An occasional column by Rodger on dining in Raglan
Virginia was in Hobart and it had been a busy day so I thought that I needed a great meal. There are several restaurants and cafes in Raglan and they all have their strengths. But when you a looking for a consistent high quality meal, the place to go is Orca Restaurant and Bar at 2 Wallis Street Raglan.
I arrived and was greeted by Morgan, the very efficient, always pleasant and welcoming Maitre d’. I decided to have a glass of the house merlot cabernet from Gunn Estate. It is a soft red wine and seemed to have a slightly metallic flavour. I’ve had worse wine and paid more for it. At $5 for a good size glass, it is a bargain and good drinking. There is a comprehensive wine list if you want to pay more for something a little better.
For the main course I picked the beef cheek on a garlic mash. This is divine- slow cooked and oozing with flavour. It came with carrots and onions. There was also a choice of salad or sweet corn. I had the salad which was fine although perhaps it would have been better to offer vegetables. I gave it Nine out of Ten.
For dessert there was a special of banoffee pie. I first encountered banoffee when we were narrow boating on the Oxford Canal in England. We tied up the boat one night at Cropredy and went to the local pub for dinner. I spotted the banoffee and ordered it imagining it to be a classic English desert. It was amazing. Later I found that banoffee pie, made from bananas, cream, and boiled condensed milk or dulce de leche, on a pastry base, was invented by chefs Ian Dowding and Nigel Mackenzie at The Hungry Monk restaurant in Jevington, East Sussex, in 1972. The Orca version has a chocolate sauce added. To me this just adds another competing and unnecessary flavour, making it taste like a chocolate bar. I gave it Six out of Ten.
To finish I had a cappuccino with cinnamon on top. It was well made with a good flavour and the right amount of froth.
Overall on Value for Money I gave Orca an Eight out of Ten for an excellent meal and service.
The restaurant was full soon after I arrived. It would be best to book on Friday and Saturday nights.
Orca Restaurant and Bar, 2 Wallis Street, Raglan
