Flint Dining Room

It was my birthday nearly a month ago now, how time flies! Whenever it is mine or Frankie's birthday we take each other out for a surprise meal somewhere.

We have been in Canberra nearly 2 years now and we are starting to run out of nice places where we haven't been before (there might be a new restaurant in Canberra once every 6 months...)

One place where we had never been to was Flint Dining Room at New Acton. There is a Flint in the Vines, which is at the Shaw Vineyard in Murrumbateman (near to where my parents live) so we have been there a couple of times and thought the food was quite good. So I was excited to try out the original location.

We started off at Parlour Wine Bar for a couple of drinks beforehand, which was lovely. If you have never been to this bar I can't recommend it highly enough. I love bars that do table service and have a great selection of wines. I decided on having a Pimms instead though, cause I hadn't had one for ages. It was so delicious and refreshing! Although I would suggest you book, especially in the colder months, as we had to sit outside and it was a really cold evening.

After our drinks we headed next door to the restaurant. When we first arrived and gave our booking name there seemed to be some confusion as to whether our table was ready or not. It was though, so I have no idea about what the drama was.

We then sat down and were given our menus. I noticed other tables being given bread as they sat down, so I was getting excited about that cause I was starving, plus after having a couple of drinks beforehand I needed something to soak up the alcohol. Time went past and no one seemed to be taking notice of us at all. It had been about 30 minutes and we still hadn't ordered any drinks, we were just about to leave when someone came to take our order. There was no apology for the amount of time we had to wait either..

We ordered our drink and food and I enquired about the bread which everyone else seemed to have gotten, except for us. Then the bread finally came out with our entrees.

Feuillete Escargot - $16

The table next to us was having the tasting menu, and the first dish that came out where the snails. They commented on how delicious it was, so Frankie decided to order this for his entree. The snails were in a garlic cream sauce in a basket of puff pastry. I tried some and it was absolutely luscious. I could have eaten a whole bowl full of these.

Tasmanian King Scallops in the Shell - $19

I decided on Scallops, which I usually order if they are on the menu... They were in a potato foam, with crispy jamon and basil oil. They were nice, but nothing great. I couldn't really taste the basil oil at all. Underneath each shell there was a pile of seaweed salad though, which I adore, so I was very happy about that.

Duo of Macleay Valley Rabbit - $34

For mains I went with the Rabbit. Something I don't normally see on menus. It came in a broth with heirloom carrots and rabbit liver parfait. Oh my this was a rich dish! The broth was incredibly salty, which would have been fine if there were some mash or potatoes at the bottom, but there were no carbs at all. Also the liver parfait was delicious, but very very rich and only came with a tiny piece of bread to eat it with. The rabbit leg was very tender and just fell apart and the roulade was very nice too.

Grilled Steak Frites - $28

Frankie went with the steak which was pretty good. A good price for a steak as well. It came with Parmesan and truffle fries. I couldn't really taste the truffle on the fries, but they were still very tasty and nicely cooked.

For dessert we shared a chocolate pave (which I didn't picture as we got talking to the table next to us, and I forgot to...). Apparently the recipe was a tetsuya's recipe. Oh it was so good! Normally I can't eat much dessert after a big meal, but I could have had one of these on my own.

Overall it was a good night. I don't think I will go back there as the service was pretty bad (yes they were busy, but that's what you hire staff for), and also the seating was very squashy. I don't like it when you feel like you are sharing a table, and conversation, with the two tables next to you. I liked to be relaxed in nice comfy chairs when I am eating at a fine dining restaurant.

Flint Dining Room and Bar
NewActon Pavilion
Unit 2, 15 Edinburgh Avenue
Canberra City

Ph: 6162 3350