Das Zimmer meal, done and dusted

Dinner last night was at Das Zimmer, above Bar Celona in Salamanca Quarry, with the girls.

There were 6 of us, and we ordered in such a way that we could all taste a reasonable cross section of what Das Zimmer had to offer. Remember that July at Das Zimmer is French month, with all menu items having a French theme or overtone.

To start with, we all nibbled on a bowl of deep fried Whitebait ($5), which I loved, and Smoked Quail Rillettes ($12), which I found fine but not as good as the whitebait. K had a Winter Vegetable Salad ($15), which she enjoyed.

(Above - L-R Whitebait, Winter Veg Salad and Rillettes)

For mains, K2 had the Beef Cheeks ($21) which she raved about; J, L and M had the Duck Leg Cassoulet ($22), and K and I had the Boeuf Bourgignon ($19). All mains were fabulous, and full of the beautiful, deep flavours which come through in long, slow-cooked food. Before ordering, I tossed up between the beef and the duck, and am still not sure which one was the better, but it didn’t matter as the beef fulfilled all my desires.

(Pictured above, the Boeuf Bourgignon)

I felt like something sweet to finish off with so was the sole dessert eater, with a Tarte Tartin ($12), a perfect end to the meal.

The girls had a French wine - La Chataignier, Domaine De La Citadelle Cotes Du Luberon, 2006, and K and I sat on a beautiful Valdespino, then Triana Pedro Ximenez sherry – they were like liquid gold for me! L also had a D’Arenberg Noble One, which I sampled and hated! (Joking – it was the most gorgeous drop, and I was upset I had already had more than enough alcohol for the evening!)

The bill for the night totalled $282.50, which roughly translated to $50 per head – a price I find unbelievably cheap considering the standard of food, wine and service we had. The ambience was exactly right for what we required – relaxed, easy-going and subdued enough that we could hear each other speaking across the table.

This is a place I will definitely return to, especially earlier in the evening. I would have been upset to find too many bodies there as I imagine they would get later in the evening (given their trading hours are Wed-Sat 5pm-3am). I think that small-ish, upstairs area that comprises Das Zimmer could quickly become way too noisy and hot for my liking.

Anyway – to sum up – a great little eating venue to have tucked up your sleeve, for those times when you are busy being a free thinker and want to eat outside Tasmania’s standard eating dinner hours of 6 – 9pm because they serve their meals for the whole period they are open. Go there please, and say hi to the boys, Anthony and Sean.

Bookings: Call Sean on 0404190233, or Anthony on 0408342955, or contact them on this email address: info@daszimmer.com.au