Pony Dining Eagle Street Pier

The Dormouse cocktail. AUD$10

One of the perks of having an inter-racial and inter-continent marriage is legitimately having two weddings, and thus two wedding anniversaries to celebrate. To mark the occasion, the SO and I celebrated our 2nd 5th wedding anniversary with a dinner at Pony Dining on Eagle Street Pier.

Upon arrival, we were seated outside. The weather was gorgeous and save the winds, which prompted me to quickly secure my hair least I end up eating it, dining with the sunset background added a romantic element to the meal.

The menu is organised with a sharing plate section, mains and desserts. We opted to try several sharing plates and a main, but were not particularly wowed. The Citrus Cured Salmon is gorgeously fresh, but we couldn’t detect any citrus flavours. The Grilled Octopus was a little chewy, but the harissa and tomato sauce made up for it with its tangy flavours to tingle the tongue a touch. I enjoyed the Spanish tortilla best for its light texture and balanced flavours from the sweet potato.

We opted for chimichurri sauce to accompany our main of coal pit roast lamb, which had a generous slice of crackled skin that had thankfully had its fat removed. I am undecided about the lamb – some of the initial pieces I ate were extremely dry, but the SO found several succulent pieces in our portion that he shared. The chimichurri sauce added just the right kick to the tastebuds.

The date brulee tart was a last minute addition to the meal, which we shared. The brulee layer was thin and shattered beautifully with a satisfying crack. Several shards of peanut brittle were served with the tart, which were crunchy and sweet – a perfect pairing with the smooth brulee.

Service could be improved – after we were provided the menu, we had to grab the attention of a waitstaff for almost everything. Staff were polite… just disengaged, though they delivered the dishes quickly and perfectly.

However what finished the evening on a sour note was when we were paying the bill. After checking the bill, we had to wait 10 minutes for the receipt to be returned to the table. We were early diners, so there was no one else leaving and most punters were already seated at their tables. We were also surprised to find that we were charged a 1% credit card surcharge, a practice we are more used to at a smaller eatery rather than a fine dining establishment.

Citrus Cured Salmon. AUD$11.50

Spanish tortilla. AUD$8.80

Grilled octopus. AUD$14.50

Coal pit roast lamb. AUD$44. Served with chimichurri AUD$5

Rocket, fennel, asparagus, parmesan. AUD$8

Date brulee tart. AUD$14