On Thursday evening we met with friends and enjoyed dinner at Maestral Mediterranean and Seafood Restaurant in Cooleman Court in Weston. Our friends had not been there before, however, as thorough seafood lovers we couldn’t get past the Maestral seafood platter for two. Given there were four of us we also asked for the Stubica (Pan fried pork fillet stuffed with sweet dried prunes and served with a plum brandy cream sauce) and Cevapcici (Mixture of minced meats and Adriatic spices served with feta cheese/onions). The menu from my Evernote notebook can be found here.

After the main course we persuaded our dinner companions to have dessert at Max Brenner in Belconnen.

The service at Maestral is good. It’s warm and friendly. This is very popular restaurant in Canberra and so at times, the wait staff are run off their feet. It’s a smallish restaurant so the bathroom facilities are separate and you need to ask for a key. I would highly recommend Maestral to anyone living in or visiting Canberra.

The service at Max Brenner is variable and a lot depends on your timing. The local Hoyts cinema complex is situated close by. If a movie ends as you arrive finding a table can be a challenge. The service on Thursday night was mediocre. The person taking my requests was fine, she was happy and cheerful. The problem was the delivery of the four dishes. They came out one by one so that by the time the last dish arrived three of us had finished our dessert. That does not make for an enjoyable experience.

Stubica Pan fried pork fillet stuffed with sweet dried prunes and served with a plum brandy cream sauce

Cevapcici Mixture of minced meats and Adriatic spices served with feta cheese/onions

The platter for 2

My plate loaded up. The soft shelled crab is amazing.

My toffee waffle with chocolate and ice cream

Related articles

• Maestral Mediterranean and Seafood restaurant in Weston (garydavidlum.com)
• Dinner at Lemon Grass Woden and Max Brenner Belconnen (garydavidlum.com)