Pee Wee's at the Point — Restaurant in Northern Territory

First of all, I am a well travelled and informed diner - I have lived in exotic regions , I have 10 years in experiencing the Melbourne food scene and have lived in Europe extensively for the last fourteen years and am an avid foodie and have travelled all over Europe and dined in Michelin star restaurants and also enjoy mamas rustical style dining, but am excited by discovering new restaurant and food experiences regardless if it is fine dining or “rustical style eating!”.

We were given recommendation of this restaurant so had good, not over the top expectations. The setting and location is amazing and I felt like this was where they had banked all their money- however they have overlooked the rest of the key elements of a good dining experience! The staff were great and attentive( good enough and on point, however it was not fine dining service if that’s what they are wanting to achieve here? I was confused because we paid top prices, but service was good- appropriate for mid range to bistro style eating , but was not that next level niche! Yet prices were up there wanting to be this fancier category of gastronomy- yet unfortunately the food predominantly did not reflect this and the service albeit good, also does not reflect the prices) the staff were lovely and great , but just that, nothing more…..

I dined here with my parents also no strangers to gastronomy as we have eaten and shared many food experiences worldwide. Before I dive into the diplomatic negatives, I first want to highlight that the cocktails, wine and sincerity of the staff was great and commendable, but unfortunately that’s where the applause for us stopped! The food was in our opinion “Pedestrian” and the flavour profiles very lack lustre! If I could describe the flavours as a whole it was monotonous, unadventurous, and if it were a colour I would say “Beige!” I mean c’mon you have a restaurant in Darwin- prime location, access to some of Australia’s freshest and prime quality produce poultry and seafood- most of the food was cooked well- but the flavour profiles were so boring and unexciting - I was imagining eating cardboard that’s how “ Non” it was! They have done an injustice to to the topnotch produce they have accessible at their fingertips……..and for 500 bucks a pop please step up your game and make us believe we are getting what we paid for! Excite our tastebuds is what I’m saying, because location and lack of competition shouldn’t be the only factors!!!! Also please change the lighting down on the water dining area, half fluorescent lighting given from the public beach, mixed with some “Dollars and Sense” 1dollar fake tea light candles just does not cut it and is not an ambienc!! …..spend a little- invest a little- think a little- re-assess a little- this restaurant could be so much better!! Potential is there it just needs to be fostered!!

Best regards, unfortunately we will not be returning, until we hear through the grapevine of a big turn...

My partner and I had the pleasure of dining at Pee Wees at the Point in Fannie Bay, Darwin for a celebratory 70th birthday dinner, and our 20th anniversary on Thurs 30th March. As soon as we entered, we were graciously made to feel welcome and ushered direct to our table which presented very nicely, and elegantly. From thereon the staff continued to be extremely attentive. We were offered a complimentary Appetiser (fresh fish ceviche) – a lovely gesture and very appreciated. Drinks arrived quickly along with our choice of bottled wine, our selection of menu items taken promptly, with each course delivered within the right amount of timeliness. The view was beautiful and the restaurant had a gorgeous ambience to the accompaniment of lovely music. For Entree, we both ordered Peppered Buffalo Carpaccio ($26) with hot English mayo, rocket pesto, croutons, pickled oyster mushrooms and grana Padano. Excellent flavours that sang in your mouth; the buffalo was rare and moist. Highly recommend. After the Entrée, we were offered Cranberry Vodka Sorbet to cleanse the pallet. Delicious and delightful. Mains selections were :

1. Macadamia and Mint crusted Lamb Rack ($59) with roast carrot cream, potato dauphinoise, balsamic shallot, salsa verde, jus. To die for. The meat was cooked totally to perfection amidst the outstanding accompaniments and jus. Exquisite. Highly recommend.
2. Double Roasted Duckling ($58); crispy skin half duckling, crushed crème fraiche baby potatoes, prosciutto wrapped asparagus, honey glazed baby carrots, pastry fleuron, Kakadu plum and tamarind jus. The meat again was cooked to perfection along with the outstanding accompaniments and jus. Exquisite. Highly recommend, again. We added the Pickled Zucchini and Goats Cheese Salad ($17) with hazelnut gremolata, and fried mint to enjoy with our Mains. My partner was particularly pleased with the taste and textures of the salad. By this stage, we decided to sadly decline to have dessert reaching our food limit. To our surprise, the staff provided a beautiful light complimentary birthday dessert plate which was very welcomed. How could we refuse. We enjoyed an absolutely spectacular celebratory evening having travelled from our residence in Hervey Bay, Qld and have since praised the highest recommendations to our family and friends. We had no complaints paying the price for our wonderful meals. Every dollar was worth it. Thank you Pee Wee’s at the Point. We plan to be back in Darwin June next year. Pee Wee’s will be our first choice of venue. The owners should indeed be proud of their superb establishment, the Chef highly praised for his artistic creativity to perfection, and the staff acknowledged for their professional service and expertise. Kindest regards,...

Overall, I'm not sure if I'd return again. The place is in a lovely spot with some decent food, however it seems more interested in catering to regulars than to one-off customers and the experience we had was pretty mediocre

We were a party of 4, with 3 vegetarians. I'll admit that we were slightly late because of a traffic snarl near Mindil beach due to a music concert there (which we had no idea about). However, when we arrived were greeted with a sour face and no verbal greetings at all. The hosts shrugged their shoulders while asking a member of the wait staff to direct us to the table.

We're seated at a table all the way in the corner which is honestly the worst table in the whole place, even though several tables look empty (and remain empty till closing time)

Once situated, we're told that we had to order all of the food immediately as the kitchen was closing immediately (we were 2 hours and 15 minutes away from the restaurant closing at this point)

We order the Tempe Bao buns, Rose Harissa Cauliflower and Adobo Pork cheeks for Entrees, along with mocktails for drinks. The Tempe Bao Buns are delicious, warm, light and airy with a nice filling. The Adobo Pork cheeks are absolutely fantastic, honestly among the best food of this kind I've ever had around the world. The cauliflower is just okay, but the accompanying cauliflower cream is tasty. The drinks were pretty good too.

We order the Duck and the pumpkin for mains (along with every vego side dish on the menu). The Duck is honestly quite disappointing, the meat is dry with the potatoes having a heavy potato salad like texture. The pumpkin is really nice, with the roast pumpkin flavours going well with the risotto. The side dishes are bland and uninspiring,

We end with desserts which are lovely again, the Cassava cake being the highlight.

Throughout the dining, the wait staff (not the hosts) are lovely, being kind...