Located in the heart of Caversham, Riverbank Estate is one of Swan Valley’s finest winery restaurant. We were seated on the verandah on a beautiful sunny day overlooking the lush green vineyard towards the Swan River. It definitely feels nice to have an escape from the city once in a while.

To start off, we shared a RiverBank Tasting board (minimum 2 people for $46) comprises of a chicken liver pate, chilli marinated olives, cacciatore sausage, smoked chicken salad, Japanese potato salad, crumbed pork belly, ham hock terrine, croquette and smoked salmon. One of our favourites from the tasting board would be the chicken liver pate. It’s smooth, creamy and devoured easily. From the smoked chicken salad to the crumbed pork belly, each element on the tasting board was tasty and delicious in their very own way. 

I had the lamb rump, spiced chickpeas, tabouli, tomato kasundi, minted yoghurt ($44). The lamb rump was so juicy and tender, complementing well with the soft, fluffy texture of the couscous with a Mediterranean touch from the spiced chickpeas, tabouli and tomato kasundi. It was such a lovely and moorish dish, bursting full of Mediterranean flavours. 

Mum had the grilled red snapper, orange and fennel salad, tempura prawns, blood orange viniagrette ($44). Grilled to perfection, the fresh snapper had a slight crisp layer on the top followed by a succulent, tender texture. The blood orange viniagrette, along with the orange and fennel salad gave a touch of summer and freshness to the dish. Well presented, it’s a dish bursting full of summer-y bright colours.

For dessert, we shared a deconstructed lemon curd tart, vanilla mascarpone ($16). In terms of both presentation and taste, it tastes as good as it looks. Beautifully presented, it’s a dish which sure shouts summer.  I loved how there’s a punch of sourness, acidity, creamy and crunchy textures when you put all the elements together. It definitely ticked all the boxes of a lemon curd tart.

We also shared a Kahlúa panna cotta, chocolate mousse, espresso syrup ($16). How do you distinguish a good panna cotta? It’s when the panna cotta does its own dance or should I say, “jiggle”. Yep, I learnt that from watching MasterChef. The Kahlúa panna cotta at RiverBank definitely does its own jiggle and wiggle. It’s smooth, creamy with a lovely Kahlúa flavour. The chocolate mousse was also decadently smooth and full of chocolate-y goodness.

This was our first time at Riverbank Estate and we enjoyed and had a great dining experience. Yes, it may be priced on the higher end for Swan Valley restaurants but it’s the quality which makes the whole experience worth it. With a lovely restaurant and warm, friendly service, we will definitely return to Riverbank Estate. I have a confession to make – I am so in love with the desserts at Riverbank Estate.

Oh and if you have the 2015/2016 Entertainment Gold Card, you can use it here too. Still stuck on where to go to on V-Day? Check out Riverbank Estate’s Valentine’s Day Menu here.