wharf one food & wine

wharf one appears to be the pick of the eateries at thedarwinwaterfront complex. the menu is small enough to be confident everything is done well, yet big enough to please most palates. staff seem a bit young and inexperienced, but they’re friendly and eager to help. food is tasty italian-inspired, highlighting a range of local produce

i give it a 4 not because it's indarwinbut it really deserves a high rating.

the food is great and the service is on par with what you will get in a small city.


loved the black pudding.

came here yesterday for my sister's birthday lunch and boy did the chef deliver! we ordered:
- roasted pork brioche bun, cucumber, kewpie ($7)
- hand-cut parpadelle pasta, chilli, garlic & coriander marinated prawns, napoli sauce, smoked local barramundi ($33) - must try!!
- 300g porterhouse, celeriac puree, sautéed beans, jus ($36)
- shoestring fries ($8)

i personally think the roasted pork in the buns could have been a little more soft and less dry, and perhaps more kewpie would have been nice. still a pretty nice small plate/entree though!

the main dishes on the other hand were too die for. the hand-cut parpadelle pasta was absolutely amazing; soft, melt in the mouth, and just yum! the whole pasta dish was honestly one of the best pasta dishes i've ever had, and even more so because the parpadelle was hand-made.
my sister's steak on the other hand wasn't exactly medium rare (also hard to cut through), and was a bit too sweet for her liking.

afterwards, the following desserts were ordered:
- dark chocolate fondant, honeycomb, salt-caramel ice-cream, malted milk tuille (allow 20 minutes) ($16)
- mixed berry and praline nougat çlacé, berry compote, chantilly cream ($15)

i don't know if it was because we ordered the desserts late but it just wasn't that great. the whole fondant dessert didn't work (with the ice-cream melting becoming watery), and the mixed berry praline dessert was too full on and there was way too much of it.

so overall review? i really enjoyed the mains but the desserts were such a disappointment. really wish i could give a 4/5 because being adarwinrestaurant, you really don't find anything like wharf one food & wine. better luck next time!

probably the best place for food in darwin. it gets a 4 because the darwin/nt food scene is not up to scratch and has some way to go to match the larger australian cities. it's pop is 140,000 so it's a country town and we should remember that.

am surprised the ratings are not higher than listed currently.

i had the beef with dianne sauce and it was one of the best steaks i've had in years. staff are attentive and lovely place overlooking the water. would have tried more on the menu if we had time.

definitely recommended and cost effective when you consider how you can easily blow $150 for dinner for two indarwinin places where it's barely edible.

i am so surprised this only has a 2.9 rating! we went for lunch and ordered the following small platters - grilled prawns, beef arrancini and the pulled pork mini burgers. every single dish was beautifully cooked and well presented. i definitely suggest the prawns as they are halves, barbecued and well seasoned. perfect on their own. the burgers are perfect as a snack - with a slice of cucumber in the middle, it really lightens them up but yet they are still full of flavour.
we were seated overlooking the inlet and wharf in a well air conditioned spot. it's not too cold and not too hot so it's comfortable to come in for a break.
the staff are lovely and attentive, which seems to be common place indarwinbut always much welcomed.
all this talk is making me want to go back there for lunch today and try the rest of the menu! might just do that...