North Ryde Golf Club, North Ryde

Finally - finally! - I was invited to a wedding reception that was relatively close to home and civilisation. Whilst I have driven past the North Ryde Golf Club on many occasions in the past (en route to my childhood piano lessons *shudders*), I have actually never ventured beyond the main road and visited the site.

Main Entrance of Golf Club

Unsurprisingly, there is ample on-site parking that allows for quick access to the golf course but in order to access their restaurant (La Fontana Ristorante), you need to walk around the building (from the golf course entrance) to the main entrance. The restaurant itself is rather large and provides an awesome view from the outdoor balcony overlooking the golf course and nearby water feature.

Balcony off Restaurant facing the Golf Course

Golf Course and Water Pond/Feature

As part of the reception set-up crew, I arrived 1.5 hrs early to double-check the seating arrangements and assist with the table arrangements:

Table Decor

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to sample the alternate dish at this wedding reception so I can only comment on what I was served (or saw with my eagle eyes 👀).

Entrée

Salmon Terrine with Cream Cheese, Dill, Capers and Parsley

The layers of cream cheese between the smoked salmon was uneven and rather thick so the ratio of ingredients in the terrine were off. My neighbours ended up scraping off chunks of cream cheese, which was a waste.

Veal Ravioli served with Wilted Greens and Sage Butter Sauce

There wasn't much on the plate so there weren't many 'presentation' points to win but I'm still not quite sure why restaurants keep serving balls of wilted spinach (it certainly doesn't look any better than a 'bed' of spinach). It's a pity that there wasn't much veal inside the ravioli - TBH, it tasted more like mushroom.

Mains

Grilled Beef Eye Fillet served with Baby Potatoes,
Dutch Carrots,Green Sautéed Beans and Red Wine Jus

I was eyeing this eye fillet with envy. 😮

Grilled Barramundi served with Baby Potatoes,
Green Beans and Spicy Soy Sauce

Whilst the barramundi was cooked well, the skin was not crispy.

Dessert

Passionfruit Tart with Burnt Meringue, Chantilly Cream and Passionfruit Pulp
(is it just me or is the meringue not... burnt?)

Classic Tiramisu served with Layered Saviordi Biscuits,
Marsala, Coffee and Mascapone dusted with Chocolate

Whilst the desserts probably had the best presentation (and overall taste) of the night, they unfortunately still left much to be desired. Once again, the (mascapone) cream cheese outweighed the rest of the dish - the patterned cake exterior effectively exceeded the height of the biscuit layer -, which lead to more cream cheese waste. Also, the biscuit base was overly soaked in marsala liqueur  - too much for my tastes.

And of course, the night ended with the wedding cake - okay, the wedding cake wasn't supplied by the restaurant but it was soooo pretty:

Wedding Cake

By the end of the night, I was just eager to head home and sleep off all the excess calories.

Food: ✰✰✰
Service: ✰✰✰
Atmosphere: ✰✰✰✰
Overall: ✰✰✰
Summary: Here for the views and convenience