My friend and I arrived at Cassia at 6.30pm on a Saturday night (without a reservation) and were seated immediately. We left 2 hours later and not once did we feel hurried. We chatted away as diners around us ate and left, new diners were seated who also ate, and also left. We felt there was a long wait between courses (possibly due to Saturday dinner rush) but we never felt abandoned. The food was flavourful, some ingredients were unexpected and we had more than enough to eat.
Please note, it was suggested we order six dishes to share between two, but we ordered four dishes so that we could leave room for dessert and we were positively STUFFED. I would recommend two dishes per person if youāre planning on dessert too.
We had:
Gin and tonic apƩritifs:
ā¢ West Winds Cutlass, East Imperial Tonic, Capsicum & Coriander (yum)
ā¢ Tanqueray Ten, East Imperial Burma Tonic, Grapefruit (right up my alley)
Dishes:
ā¢ Seared scallops, foie gras, curry emulsion, apple, mooli (beautifully cooked)
ā¢ Fried eggplant, mushrooms, onion seeds, cows curd, fresh chilli, mint (creamy and stunning)
ā¢ Pickled fish w garam masala, chickpeas, tamarind, fried bread, mint dressing (a bit salty for my palate and packs a spicy kick, would have been great to have our rice and bread at this point)
ā¢ Delhi duck, kumara, lychee, fried basil (delicious, wish there was more of it)
Sides:
ā¢ Garlic naan (pretty good)
ā¢ Basmati rice (aromatic and lovely)
Desserts:
ā¢ Passionfruit rice cream, pineapple, mango sorbet, coriander, pistachio, coconut (sorbet was great, coriander was interesting, not a fan of the rice pudding component)
ā¢ Chocolate kulfi, date, banana mousse, cumin caramel, hazelnut (very yummy, not too sweet, richly flavoured)
Tea and coffee:
ā¢ Darjeeling
ā¢ Flat white
We loved all the dishes we got. They were very interesting and it was fun picking out the different flavours in each dish. I loved the sorbet in my dessert but Iām not a fan of rice pudding which the rest of the dessert was based on.
Special mention to their Gin and Tonic menu with 6 different gins and flavours and their impressive aromatic cocktails.Ā
The decor is interesting. The underground bunker had the potential to feel very cold and industrial but with white farmhouse dining chairs, throw pillows and warm lighting, theyāve done a great job in transforming the space. I just wish we got a better view of the colourful photographic mural that adorns one wall. We fell in love with the unique crockery our dishes were served in. Itās the little things.
The service is great, though it would have been nice to have to deal with less staff. Our questions were answered thoroughly and recommendations given when requested. Our waiter even let us know the foie gras scallop dish came with 3 scallops so we had the option of adding an extra scallop so we could have 2 each (which we did) rather than split a scallop or fight for it.
Cassia is more expensive than your neighbourhood curry house and youāre paying for an experience of thoughtful, edible art with robust flavours. If you are after a butter chicken, you wont find it here. In fact, Cassia only has a single chicken dish and it is far removed from a curry. This is a restaurant for adventurous eaters, though we didnāt find any of the dishes particularly challenging or scary. Expect to spend $60-$80 per person.
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