Eminem

Posted by: suzfisher | 18 July 2007, 12.49pm

Moving from its original premises in Leederville, the team at Eminem is at home in this beautifully ornate restaurant where couples and families dine by candlelight. The lounge area with roaring fire and leather couches was a welcome addition on this particularly cold evening.

Eminem offers two options of dining, an a la carte menu as well as a banquet-style dinner. For $60 you can enjoy the delights of 22 (!) small but perfectly constructed meze dishes included in the banquet dinner.
I have never been so full in my life, only making it through the first 20 dishes. Thankfully I was able to takeaway my dessert baklava. The service was fast and friendly, explaining dish after dish of incredibly tasty ingredients.

A reservation is absolutely recommended. To get a table on a Saturday night (and I would also recommend that you not eat during the day to make room for a banquet dinner), call a month ahead...seriously. Wonderful dining experience.

Food:			Visit: Tue 17 July 2007 Mealtime: dinner
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Posted by: YummyMummyKate | 13 December 2006, 5.44pm

My husband and I went to Eminem in Nedlands for dinner to celebrate our anniversary last week. Our very first impression was of the car park – it's extremely cramped angle parking is ideal for Mini Coopers or scooters, but if you drive anything larger, park on one of the surrounding side streets. On entering, a waitress tried to whisk us to our table but reluctantly allowed us to have a drink in the (highly recommended by a friend) cocktail lounge. The cocktail area was a bit too cramped and the open fire a bit excessive for a warm December evening, but the cocktails were delicious. My husband wanted a beer but the waiter was a bit vague about what beers they stocked (none were listed) but eventually rustled up a Corona. The waiter then pounced to refill our water glasses to spilling after every sip ..

After finishing our drinks, we had a bit of trouble getting anyone to show us to our table there was a brief scuffle between two staff, both hissing that they were too busy to do it. One eventually agreed to seat us, with rolling eyes and a distinct flounce. When making our booking, I had mentioned that it was our anniversary and requested a romantic sort of table, however I didn't realise that parties of two and intimate dining are apparently frowned upon at Eminem. All tables for two are so close together that one can hear every word of neighbouring conversations and seating is on the verge of breaching personal space.

Once seated, another waiter overfilled our water glasses to spilling and fled, never to return. A different waitress gave us a wine list and wanted to know which wine we would like before we'd even seen the menu. We decided on our main courses, ordered our wine and waited for the mezze dishes to begin to arrive. The restaurant was very busy, so we were anticipating a bit of a wait, however every time we took a sip of wine, our glasses were promptly refilled, leading us to stop sipping lest it all be poured before we had a bite to eat!

The mezze dishes were absolutely delightful. The procession began with olives and marinated fetta which were a little ho hum, but were closely followed by Turkish bread and small plates of Babaghanoush, Hummus, Capsicum and Beetroot dips which were absolutely delicious. The flavours and textures were faultless and resulted in an unseemly tussle for the last piece of bread. These appetizers were followed by about eight or ten ever more delightful small dishes, including beans with a sumac flavoured yoghurt and a touch of garlic, a small salad of mussels and a delightful snapper dish that would have made a magnificent main course. The flavours of each dish were really impressive but we had trouble halting any staff to ask questions about the food. It seemed that each dish was dropped on the table with a gabbled announcement to identify it before the waiter/ess retreated at speed. Delicious lamb meatballs, one spicy and one mild followed along with some carrot fritters that were absolutely remarkable, however we weren't able to find out any more about the flavouring without actually tackling one of the staff.

Our main courses arrived after a suitable interlude for us to smack our lips and pat our tummies. My husband ordered the salt and oregano lamb cutlets and could not actually be coaxed to speak whilst eating them. He just moaned gently. He promised me a bite in exchange for a piece of my quail, then welched on the deal, so I can't tell you how good they were but I gather that they were superb. I had the cumin-spiced quail and can safely say that I have never eaten quail more delicious. It was tender and very delicately spiced - much appreciated as cumin can be overwhelming when used heavy-handedly. The main courses were served with rice and a salad in which the red onion was unfortunately very heavily present. And, as anticipated, the wine ran out and further glasses had to be ordered. We're parents now and a second bottle would have had us on our ears.

Desserts and cheese were on the menu, but we couldn't even contemplate another bite and had to practically waddle out of the restaurant. In the final analysis, the food at Eminem made it one of the best meals I have ever eaten. However, the service left the distinct impression that the restaurant has approximately three experienced waitstaff and the rest of the crew are made up of TAFE students. We also noticed a clear difference in the way earlier and later diners were served, our 7.30 booking seemed to put us on the cusp. Later diners were treated to far more attentive service.

Last but not least, the bathrooms are lovely. Girls like this sort of thing. They have proper towels and flattering lighting. And after all the water, I made a couple of trips!

Food:			Visit: Sat 9 December 2006 Mealtime: dinner
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