http://www.perledining.com/flash.html
This was my last stop in the coast before the drive home to Brisbane. Charlie had already eaten breakfast (a pie from the Absynthe Bakery) but I didn't want to finish my holiday on an empty stomach. We simply crossed the courtyard of Circle on Cavil and entered the restaurant opposite - Perle.
The reason why I chose this place is that they had some blackboard breakfast specials. These aren't specials as in 'cheap' or 'bargain' but they sounded really yummy - THAT kind of 'special'. I was quite interested in the savory mince on toast and the pancakes but I didn't want a really big fancy breakfast. In the end, I chose the scones and coffee. This was a good $10 so you can sort of see how it's not 'cheap'.
The atmosphere is really nice. Perle is a large restaurant and a lot of it is outdoors. The chairs are modern-looking and plastic. I thought they'd be uncomfortable but they were surprisingly ergonomic. From where we were sitting, we could watch the huge outdoor TV in the courtyard.
LatteMy coffee came first - latte as usual. It was quite good. The cup was really unusual - insulated with air so that it was easy to hold.
Date scones with jam, butter and creamThe scones came with cream, butter and jam. I thought they were going to be plain scones but they were homemade date scones. The texture of the scones were nice - dense, buttery and just falling apart. They were absolutely loaded with dates. Date scones are lovely by themselves but for eating with cream and jam, I think I prefer plain scones. The jam and dates clashed and made everything too sweet. Date scones are nice with a bit of salted butter.
Date scone - full of datesAfter breakfast, there was a bit of trouble getting our bill - we had to wait a long time before Charlie go up and went to the cashier himself. I didn't mind because the sooner we got up, the sooner we'd have to leave for Brisbane. Perle was a nice way to end a great holiday.
I walked past this place a few times on my trip up there earlier this month and was very curious as to what they offered. Breakfast sounds like a good choice there, I think the packeted jam and butter would have ruined the scones for me
ReplyDeleteOh I agree. It didn't bother me too much in this situation because I pretty much ate the scones by themselves but otherwise, for this price, I'd expect at least some better jam.
ReplyDeleteProbably the worst dining experience of my life. After ordering a medium rare steak and waiting an hour and a half (there were only two customers in the restaurant) my steak arrived completely grey and well done all the way through. After alerting the waitress, the owner came over and gave us a 5min lecture claiming I was wrong, and that this was indeed medium rare. She claimed it was my choice not to eat it! My partner was then rudely abused. We were forced to pay for our meal and both left without eating. Nice.
ReplyDeleteWe are regular diners in Surfers, and having lived and worked here for a while, it is plain to me that this is a restaurant that does not care for the customer, but only for the tourist trade, relying on a high turn over of people who probably don't know any better. We really came to this place with a positive outlook wanting to try something new on the Gold Coast, but left bitterly disappointed and taken advantage of, putting a shadow hanging over our entire weekend.
Although I've had amazing experiences at many fine dining restaurants (Quay, Bilsons, est, pier, Aria, Absynthe, Marque, Tetsuya's) I honestly don't consider myself picky. I'm happy having a meal at the pub with some mates. However, this steak would not have even be passable at a local pub, let alone in a pseudo fine dining restaurant for $34 dollars.
The cocktails were very good, however it is obvious the owner knows nothing about customer service or good food. I did not know people could be so arrogant and rude in this day and age. If you do find yourself in Circle on Cavill, I implore you to look elsewhere around at the other reasonably priced restaurants in area. My partner and I felt so strongly about this, we had to let others know. Dine at your Peril.
hi, im the head chef of this restaurant and just to let you all know..that this nutcase lady that has posted this review above, has one serious screw loose, not only was there nothing wrong with the food we cooked for her that night, she made such a scene that she even pushed over tables and screamed obcenities at our staff..and to prove how much of a nut case she is, if you google "dine at your own peril" you will see that she has posted the same review on many different websites...this lady is a head case and i feel for any restaurant that has to put up with her ridiculous demands and not just that, her partner, who never said a word, i feel sorry for him, sleeping with this dragon....
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