cider so it's tangy. Good if you're a fan of salt and vinegar chips and great with a beer. Suprisingly more-ish and this was actually my favourite dish.<br/>* Pork belly: Who doesn't like pork belly? Yummy fatty-ness. Glaze and onions were forgettable. Comes with dehydrated white stuff, which tastes like powdered milk but not as sweet. This is hazelnut. I loved it.<br/>And for $30: (Ive forgotten the exact name of the dishes)<br/>* Marinated mushrooms with some microherbs strewn on top - they tasted really great<br/>* Crumbed squid with some sliced radish and and olive garnish.<br/>*Baby potatoes with creamy carrot puree and more mayo or aioli on the side. Because we were sharing the meal, the staff gave us some extra potatoes.<br/>* Lamb mince. This had some chunks of lamb in it, and lots of mint so even if you don't like lamb or mince, you'll still find this tolerable.<br/>* My friend ordered a Sauvignon Blanc, and she said it tasted pretty decent!<br/><br/>The chef, Brad, came to present the dessert himself which was really nice. (Frozen chocolate mousse, earl grey ice cream, choc soil, ginger) The dessert tasted really really great!! <br/><br/>I wasn't going to post a review, but just had to, because the staff is so kind and considerate. All of the dishes taste great and are presented beautifully. Can't wait to go again!

Why do some places believe that they can charge prices that exceed those in Melbourne and Sydney yet provide poor service and average food? I think the parlour wine room would be able to answer that! Really poor service guys, really expensive drinks and a really poorly executed and uninspired menu. What a shame it used to be good.

Saved the day. Well lets just say, after the experience next door the bar was set pretty low. Parlour Room saved the dining day with my friends and I so massive props to these guys. Legends

Empty wallet empty belly. Went to this establishment for lunch with two friends and left feeling disappointed with empty wallets and empty bellies. <br/>I ordered the pan seared squid lunch special, as did one of our group. The meal arrived on a wobbly, very chipped terracotta plate and the meal itself was stone cold. Only slightly bigger than a standard tapas dish and the flavours were too clashingly intense for a "lunch meal" and was grossly unsatisfying.<br/>The service was delivered by two different staff, the first being very helpful until being replaced by a rude and unengaging girl. The first staff member then stood behind the bar in full view of our table and proceeded to stuff her face with food.<br/>The second staff member served our drinks by plonking them on the table and both glasses of red wine were dirty and had wine pooling on the base of the glass. We had to use the single napkin provided for the meal to clean the glasses. Not once did we receive a smile or any friendliness for that matter.<br/><br/><br/><br/>If it's good spanish food that you're after go to Legends Spanish Restaurant in Manuka.

Absolutely delightful setting and very friendly wait staff. Tapas menu is a varied selection, unique and tasted delicious and the wine selection was not disappointing. Overall fantastic experience. Will be back soon!

Obviously an amazing wine section. The pork belly with ground hazelnut stands out for food. And staff that are knowledgable about the entire wine list.

Delicious food, great service. We went as two couples for a quick bite to eat before the movies. We explained to the server that we were on a limited time schedule - in fact we had about 50 mins. They served our 4 tapas so promptly that we felt we had time for dessert, which they also managed to serve in just enough time for us to eat before the movies. The food was excellent - particularly the mushroom and quail dishes, and the dessert that we all had (peaches with meringue and lemon sorbet) was wonderful. It's not cheap, but the prices are commensurate with what you'd pay for those dishes elsewhere so we didn't find it unreasonable. We'd all happily go again, with hopefully more time to relax and enjoy (but, being diners of a certain age, we'd aim to go earlyish before the crowds again as we suspect it would be noisy later in the evening).

Pleasant Sunday Arvo. Came in for 2 for 1 tapas and live jazz on a dreary Sunday afternoon. Atmosphere was lovely and both tapas ordered were fresh and flavoursome. <br/>Extensive wine selection and loved the glass of Riesling I ordered which was part of their Summer of Rieslings promotion. Service was a little off compared to past experiences but I expect our waiter was just starting out. Looking forward to coming back.

High End. If you like high end dining and aren't worried about price then I'm sure you'll rave about this place; really, there was nothing wrong with the food. The dishes are between 15 and 20 dollars and you'd need about 3 or 4 each to fill up because the portions are quite small.<br/><br/>The service was terrible. I ordered the first white wine on the menu which turned out to be a desert wine! Why didn't they tell me? Then I ordered what I thought was a gaspacho soup with prawns - their definition of gaspacho is a teaspoon of green slime smeared on a plate with 4 prawns, - the waiter didn't warn me of their creative spin on gaspacho. The menu was confusing, the front page has the title "tapas" while the following pages have titles like " from the sea", " from the garden" etc... But it turns out the whole menu is tapas, not just the first page.

Lovely food but boring traditional service attitudes. My partner and I went to the parlour room for dinner on Saturday night. Food and atmosphere was great, the food waitress was lovely but the waitress that brought the wine showed my male partner the wine and poured some for him to try. She didn't glance at me once. In 2014, in a hip bar you would expect that both people, even a woman (gasp!) may have chosen the wine too and would like to decide whether she would like to drink it. Bizarrely enough I couldn't tell if I liked it by my bloke having a taste!

Beautiful food! Great service! Worth the money. Pork belly and salted cod.... Amazing!!!!!

I went to Parlour recently and it was my first visit back since it reopened. The outdoor area is much better this time, I don't like the décor as much as I used to and I found the large square bar in the centre of the room very imposing. The service was a bit sketchy (took a while to be seated, couldn't remember our fairly simple order, didn't offer more drinks) but it was friendly and the food and drinks were outstanding.

5 stars.. This place is great. A rare gem. Modern, sleek, great wine, decent service.

Nice spot, good food and drink but the price. Very quickly: excellent though small and very fine dining style food, good bit exorbitantly prices drinks and excellent service. The ABSOLUTE deal breaker is a 10% Sunday surcharge. the idea that they charge you for the privilege to spend money is unacceptable.

Amazing!!!! Great service!.... Amazing!!!! <br/>Great service!!!amazing food, presentation was breath taking!!! <br/>Best French bubbles and cocktails!!! <br/>Bit pricey but great for a treat!!!

Attentive and attractive staff, delicious tapas, cosy atmosphere, decent wine list.

Came here for a lunch with my colleagues after one of us had seen the place recommended on another blog, especially recommending the pork pappardelle dish and their lunch set menu (I wanna say $16 for a dish plus a drink). The people who chose the pappardelle dish seemed to enjoy it but I went for something else, a dish of fried eggs with pepper and jamon. It wasn't the best choice. The eggs were nicely cooked but they were just eggs.

...it was great to try the Parlour Wine Room in New Acton recently. Refurbished after the fire in 2011, it is beautifully furnished in period style and I’m told, still retains some of it’s old characteristic atmosphere. The $16 lunch special (Tuesday to Sunday) ( 10% surcharge on Sundays), is excellent value and includes a generous serve of house wine ( the shiraz was excellent) and a slice of sourdough bread and olive oil. The Battered Calamari with chipotie aioli and pickled cucumber was our best dish followed by the Spanish beef and potato stew (once with beef and another time with pulled pork). Next best was the Pappardelle pasta with pork belly and sofrito and lastly the Fried free range eggs with piquillio peppers and jamon.       Battered Calamari with chipotie aioli and pickled cucumber   Spanish beef and potato stew   Spanish beef and potato stew (with pulled pork)   Pappardelle pasta with pork belly   Fried free range eggs with piquillio peppe

The lunch special includes a glass of wine, beer or soft drink for $16. The one page menu provided some tasty items. After our orders were taken, fresh warm bread arrived at our table with olive oil as well as our drinks. My partner ordered the house red and I had a lemon lime bitter. Food wise, I ordered the pappardelle with pork belly and sofrito. This was a very generous serving. No pork belly but tender chunks of pulled pork (which I prefer over pork belly anyway). Delicious simple tomato sauce and long ribbons of pasta. There was so much pork that I couldn’t finish it all but my partner was happy to polish it off. Great value and very satisfying. My partner ordered the lamb shank (our waiter told us this was part of the lunch special that day) and a glass of house red. This was one large shank and my partner enjoyed it. Overall, I had a great experience at Parlour. No complaints. Service is quick and polite. The atmosphere is relaxed and quiet (for a lunch time period). I love the decor and can see why this is such a popular destination for Friday drinks. Parlour’s entrance is to the side of the New Acton building (you’ll notice the outdoor seating) otherwise you can enter f

I’m just happy enough that Parlour Wine Room is open on the weekends during the deadzone (aka 2PM to 5PM on Saturday and Sunday) but they have two for one as well?! Can it get any better? On Saturday Elk & Pea does two for one tacos during this time and on Sunday, Parlour Wine does two for one tapas, I never have to worry about finding a place to eat during those times ever again!

This was a wonderful evening of tapping into the new season tapas menu and as per expected, Parlour Wine Room seems to have nailed the right balance in the menu. There are light appetisers to begin with, followed by many wonderful starters using fresh and premium quality ingredients followed by rich and comforting dishes that are big on flavours and indulging desserts that are neither too heavy nor too sweet.

I grabbed a bunch of lunching friends and took them to the Parlour Wine Room to try more of their lunch time special (see my other post here). Now by default because I’m the ‘foodie’, most people just give the ordering responsibilities to me despite my constant plea of ‘I haven’t eaten here/from this menu before’. It’s nice to know that they have so much trust in me.

Knowing that it was an impromptu lunch to fulfill my friend’s craving for pasta, I suggested that we go early to Parlour Wine Room  as we didn’t have a booking. We arrived just before midday and were limited to a few tables which filled up quickly with other ‘walk in’ patrons, we were lucky as during the lunch service we saw several people get turned away due to lack of space. We were partially going to the Parlour Wine Room to take advantage of the lunch special of a drink (soft drink or house wine) and a meal for $16 but we were really there to taste the food so that’s why we couldn’t help ourselves but to order something extra with our meal. We were quickly set up with table water, lunch specials menu, normal menu and a drinks menu when we were seated . I love their funky cutlery and choice of lunch specials. I love myself a croque monsieur but it was definitely a soup weather kind of day. Too pretty to eat off but when the food came, I was more than happy to make a mess on top . :D

A and I headed to Parlour Wine Room for pre-movie wine and tapas on a Saturday evening. The wine list at Parlour Wine Room is fantastic – with a great mix of local and international wines. I opted for a glass of Cruzat classic brut NV, Mendoza ($13) whereas A ordered a glass of the local Mount Majura ‘The Silurian’ chardonnay, pinot noir sparkling from Majura ($16). Both wines were fantastic and A especially loved trying a local wine. We ordered only a few dishes to share, we had dinner plans for after the movie. Our first dish to arrive was the Mantequilla toastada portobellos ($15) – butter roasted mushrooms, thyme, manchego, panko migas. This dish was spectacular – the butter roasted mushrooms were moreish but the manchego cheese and panko migas added texture and enhanced the mushrooms’ flavour. The butter sauce at the bottom of the dish was mopped up by A and I. If only I had a few pieces of crusty bread on the side – it would’ve

The Parlor Wine Room is set in the historic New Acton precinct in Canberra. The menu offers Spanish style tapas for gourmet grazers with matching wines, and classic cocktails. The perfect choice for three food loving girls, and their spouses.

I decided I wanted to go somewhere a little bit fancy for dinner and we decided to check out Parlour Wine Room, in the New Action area - which offers Spanish style tapas dishes in a luxe, old school style dining room...The menu has a number of raciones, or small plates, so we start off with a few of things over (another) cocktail. Nearly everything in this part of the menu appeals to me so it's really hard to pick just a few things..The descriptions of each item is fairly light-on (which is the trend de jour I think with many modern restaurants) so we choose by simply going with the ingredients that sound good to us (those we could identify that is)!