Epicurean is the buffet restaurant at Perth’s newest luxury hotel, Crown Towers. Serving breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week, it’s open to the public as well as feeding the hotel’s guests.
Epicurean is the buffet restaurant at Crown Perth’s luxury hotel, Crown Towers. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week, it’s open to the public as well as feeding the hotel’s guests. If you’ve been on social media recently, you’ve probably seen pictures of the dessert selection from those lucky enough to have already dined there.
We decided to see what was on offer forbreakfast, and secureda tableearly on New Year’s Eve.
The look ofCrown Towers is elegant and understated, and I’ll be doing a separate post about staying therein due course. For now, there are morephotos from this gorgeous hotel in the gallery at the end of the post.
Crown Towers is connected to Crown Metropol by a series of walkways near the ballroom, which explains what all the construction was.
I was worried about being under-dressed, but being a breakfast service in a hotel this wasn’t an issue. I was pleasantly surprised by how casual and relaxed a feeling there was throughout the restaurant, with plenty of families dining.
The level of service was excellent, attentive but not over the top. Despite a sizablequeue forming out the front by the time we left, there was never any pressure on us to leave (although you have to ask a member of staff if you want extra cutlery).
Sean Marco is Crown Towers’ Executive Chef, havingbeen promotedfrom his position asExecutive Sous Chef at Crown Metropol. I attended several charity dinners overseen by Sean in 2016, and it’s great to see him moving up.
Sean was very modest about the buffet, telling me that he is still tweaking things and that there are improvements to make. He also told me that breakfast was his favourite of the three services.
He never stopped moving around the restaurant when we were there, keeping a close eye on things and happy to helpthe customers. It was great to see someone at his level so hands-on, and I really appreciate the time he took to chat with me.
So yes, it’s still a breakfast buffet, and there’s pretty much everything you’d expect from the many food stations plus a few surprises – even a dessert bar. There’s a wide selection of Asian and Indian dishes, which gives a good indication of where Crown Towers’ guests are coming from.
Freshly made hot food such as omelettes are also available, although there wasn’t an obvious “omelette station”. The staff are all very friendly and accommodating, however, and I would expect most requests to be dealt with quickly.
In comparison to the Atrium, it feels like everything has been taken up a level from the food quality to the service.
The much-photographed Epicurean chocolate fountain even runs at breakfast, and is a perfect match for the churros you can see to the left. It’s bigger thanthe one I found at Conservatory in Crown Towers Melbourne (although they had two of them, with one serving caramel!)
The carving station doesn’t stop forbreakfast, offering dishes likeyou can see above and other treats such as black pudding.
The girl working behind the counter saw me taking photos, and offered to take some from her side with my camera! That wasa greatgesture from a high-end restaurant where oftenany kind of photo taking isfrowned upon.
The biggest shock of all – a hotel toaster that works first time!
Coffee of your choosing is included in the buffet price, and was very much cafe-quality. Certainly not what you expect from a hotel.
Attention to detail is evident throughout the restaurant, including the presentation of even the simplest things. The dining area is both relaxed and elegant.
Just like the chocolate fountain, the seating and overallstyle of Epicurean is reminiscent of Conservatory in Crown Towers Melbourne.
A buffet breakfast isn’t something for every day, and the entry price of $49 a head is one of the reasons for that. For a special occasion – or just an indulgent treat – this is as good a breakfast buffet as I’ve experienced anywhere (although I’ll never forget the Intercontinental Sydney’s jam doughnuts). You might only do it once, but it’s certainly a dining experience worth having.
I’ll be going back for lunch in February so stay tuned for my report on that – in the meantime, feast your eyes on the gallery below…
Epicurean
Crown Towers Perth
Breakfast: Mon-Sun 6:30am – 10:30am
Lunch: Mon-Sun 12:00pm – 2:30pm
Dinner: Sun-Thu 6:00pm – 10:00pm, Fri 5:30pm – 11:00pm, Sat 5:30pm – 7:30pm, 8:00pm – 11:00pm
Walk-ins are available, although demand is high and booking is recommended.
