The Ginger Room

Ph: 6270 8262; Old Parliament House, Queen Victoria Tce, PARKES 2600 www.gingercatering.com.au

Contemporary, $$, ** for Ambience, Good Wine List
Open Dinner Tue-Sat from 6pm; Licensed, BYO; MC V EFT
Chef Amanda Peirce (29-11-08) Owner Janet Jeffs (29-11-08)

Mietta's Review
Janet Jeffs cut her culinary teeth with Cheong Liew during the Dunstan years in Adelaide. Her previous restaurants in Canberra have born the name Juniperberry. Now she has teamed up with Ginger Catering and they have graced Old Parliament House with a very elegant restaurant. This promises to be a great addition to fine dining in the nation's capital.

Other published opinions

Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2009 Score: 135/20 "There is something wonderfully Edwardian about The Ginger Room. Once the dining room for Old Parliament House, its ambience of secret plans being discussed by scheming politicians has been maintained, along with the plush carpet and the heavy, heritage feel"

Gourmet Traveller 2009 Australian Restaurant Guide "Could there be a more 'Canberra' restaurant than this welcoming room in Old Parliament House? With its white-clothed tables, attentive waitstaff and previous life as the Prime Minister's dining room, one would expect a little inflation in the cost"

Canberra Times Michael Brissenden, 5-03-08 Score: 14/20 "Atmospheric and imaginative dining that sometimes falls a little short of its own lofty aspirations."

Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2008 Score: 12.5/20 "This stately room in Old Parliament House has plush red carpet and a dignified, heritage feel suffused with a gentle pink glow from an enormous lightbox with a big ginger painting over it"

Gourmet Traveller 2008 Australian Restaurant Guide "Circumnavigate the flood-lit historic Old Parliament House until you spot the glowing pink light panel through a darkened window"

Sydney Eats 2008 "As part of three courses for $59, favourite mains include rare spicy tuna with roasted capsicum aioli or honey and soy pork belly with green tea noodles"

Canberra Times Bryan martin, 29-03-06 "Ginger Room sits in what was once the Old Parliament House private dining room for members. ... The staff seemed well trained and capable, but this style of dining room deserves a figurehead on the floor. The menu comprised a half dozen or so entrees, mains and desserts with a lean towards classic French high-end bistro. The emphasis is on top quality produce expressed in a simple, no-fuss collaboration with a few well-chosen accompaniments. The other star on The Ginger Room's lapel is a fantastic wine list and service at very reasonable prices."

Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2007 Score: 14/20 "Canberra veteran Janet Jeffs has just about served a term in the former private dining room at Old Parliament House. Political ghosts would approve of the tasteful revamp, which maintains the old feel, but with a dash of modern sass that's not unlike Jeffs's food: a unique brand of contemporary Australian with Asian, Vietnamese and French overtones."

Gourmet Traveller 2007 Restaurant Guide "It's a bit of a wander to find the converted Members' dining room in Old Parliament House, but spot the shimmer of crimson lighting and you'll find yourself at Canberra's smartest looking dining room."

SMH Good Food Guide 2006 Score 14/20 "There's something slightly humbling about dining in a venerable institution (even if humility isn't normally associated with the previous inhabitants). Janet Jeffs and her team have got the atmosphere just right in the former private dining room of Old Parliament House. It's been modernised with class, making the most of the view to the building's modern sibling. Service is polished, efficient and friendly."

Gourmet Traveller Australian Restaurant Guide 2006 "The Ginger Room might be one of the rooms at the back of the Old Parliament House, with all the 20s public architecture that implies, but you're greeted by an enormous backlit pink feature wall, engraved with a crisp illustration ofa full-grown ginger plant. Chef Janet Jeffs was never shy ofa bold gesture in her time at Juniperberry, and the same is true in this adult, smartly appointed space."

Sydney Eats 2006 "As you'd expect, given its location, this restaurant is in an elegant room, built in the 1920S. The new fitout includes plush chairs in an adjoining bar area, while the entrance welcomes with backlit orange glass panels etched with ginger plants."

SMH GFG 2005 Score 14/20 One Hat Good Wine List "Janet Jeffs writes an excellent menu. What food fan doesn't experience a little thrill at dish descriptions like 'wok-fried prawns with finger limes, kaffir limes and Tahitian limes' ... The look, meanwhile, is chic and intriguing with a vast backlit feature wall playing off the clean lines of Old Parliament House's private dining room"

The Age The Age AGFG 2005 "THOSE who knew Juniperberry at Red Hill will be pleased to learn that Cheong Liew-trained chef Janet Jeffs has opened a flash place in Old Parliament House."

Sydney Cheap Eats 2005 "At last, good food, good service and a special dining room. The entrance is enticing with orange backlit glass panels etched with ginger plants. The gorgeous art deco lights are still there, and the new fit-out includes plush chairs in an adjoining bar area (with bar menu)."

Gourmet Restaurant Guide 2005" A Eurasian aesthetic is threaded through the entire experience. ... It makes for fine dining, although greater consistency of quality across dishes would be in keeping with other elements ofthe package. These include the stunning fit-out, polished service and a sophisticated wine list of great depth and very reasonable mark-ups."

SMH, goodliving,29/6/04,Matthew Evans,Score 14/20,'The former Members' dining room in Old Parliament House is now home to some real talent.Janet Jeffs focuses on produce and the food can be delicious,occasionally sublime.'