what’s new
October 2023
In this update: New additions for the Spring menu, a trip to Somos Wines and the latest happenings in the neighbourhood.
Spring menu into action
Parlour is basically made for Spring. Our new chef has changed the menu up to match the season. Bright, fresh flavours. Hints of fennel, blood oranges and stone fruit. Come with high expectations, because they will still be surpassed.
Try the market fish with tomato bisque, pickled mussels and sautéed chicory. Or the orecchiette pasta with Tuscan sausage, broccoli, pangrattato and pecorino.
What better way to celebrate the small wins and big victories as the year meanders to the finish line.
We are having a grape time with Somos
Somos Wines might be in McLaren Vale, but winemaker, Mauricio Ruiz Cantú, isn’t beholden to the classic varieties of South Australia. Celebrated as one of Australia’s top young winemakers three years running, Mauricio has a storied winemaking journey through the countrysides of Spain, Mexico and Australia.
Somos – ‘we are’ in Spanish – is experimental and boundary-pushing. The winery loves to work with lesser-known Italian and Spanish varieties – like vermentino, cortese, barbera, mencia, pinot meunier and aglianico. With their lo-fi and sustainable ethos, the range is a kaleidoscope of wild styles and intriguing flavours.
The ¡Garnacha & Amigos! is Parlour in a bottle. A blend of six different red varieties, it’s light, bright, juicy, uncomplicated and with a ton of attitude. Like your fling while on university exchange in southern Europe. The wine is very smashable as it is. But with the warm breeze passing over the patio, we prefer it chilled.
This was their finest cocktail hour
Legend has it that Winston Churchill’s cocktail of choice was a very very dry martini – cold gin with the vague presence of vermouth. “Glance at the vermouth bottle briefly while pouring the juniper distillate freely,” he is quoted as saying.
Whether true or not, we know one thing for a fact: cocktail hours at Parlour would be his venue of choice. Treat yourself to $10 cocktails and bring out your inner Churchill.
Acton Spritz
Aperol, Jasmine, Prosecco, Soda, Lemon
Twilight Negroni
Bombay Dry Gin, Cinzano 1757 Rosso, Campari, Orange
Sunset Sangria
Grand Marnier Orange Brandy, Four Pillars Bloody Shiraz,
Blended Red Wine, Citrus, Vanilla, Soda
4-6pm, Wednesday to Saturday
Happenings in the neighbourhood
The New Acton district is bustling as always. Be sure to check out some exciting events at our neighbours.
The Italian Film Festival is playing until 18 October at Palace Electric.
Award-winning Coburn Whisky is hosting a special tasting of their range of Southern Highlands distilled whiskies at High Jinks on Saturday 28 October.
For those more into cocktails, High Jinks holds interactive cocktail classes every Saturday.
September 2023
In this update: plans for Father’s Day, our new Head Chef, a review by the Canberra Times, and our full parpadelle recipe.
Celebrate your dad
Celebrating fathers is tough. They don’t like the limelight, they don’t want gifts, and they barely want to leave the house. But, if you give them just a small measure of attention, as much as they might resist, they will remember it for the rest of their lives. Trust us
On Sunday 3 September, Parlour is opening its doors for you to celebrate your dads. We’re not going all pomp and circumstance. Just like your dads, we want to keep it simple. Snacks and lunch are on the menu, beers are on tap, and the patio will be open for a relaxed sunny Spring day.
There’s only so many ties and socks you can gift. Bring them to Parlour, and for years, they’ll hold that memory close..
New Head Chef joins the Parlour tean
Excellent Head Chefs are a rare breed. A mix of creativity and planning, of leadership and hands-on operations, of big-picture vision and attention to detail, of traditional skills and innovative approaches.
That’s why we are so excited to introduce Parlour’s new Head Chef, Vincenzo Pagano.
With over a decade of experience, Vince expertly brings together this unique mix of talents. After starting his career in the beautiful town of Avellino in southern Italy, Vince truly understands how important food is to celebrating family, culture and those little moments that intersperse the big occasions.
He left Italy to venture to Australia, and honed his skills in Canberra’s thriving hospitality industry, from southeast Asian cuisine, to modern Australian to Italian fine dining. He truly is a master of his craft.
Next time you’re in, be sure to give him a warm welcome.
The Canberra Times pops by
The Canberra Times’ lifestyle team visited Parlour last week, and gave us a fantastic review. We’re so happy to see our hard work recognised.
Using the Good Food Guide scoring system, we scored an amazing 15/20, equivalent to receiving one hat in the prestigious ranking – though that official result will have to wait for another day!
Here are some choice quotes:
“Heading into Parlour is like stepping back in time, its decor giving off the allure of vintage elegance and its almost hidden New Acton location making it feel exclusive.”
“The pasta starts this meal on a high for me. It is the perfect winter meal, capturing the earthiness that I love in my meals this time of year.”
“the mandarin pannacotta with white chocolate and biscuit crumb, and the strawberries and cream with strawberries three ways, cardamom cream and native plum. And spoiler alert – we were onto two winners here and were divided as to which we each preferred.”
“It put a high note on what may be a rare ladies lunch event. But then so did a lot of the dishes. Perhaps I should find a more permanent way to be a lady who lunches after all.”
Mushroom parpadelle recipe
Our mushroom parpadelle dish has been one of the most popular items on the menu. It’s simple, satisfying, enriching, earthy, hearty and rich. And it’s simply too good to not let you have the full recipe. Next time you want to treat someone special, show off with this.
For the pasta:
220g egg pappardelle
For the sauce:
1 brown onion
1 carrot
1 celery
1 garlic clove
150g Swiss mushrooms
100g oyster mushrooms
100g Shimeji mushrooms
10g dried Porcini mushroom
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup vegetable stock
50g thyme and rosemary
150g pecorino
40g butter
80ml extra virgin olive oil
Method:
- Soak the dry porcini in warm water.
- Brunoise celery, carrot and onion.
- Sauté mushrooms in a little olive oil on very high heat until they caramelise, season with salt and pepper and set aside. (This operation needs to be done in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan. Make sure you season each batch.)
- Mix onion, carrot and celery in a medium hot pan with a little olive oil and cook on gentle heat for about 10 minutes or until translucent. Then season with salt.
- Increase the heat and mix in the mushrooms.
- Add in finely chopped thyme and rosemary, then deglaze with white wine.
- Once the alcohol has evaporated, add in the vegetable stock. Bring to the boil, let it reduce by half then put aside and adjust seasoning.
- To prepare the pasta, bring 600ml of water to the boil and add 50g of salt.
- Drop your pappardelle in the boiling water and cook according to the instructions. If homemade, 2 to 3 minutes should do the trick.
- Heat up your sauce again and strain the pappardelle straight into the hot sauce using a pair of tongs and toss for one minute.
- Turn off the heat and keep tossing, add in the butter and half of the pecorino. The pasta sauce will thicken as you go and coat the pappardelle. Taste and season.
- Serve in a bowl and use the remaining pecorino to top the pasta.