Zebu is doing wonders to Port Macquarie. It is perhaps the most upmarket restaurant cross bar in the coastal town and also occupies prime tourist territory. The main thing I love about Zebu is what it adds to Port's night life: a very sophisticated, elegant bar with a great range of drinks, extremely creative decor and an absolutely delicious cocktail list. But, after visiting the restaurant half of Zebu after a hiatus, I must say, the bar may not be Zebu's better half.
The restaurant offers a fine dining service that could carry its weight in culinary heavyweights like Sydney and Melbourne. The service is super refined, with friendly yet professional waitstaff, regularly refilled water and swift bringing out of orders. The decor is sleek with patterned walls, glass cabinet alcohol displays, electric fires and floor-length glass windows overlooking the pristine Hastings River.
On arrival, we are quickly seated, and soon find ourselves being given four complimentary oysters - one for the each of us. Luckily for me, neither Mum, Kyle or his girlfriend, Emily, like oysters so I guzzle down three of them. Any restaurant that provides a complimentary starter or bite to eat with the bill - for example, the delicious turkish delight at 3 Olives - instantly gets a place in my good books. And the beauty that was these oysters, almost assured that Zebu's place would be secured.
Zebu has your usual menu, and then there's the above; patrons are literally spoilt for choice. Those who pick something "from the grill" are met with the (aweful) decision of deciding between 11 sides and 12 sauces. With options such as buttered broccollini with zattaar and rosemary and garlic mash for sides, and creamy garlic and shallot and cafe de paris for sauces, the act of just picking what to munch on becomes near impossible.
After many years deciding, Kyle decided on the apple cider and star anise infused Kurobuta pork cutlet with buttermilk onion rings and dijon mustard, I, the pork with the three cheese cauliflower gratin and cinnamon and star anise spiced apple sauce, Mum, the Rosemary, thyme and garlic marinated Murray Lands lamb rump with duck fat potato dauphinoise and wild mushroom ragout, and finally, Emily opted for the lamb, with thick cut steak fries and dijon mustard. We also ordered the flat bread with rosemary, confit garlic and smokey tomato salsa ($7.50) to share.
The flat bread came out soon enough, presented beautifully on a wooden board. The confit garlic was incredibly soft, and went down very smoothly spread across the bread. The tomato salsa packed a punch.
However, our mains saw some problems. Three of our four orders had been confused - therein lies the downside of their complex mix-and-match menu. I'm not going to go into the who-received-what, because boy could that be confusing. Basically, we all received the right slab of meat, but the sides and sauces, just no. Instead of one serving of each of the following - onion rings, chips, duck fat potato and cauliflower gratin - we received two lots of onion rings and two lots of chips. And, rather than two dijon mustards, one ragout and one apple sauce, we received two apple sauces and two dijon mustards (one to the wrong person).
Oh well, all was forgiven. Not only did we receive all the dishes we had originally ordered soon after the mistake was brought to light, but we got to keep everything we had been given by accident, and sincere apologies were made. On top of this, our food was absolutely faultless.
Oh the apple cider and star anise infused kurobuta pork cutlet with buttermilk onion rings and cinnamon and star anise spiced apple sauce ($34), so tender and full of lovely flavours, and improved tenfold with the spiced apple sauce. My own brother, who I admit, is overly picky, liked the apple sauce. Mind you, this followed much convincing that it would compliment the pork better than any dijon mustard. This was also my first experience of onion rings and I can now safely say that I am hooked.
Our two servings of thick cut chips were a hit (not with me, sadly, owing to my chip ban). They were crisp and had been imparted with a spot on level of salt. The rosemary, thyme and garlic marinated Murray Lands lamb rump with thick cut steak fries and dijon mustard ($36) also received red hot reviews with both Mum and Emily. I was surprised at how tender both types of meat we had ordered were. The slight seasonings on made the pork and lamb near perfect.
The beauty of Zebu's menu is that it is easy to mix and match. Mum and I shared the duck fat dauphinoise and cauliflower cheese gratin. Both were scrumptious, I particularly liked the cauliflower that I chose, which was light and coated with just the right amount of cheese. But, then again, I'm probably a bit biased.
To summarise, I was really impressed on this visit to Zebu. Even if they really stuffed around the orders, the food was so good that such a horrendous error was forgotten. Zebu's presentation is plain beautiful, with everything plated using charming skillets, boards and pots. The service was very refined and yet still managed to retain friendliness. And the food was simply top class.
I must mention that one of our glasses hadn't been cleaned properly, and was contaminated with what appeared as mucus. To be fair, I found it necessary that I mention this but, in all honesty, I had almost forgotten in light of the wonderful experience that was had by all.
It's best you visit Zebu on a warm, summer's night when the sun's just setting for an excellent dinner and equally stunning atmosphere.
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