Soaking up the vibe and the views

Up on the roof of the Burbury Hotel in Barton dining reviewer WENDY JOHNSON get the taste of a great view and loves the lounge vibe. 

THE views from rooftop Leyla Bar, Burbury Hotel, are amazing. We lucked out with seats giving us perfect views of Parliament House. We also lucked out on a fiery red sunset.

Leyla is about a lounge experience, with a cool, contemporary fit-out. Light, bright and airy, the bar throws open its massive windows, bringing the outside in. Large, circular skylights add a touch of class. 

The cocktail list is compact ($19 to $24) although no doubt Leyla would shake and stir to order. It’s great to see the beer line-up supporting local breweries such as Bentspoke and Capital. It’s also great to see Leyla offering increasingly popular Heaps Normal, a zero-alcoholic beer for $9.

Bubbles burst forth from $75 to $690 (for a 2014 Cristal Champagne from France). Whites are $57 to $140, rosés $57 to $77 and reds start at $68 and top off at $420.

Food is designed around light bites, with some options more shareable than others. Order by QR code or, as I did, at the bar, which, in my mind, is more of a “lounge experience”. We didn’t pace our orders and so all food rocked out at once. Big lesson learned.

The soft brioche rolls (two for $19) featured big chunks of prawn mixed with a smooth, creamy Yuzu and chive mayo. We ordered a Croque Monsieur just to try ($23), cutting it into small pieces. Ingredients are top-notch, including Maggie Beer smoked wagyu silverside (delish), and gruyere cheese (heavenly). The Croque Monsieur was almost burnt at one end, and we agreed a healthy dose of Dijon would not have gone astray.

Perfect for sharing is the house selection of five kinds of cheese ($20 for two, $10 for each additional), accompanied by fig roll, quince paste and baguette. We worshipped the decadent triple cream brie (Adelaide) and Manchego (Spain).

Because we were sharing, we ordered the meat platter ($26 and $10 with cheese). The flavourful and sweet Serrano ham, Salamanca chorizo and Mortadella were lovely and the tiny cornichons crunchy.

Desserts include a gin and tonic cheesecake with passionfruit curd, and a Mojito mousse (both $16).

The service on our visit could have been refined. Our rose didn’t have the foil taken off properly and was plopped down with three glasses on our table before the waiter left us there to pour on our own. 

Although we made it clear we were sharing, extra plates and cutlery were issues, including with the selection of meats (it’s hard to pick up slices of meat with your fingers or a fork you’ve used with another dish). It wasn’t a total drama, however, and we’ll be back to soak in more of the vibe and views.