The Stag Hotel re-opened their doors earlier this year with new décor, a new vibe and a new standard of dining. To celebrate their latest winter food menu, The Stag and Girl About Town invited us to an Eat and Tweet where we indulged in a variety of delicious tapas dishes and experienced a tasty food party in our mouths.
The newly refurbished dining area was certainly an impressive area, with a spacious bar and feature wine display. The ambience of the room, the dining set up and, of course, the generous selection of wine had definitely ticked all our boxes so far.
The Stag dining room.
Our tasting plates amidst preparation.
Seated in a comfy and spacious booth, we first sampled an entrée plate of chargrilled octopus with black bean, cucumber, olive and chilli jam. The octopus is a light and refreshing option for those who are looking for something a little less heavy on the stomach, yet still satisfying! A vegetarian option was also available for those who desired – dukkah with grilled flatbread and white bean puree.
Chargrilled octopus.
Dukkah with grilled flatbread and white bean puree.
Whilst sipping on my second glass of Alpha Box and Dice red wine, our second entrée of softshell crab slider with pickled carrot, jalapeño and coriander mayo was being served. We were extremely excited about trying this particular dish being massive fans of sliders and of softshell crab, and it certainly lived up to expectations! The slider was a favourite among the table, with the crab’s batter achieving a satisfyingly crunchy texture in contrast to the softness of the bread. The coriander mayonnaise pulled together the slider perfectly.
Softshell crab slider.
Now onto the mains! Plated in front of us was a duck pie floater with pea and ham bone soup, mashed potato and tomato capsicum chutney paired with a glass of Jim Barry Riesling. This was the hearty stomach-filler, combining a winter classic pea and ham bone soup with a good old Aussie pie. Our favourite part about this dish was that the pie was not just another regular beef Aussie pie, but it was made filled with tender, almost sweet duck meat, making the dish sophisticated and adventurous. Another vegetarian option for this main was provided, which was handmade gnocchi with cauliflower, blue cheese, porcini, kale and a parmesan crumb.
Duck pie floater and Jim Barry Riesling.
Moving onto the second and final main for the evening, we were served a Black Angus scotch fillet with mac and cheese, roasted garlic, onion rings and truffle sauce. The mac and cheese caught our attention first and with no surprise, it was devoured in the blink of an eye! The combination of the meat and the mac and cheese worked well together, which we would not have initially picked. A very attractive mediterranean salad with smoked eggplant, cherry tomato, rocket, radish, olives, cracked wheat and pomegranate was the vegetarian option for this round.
Scotch fillet with mac and cheese.
To finish off an extremely delicious and sociable night, we finished off with our favourite course; dessert! We eagerly awaited for the peanut butter parfait with milk chocolate cremuex, salted caramel and peanut brittle. Appealing to our eyes in an instant, our first spoonful of the frozen peanut butter dessert was magical! The soft and crunchiness of this dessert, topped with a shard of chocolate and a slice of fresh strawberry on the side made our tastebuds cry for more.
Peanut butter parfait.
Girl About Town’s Eat & Tweet event at The Stag Hotel was without a doubt a fantastic evening. You can find The Stag at 299 Rundle Street, open seven days a week from 11:30am until late.
