Astonish

After having lunch at Lucky Lupita's I decided to have 'dessert for dinner' and my friend chose Astonish Patisserie from the dessert places on my food bucket for the occasion. We arrived around 7.45pm, and as Astonish don't open until 7.30pm we got a table with ease. The decor was stunning with dark rich colours, amazing unique artwork and cute books topped with tea-light candles at all the tables. A very romantic venue, perfect for a date. The waiter and waitress were both super attentive from the moment we arrived, escorting us to our table, bringing over menus, explaining the special and asking if we would like to order drinks. We decided to order a glass of sparkling wine each, the details of which escape me but I at least remember that it was a decent glass of sparkling. Being able to order a glass of wine with dessert was nice and to be honest I'm not sure why so many of the other dessert bars in Adelaide don't offer alcohol. I'm not a drinker but a good glass of wine can be paired so beautifully with dessert and this option being available is certainly one of the draw-cards of Astonish. 

For dessert we started by ordering a macaron each, I opted for the popcorn flavour whilst my friend went with the salted caramel. The popcorn flavour was certainly evident, it was buttery and salty yet still sweet.  Unfortunately the shell was missing that slightly chewy texture I like in a macaron. On the plus side the shells weren't hollow and there was a good amount of filling. For dessert my friend chose the apple crumble. It was beautifully presented on a wooden board and was served with vanilla icecream, cream and a plum compote. The dessert was nice, not too sweet, not too tart and with a good amount of crispiness in the crumble. My friend said that the crumble 'lived up to their name'.

I chose to try out the current special, the 'chocolate explosion'. I had seen a video of this on facebook and the idea fascinated me. The dish consisted of a rum trifle cake with coconut parfait enclosed in a chocolate dome accompanied by strawberries and a balsamic flavoured icecream. However, the spectacular part of this dish was when the waiter brought it to the table and proceeded to pour a jug of hot liquid chocolate over the dome which then melted into a rich, decadent mix of dark and milk chocolate that soaked through the trifle cake. Not only was this stunning visually but the waiter pouring over the chocolate added that little something extra. Taste wise it was divine, the chocolate was high quality, the coconut parfait was silky, creamy and had true coconut flavour and the cake had a fluffy sponge texture. The icecream deserves a special mention, the balsamic flavour was EXACTLY what was needed to cut through the richness of the chocolate and was really refreshing and unique. Paired with the strawberries it was a perfect addition to the dish.

Finally me and my friend couldn't resist sharing one of the cakes from the cabinet at the front of the restaurant. This cabinet is filled with all the macaron flavours (and there were a lot of them) plus a range of small cakes available for eat in or take away. We choose the duo of mousse which was described as a duo of cointreau and chocolate mousses. This dessert was really pretty, decorated with a large and small macaron 'shell' and a shard of white and dark chocolate. The cointreau flavour was very distinct and was complemented by the rich chocolate mousse. The mousse itself was thick but still light enough to not be to sickening, additionally it didn't have the rubbery 'skin' that can happen with mousse dishes. This was a very nice way to end our meal as the flavours were refreshing whilst the dessert still retained a rich creamy texture. I would certainly recommend Astonish for a evening dessert stop, with the venue being ideal for a date or small group gathering. Not only were the desserts unique they were delicious and taste wasn't sacrificed for presentation or wow factor. The staff were also friendly and the service was great, I really enjoyed eating here and intend to head back to try a few of the other signature dishes.