1/4 Sleat Rd, Applecross
Phone: (08) 9364 4206
www.beethovens.com.au
A Symphony of Flavours
If you haven’t tried Beethoven Restaurant in Applecross yet, I highly recommend the experience. As soon as you enter the premises, you will get a warm welcome from the lovely Helga Sindermann and her sons Tobias and Sebastian. This is a family business, and the customers are treated like honoured guests. The comfortable relaxed ambience makes it very easy to feel right at home.
The restaurant has been operating in Applecross for two and a half years, and is open from 6pm till late, Tuesday to Sunday. The menu changes three times a year, and features a mix of German and European cuisine, based mainly on hearty peasant dishes, redefined and presented in the best traditions of fine dining, with enough variety to please most tastes.
In October, naturally, there will be an Oktoberfest, featuring German dishes, beers and wines. There are also plans to hold Wine Dinners in winter with live classical music.
We started with the Roast Garlic Bread – two thick slices of fresh bread roasted with garlic butter and fresh herbs from Sebastian’s garden – washed down with a glass of Grove Mill Sauvignon Blanc. An excellent drop – not too sweet, not too dry – it refreshed the palate ready for the next dish: the North Sea Tasting Platter – a selection of cold smoked salmon, trout, red herring salad, rollmops and fresh oysters, with remoulade sauce and assorted breads. This traditional German dish from Helga’s hometown of Dusseldorf was fantastically fresh and vibrant with a mixture of both sweet and sour flavours.
We switched to a Jane Brook Sauvignon Blanc – a slightly drier, more palate-cleansing white wine – to accompany the Pan-seared Scallops which were served on a salad of sweet potato, avocado and tomato, and finished with a spiced yoghurt dressing. I love scallops, and the salad set them off to perfection.
Now for the mains, and Sebastian brought out the Schweinerbraten – tender cut-with-a-fork braised pork in a tasty home-made sauce, served with sweet, lightly pickled red cabbage, some carrot and snowpeas and a delicious soft, sticky dumpling. This was accompanied by a glass of Wignalls Pinot Noir – a really top-notch red which suited the dish perfectly.
Then we moved on to the Rib-eye Beef Steak, topped with garlic prawns, on glazed onion mash and Shiraz jus and served with fresh asparagus. This German version of Surf & Turf came with a glass of Virgin Block Shiraz, which was quite nice, but not as smooth as the Pinot Noir.
We finished off our meal with a delightful Crepe Flute filled with a mix of raspberries, blueberries and strawberries, and served with homemade chocolate ice cream and raspberry coulis – yum!
At Beethovens the emphasis is on old-fashioned hospitality and family values, and the blend of fine dining and home-cooking, drawing on Helga’s German heritage. As Sebastian said: “There is no better place to work than with your own family. We laugh a lot, and love to work together.” His older brother Tobias was a chef at Burswood Resort and is now a chef at Beethovens. Sebastian has worked at both the Duxton Hotel and Friends Restaurant, and is now also a chef at Beethovens. They obviously enjoy what they do, and put a lot of love into creating delicious and heartwarming meals. Helga is a charming hostess and the atmosphere is warm and inviting.
By Georgina Goss
