Any place a local raves about is somewhere I want to go. After an afternoon tour of a handful of amazing Margaret River wineries, our tour guide Adam from Margaret River Tours could not recommended Arc of Iris highly enough. Located in town, he described it as rustic and homely with great food. Perfect.
Stopping off at the lookout point at Surfer’s Point to watch the sunset over the water was definitely a highlight of the whole trip. We took a bottle of Stella Bella Chardonnay and a few glasses and sat on the point while the “Doctor”, the locals’ name for the choppy wind that picks up in the afternoon, blew around us. Since our last meal was your standard road trip Maccas (Big Mac with no meat patties, please) we were very keen to get to dinner once the sun had disappeared.
Arriving at The Arc of Iris, we are met by a dotty, eclectic little local eat-house with patchwork wall-hangings and clocks as decoration. Rumoured to have been previously run by a fiery gay couple who sometimes cleared out the place after throwing things at one another in the kitchen in the heat of the moment, The Arc of Iris has had many lives. With a quick stint as “Ze” Arc of Iris thanks to a Frenchman who took over the place, and a string of different owners since, the place feels like they have all left traces of themselves behind in one way or another.
We order a Dips Plate to mop up the wine that has been consumed throughout the day, which comes with some great crunchy toasted “Yallingup Woodfired Bread” (also available in a gluten free version), Extra Virgin “Redhill” Olive oil, a très garlicky tzatziki and a fresh and tasty beetroot dip. This is a great start to the meal as we peruse the menu and dissect the day’s events around the dinner table.
Andrea, the current owner and host of the place, comes to take our orders for our mains. I am not a risotto person, and with the only vege item of the menu your standard mushroom risotto I am keen to find out what else is on offer. Andrea recommends the Angel Hair Pasta with Chilli, Tomato and Basil with Creamy Sauce, which I am having sans the usual Shark Bay Crab that comes with. The prices here aren’t cheap, especially for a local joint, and the pasta is $36.00 a pop. This is what you might expect to pay in some of Sydney’s best restaurants, and although I am aware we are probably paying tourist prices, I am surprised the meals are so dear since it has been recommended by people from the area. I definitely have high hopes and expectations for the meal ahead.
When the mains arrive the rest of the table oohs and aahs over their respective dishes which include various cuts of beef fillet and a half duck. My pasta looks fresh and the vegetables are piled high on top of it. As I take a bite it tastes coconuty and a little like a curry and is, well, average. Being so hungry and with a day full of drinking behind me I would usually demolish this dish, but I am just not enjoying it. Everybody else at the table is clearly impressed with their meals as the conversation subsides quietly to the sound of lips smacking and cutlery scraping on empty plates. It seems I am alone on my verdict of the food.
As we pay the bill Andrea comes over to enquire about our meals. She is obviously expecting the usual praise that comes after the question “how was it?”, so when I do as I usually do in these situations, possibly also emboldened with a bit of liquid courage, and tell her the truth, she disagrees! I am impressed by her devotion to the restaurant, and at the same time a little taken aback. Is she right? Did I really enjoy my meal and not know it? I am highly amused as I manage to leave after a few minutes of debate about how my meal was, despite my better judgement, actually very good.
With a quick stop at the Settlers Tavern to watch the first half of the Socceroos, we end up making a much earlier night of it than expected and call our designated driver to come and pick us up. This system seems like a great alternative to a night in jail, especially when we are stopped by a roadside RBT on the way back to our humble abode. As the windows are rolled down the police officer pokes his head inside the vehicle and allows us to drive straight through when our driver describes herself as a “desi”. This seems especially clever when our hotel in Perth is located next to a uniform store selling fluoro vests of every description and we find ourselves imagining what would happen if we tried this at home.
Overall it has been a great night, and thoroughly entertaining at that. I would come back to The Arc of Iris, but next time maybe I’ll give the risotto a go.
Check out more photos of WA here.
The Arc of Iris
(08) 9757 3112
151 Bussell Highway Margaret River WA 6285
www.arcofiris.com.au
7 comments
lau@corridorkitchen says:
Nov 18, 2011
I had this experience all the time for the 10 years I was vego. And here’s why – I was vego!
I didn’t really fully understand this until I started eating meat again, and it’s not ’cause vego food is lame, it’s because omitting major ingredients from dishes leads to flavour disaster.
You ordered a pasta dish that ususally includes crab. Taking the crab out means you have a dish that is missing something. This will taste lame.
That said, if someone asks you how your meal is, they shouldn’t argue with your answer – that defies logic!
I think this kind of restaurant should have a good, solid, creative vego choice on their menu, especially at that price point. And if they don’t at $36 a plate of pasta, they should either give you a discount for being vego or whip something new up for you, on the spot.
I feel your pain.
Kitti says:
Nov 18, 2011
Hey Lauren,
Thanks for your comment. I totally agree with you, and am usually the first to cringe when it comes to having the same dish “just without the meat”, especially at those who complain about not getting what they expected.
In this case however, it was at the recommendation of the restaurant owner who said it is often ordered and enjoyed by vegetarians. Maybe it is, maybe I just had a bad one, or was expecting something different, or even my taste buds were damaged by the wine tour from earlier in the day!
Either way, I hope that my comments were taken in a constructive way and maybe one day they’ll add another vege dish to the menu.
Love your blog by the way.
Kitti.
Lau@Corridor Kitchen says:
Nov 19, 2011
Hey Kitti,
Don’t worry, I share your frustrations, especially when people recommend a dish and then argue with you about your experience of it!!
Lau
Andrea says:
Dec 2, 2011
To start off….the “Arc” has a wonderful Mushroom risotto on the menu…AND the screaming artichoke did not pay $36.00 for her precious pasta, because it did not contain any very expensive fresh crab meat!!! We charged a lot less,because of that!! Maybe a few too many good Margaret River for you after all!!! – Great to hear that all your dining friends with you at the time enjoyed their meals!!I’ll rest my case and “yes” I am very proud to serve such high quality meals!
Cheers
A
Kitti says:
Dec 2, 2011
Hi Andrea, thanks for your comment!
The reason I said “standard mushroom risotto” is because as a vegetarian, there is often only one dish available on the menu (wherever I go) and quite often it is a mushroom risotto. There is only so much mushroom risotto one can eat, especially when they are not at all fond of risotto, but yes to be fair it is quite possible that The Arc of Iris serves a stand-out version different and better than all others. Unfortunately, it’s usually impossible to convince my dining companions to sample the vege food which means I can only order one dish, and write of my experiences on what I do try.
My mention of the $36 for the pasta was of the dish in general, which is, I’m sure you’ll agree, on the menu at that price. You are correct in saying that we did definitely consume a few too many good Margaret River wines, and I for one will absolutely be back to Margaret River to try everything I missed out on the first time.
Thank you for your hospitality, the boys said their meals at The Arc of Iris were some of the best of the whole the trip, and we dined at some very fine restaurants so that is definitely saying a lot.
Kitti.
Renee says:
Dec 2, 2011
Thanks for the recommendation – I’m headed to the Arc of Iris for dinner tonight. Don’t be mad if I order something non-vego :)
ps: It was great meeting you at Little Creatures – the blog is fantastic!
Kitti says:
Dec 3, 2011
Hey Renee, fantastic to hear from you! I hope you had a fabulous dinner. So jealous you are at Margaret River! But I am in the Hunter Valley this weekend for Elton John so it could be worse.
What’s So Great About Perth is awesome! I loove the post about the Cape to Cape track. May have to add it to “The List”…
Kitti. x