The Garden, Wests Ashfield

I came across The Garden late last year, when my family and I were having yum cha at The Golden Times Chinese Restaurant, which is also situated in the Wests Ashfield Leagues Club. At that time, this farm to fork venue was near completion and looked amazing. The dining area had floor to ceiling windows, open dining, finished with greenery and contrasting brickwork creating a beautiful green rustic look. You would never think you were sitting in a leagues club in this environment, more like a converted glasshouse.

After many attempts to dine out at this venue, we finally got a booking for 7:30 pm on a Saturday night. Like all Leagues Club you will need to either sign in or sign up to the club (if you’re in the area), membership here is $3 for a year (you also get 10% of dining in the club). The Garden is located on the top floor, and you can either take the stairs or a small lift to get there

When we arrived at The Garden, the restaurant was buzzing with all types of diners, from romantic dates, to big family dinner parties. Once we confirmed our booking, the staff swiftly escorted us throughout the restaurant to a window seat, by this time we were quite impressed with the both the ambience and atmosphere of the venue. It didn’t take long for our waiter to come by, and drop us both the standard and specials menu and table water. On reviewing the menu, we already knew what we wanted to order from pictures and reviews we had seen and read.

We flagged down waiter not long after to order, we wanted to opt for the Farmers Plate, but was advised against it by the waiter, he said it was more of a glorified roast, and not as good as it used to be. He then proceeded to recommend a few dishes, and advised that the some of the items on the specials menu was a better option. We quickly re-huddled and opted to go against the Farmers Plate, now choosing to order the Half Rotisserie Chicken with vegies and the Chicken Involtini from the specials, we also went for the Crispy Skin Pork Belly as an entrée from the specials menu.

The Crispy Skin Pork Belly arrived first and it was delicious. We weren’t sure that the persimmon was going to work, as we only even had it as a fruit itself, but it worked wonderfully. The Pork Belly was soft and tender, and we had difficulties trying to break it into smaller pieces to share, whilst the skin was a perfect crackling. The puree added a nice sweetness to the dish and Kohlrabi and persimmon slaw added a nice crunchy texture. We all thought this dish was great.

Crispy Skin Pork Belly ($18)

The Half Rotisserie Chicken with vegies and Chicken Involtini arrived not long after. The Half Rotisserie Chicken dish was a generous serving, the chicken was both moist and tender, served with perfectly cooked cauliflower and broccoli with a balanced jus. This dish was simple, but executed well resulting in a tasty meal.

Rotisserie chicken Half with seasonal sautéed vegetables ($20)

The Chicken Involtini was also another tasty dish. The chicken was cooked beautifully being tender and moist, and the stuffed apricots and cranberries added a nice sweetness to the dish. The Zucchini & carrot fritter was quite tasty, and the roast tomato was delicious. This was another favourite dish for us.

Chicken Involtini ($26)

Once we finished our mains, we decided to order dessert. The staff returned with the desert menu and went through the menu with us, but we knew we already wanted to order the chocolate sphere as we had seen it all over Instagram. It didn’t take long for our desert to arrive, and boy we were excited. The chocolate sphere is white chocolate sphere filled with seasonal fruit compote, chocolate mousse, mint sorbet & melting milk chocolate sauce. The chocolate sauce is poured over the sphere melting it and creating a bit of a theatrical desert moment. We started to dig into our chocolate mess, and it was delicious, with lots different textures and a mint sorbet, which helped in cutting through the chocolate richness.

Chocolate Sphere ($10)

On leaving we did notice a few people sitting at the front, having cake and coffee, something we completely missed as we walked through before. We had a great night dining at The Garden, the venue itself is fantastic, creating a rustic feel and the staff are friendly and accommodating. We will be coming back soon to try their pizzas.

The Garden

Address: Wests Ashfield Leagues Club, 115 Liverpool Road, Ashfield NSW 2131

Phone: 02 8752 2000

http://thegardenwests.com.au/