Saturday, August 13, 2011

a visit to the greenhouse restaurant in Perth, WA

I have just returned from a break in Perth and the Margaret River region of Western Australia. One of the highlights of my holiday was the Greenhouse in St. Georges Terrace, Perth. I was expecting the food to be very good as the Greenhouse has made it into the Gourmet Traveller's 2011 Restaurant Guide. But I was gobsmacked walking up to the exterior of the restaurant with its amazing vertical garden, juxtaposed directly in front of modern sky rise buildings.
The vertical garden consists of thousands of small terracotta pots and plants encased in the metal framework. It gives something pleasant and green for passersby to admire, the walls almost look like they are breathing.
Inside, the walls consist of raw plywood. The light fixtures are made from wound lengths of fencing wire and it was very effective in creating a relaxed and natural, almost country, atmosphere.
The breakfast menu consisted of many tempting options, including spanner crab omelette and an upside down quince cake.
But I decided upon the wild mushrooms with slow cooked eggs and grilled polenta. It was an earthy and hearty start to my day.
And I resisted the pile of doughnuts which were sitting at the bar next to me, tempting me with their sugar coated good looks.
After breakfast we were directed to the rooftop which functions as a bar area in addition to a rooftop vegetable garden.
Most of the plantings were leafy green vegetables. For more on the fabulously "green" Greenhouse, visit their website.

6 comments:

  1. What a lovely trip......all that green and good food.....what do you want more???....the second magazine arrived darling....one to go !!...love Ria...xxx...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Tammy,

    Glad you had a fantastic time away! The greenhouse sounds wonderful and certainly doesn't dissapoint. 'Looking' at the menu I would have picked the wood roasted tomatoes and the one above with the quince upside down cake. Can't help myself with the cake as I have a sweet tooth!!! The architecture of the building is AMAZING. I always feel envious as to who thinks of these things, for thinking outside the lines and more importantly nailing it. Imagine sourcing those pots, all the same size and all. I just about drooled with those light fittings made from fencing wire. I look at things like that and want to have a change around here at home. I'm going to show the picture to hubby later as we are on a farm and I'm sure we have fencing wire here that is just calling my name!!!!!

    Thanks for sharing these amazing photo's. We can come along for the ride and be inspired with you!!!!

    Have a great Sunday.

    Take care
    Janine
    XXOO
    N.W. Coast Tassie

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Ria and Janine, thank you for your wonderful comments. Yes, the Greenhouse is amazing and inspiring. Have a great week, Tammy

    ReplyDelete
  4. SO glad you enjoyed the Greenhouse - isn't it fabulous? Did you find any other favourite places?

    Have a wonderful week!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Katrina, we went to restaurant Amuse which was amazing, and also Knee Deep and Must Wine Bar in Margaret River. Loved it all! Have a great week too, Tammy

    ReplyDelete
  6. This is a great post!
    Thanks a lot for this amazing article,
    I was really looking for something like this.
    And i really enjoyed reading it.

    ReplyDelete