Treehouse Lounge - Playground of Delicious Tapas and Cocktails

Tapas and cocktails. You have my attention immediately when you say those two words. However, there has been a saturation of restaurants doing tapas and most of them have been quite average, so it was with some trepidation that I accepted the invite to try out Treehouse Lounge. I'm extremely glad to report that Treehouse Lounge actually does really good tapas in a cosy environment. Owners Adrian and John have used their restaurant experience from past ventures to ensure that the food is of a high quality with the service to match.

Disclaimer: I dined courtesy of Treehouse Lounge.

The small space is separated into 3 semi distinct areas. Near the front bar are high tables for drinking your beers and cocktails, the main dining area comprising tables for groups of 2-4, and a partitioned back area for larger groups. The lighting is kept fairly low, one of my pet peeves about restaurants, but luckily I was near a light so it wasn't too bad for me.


The menu comprises lots of tapas and a range of pizzas. We decided to share numerous tapas with our cocktails. A Beef Carpaccio was really nice, with tender meat matched with capers and artichoke, giving it some zing. The Herb Crusted Lamb Cutlets are stunning and I asked for the recipe but was refused jokingly by Adrian. Seriously Adrian, I want that wonderful recipe of your mums. A Grilled Prawn Salad was good but no match for the lamb cutlets in my eyes. The Antipasto Platter was surprisingly good, with good quality cured meats. I guess you must know about cured meats if you're Italian. The Oysters Kilpatrick was a tad disappointing. While the flavours were great, the oysters didn't taste super fresh to me.


The Tapas Platter of items we selected were all really good, or great. Chorizo were simply fried and very nice. The Seared Scallops were excellent, plump, fresh and perfectly cooked. I liked the Grilled Prawns and Meatballs, both with nice flavours. The Salt and Pepper Calamari was really to my liking, having a nice thin crisp batter and good dipping sauce. Smoked Salmon was good, but it was the BBQ Ribs that stole the show. They were sticky, soft, sweet and salty. I couldn't stop licking my fingers. A must order.


We were extremely full so shared only one dessert. The Strawberry Mille Feuille was disappointing. While it looked great, the taste was only ok. The strawberries were really fresh and sweet, but the pastry let this simple dish down. Instead of beautiful crisp puff pastry, the layers were like papadums things. The lemon curd described in the menu turned out to be lemon syrup instead, which tasted ok with the strawberries but would have been so much better if it was lemon curd.


My service was excellent, but I was the invited guest. From what I could see, Adrian and John definitely worked the room really well and customers were all smiling and happy. The waiters did an efficient job. I liked the ambiance in the room and although the tables are quite close in the small space, the background music and noise from other diners meant there was still a level of privacy. I really liked the food and there were some excellent items. I would recommend trying out Treehouse Lounge and make sure to order yourself a cocktail off their extensive list as well.