We were taking a big “Risk” (tee hee, I love that game) when we headed down to Guild on a Friday night without a booking, but we were lucky enough to squeeze on a table for two between the three of us, but the tables are big enough that we weren’t squished at all.
Handy wipes on each table to protect sticky fingers from the games and to have clean hands to eat. 
Happy friends all concentrating on defeating each other, only in the game of course.
Mocktails~
Peach, ginger and cinnamon virgin spritz roasted peaches infused with ginger and cinnamon, combined with lemonade and a hint of mint ($9.00). My friend really enjoyed this, she said it was sweet and very refreshing.
Strawberry virgin mojito fresh strawberries, mint and lime muddled and topped with soda, perfect on a hot day ($9.50). I didn’t really read the description so I was a little surprised when this wasn’t sweet, it would be nice if you wanted something cold, bubbly but not sweet.
To share~
Pumpkin and feta fritters served with minted yoghurt dipping sauce ($14.00). These fritters had a dry interior and really needed the dipping sauce, there wasn’t enough and we had to ask for more.
Pizza~ 9″ small meal or 11″ regular meal
I loved the names of pizza, they have nerdy witty humour. My friend can’t eat pork so there was very limited choices for her, maybe they could eventually bring in beef mince pizzas?
Connect 4 marinated feta, imported gorgonzola, buffalo mozzarella, provolone and cracked pepper on an oil base (11″ size $17.00). I didn’t get to try this pizza but my friends were sadden that there wasn’t even coverage over the entire pizza.
Zombicide spicy chorizo, pepperoni, smoked ham, herbed lemon chicken breast, smoked bacon and homemade BBQ sauce (11″ size $18.00). A very delicious, meat-a-licious pizza, with a more even coverage of topping. I think if the base was a little fluffier or thinner, the slightly burnt edges wouldn’t be so hard.
The pepperoni pieces are a little thicker than I’m used to but that meant they didn’t burn as much.
There was a wait on food because it was so busy and the nature of wood-fired pizza but we didn’t notice as we were having so much fun playing Love Letter (Batman edition).
A fun and easy to learn game while waiting for dinner.
After dinner, we switched over to playing Dixit by a recommendation from the Game Master (I have no idea what his name was so that’s what I’ll call him), which led us almost to closing time. When we went to pay the bill, I was surprised to see a gamage surcharge of $3.00 per person which we would have happily paid, but we didn’t see any signs nor were we told about it.
Lots of games to choose from all around the restaurant.
There are still a few teething issues with timing and service but they have only just opened over a week ago. We really enjoyed our time here, there are many games and options and the friendly staff are only more than eager to help; if you have zero idea they will also run through the game with you. It is very refreshing to have a something in civic that is fun and doesn’t revolve around drinking, although there are plenty of options for that too if that’s what you’re into. My friends and I would be very keen to come back and try out more of the menu and play more of their games.
Venue: Guild
Address: (Where APK used to be) LG, Bailey’s Arcade, 150 London Cct, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2601
Phone: (02) 62572727
Opening times: Mon-Sun 11:00 – 00:00
We dined as guests of the gallery but all day Wedgwood High Tea is $43.00 per person, there are also lunch options: the Farmhouse Board ($25.00 per person) and the Bushman’s Plate ($20.00 per person).
Top tier: Dame Nellie Melba’s sublime opera cake; lemon and yoghurt curd tart with toasted meringue; petite peach Melba cake with white peach buttercream; jam drop shortbread tarts with lavender sugar.
Bottom tier: soft mini brioche with cured salmon, dill creme and mustard leaves; ribbon sandwiches with citrus poached chicken and herb mayonnaise; ribbon sandwiches with cucumber, lime sour cream and fresh mint; mini asparagus, leek, and melted gruyere tart
Separate plate: freshly baked buttermilk scones with local berry preserve and double cream
My favourite picks were the chicken sandwiches and the opera cake but above all else, I fell in love with the Wedgwood china. For me, a lot of the high tea vibe comes from the atmosphere and the crockery (I’m a massive homewares fan) and I found the Wedgwood pieces were stunning. Each piece caught my eye because I liked the detail in the patterns and also liked how nothing matched. 
My tea cup pattern was perfectly named the ‘queen of hearts’.
We couldn’t leave without buying gift vouchers for some special people and the vouchers themselves had the beautiful blue flower pattern.
It was a busy morning but we were greeted with smiling faces at the counter. When I asked who ‘Chris’ was, a young polite handsome man smiled and put up his hand, it appears to be a family business where they assured me that all the bread, pastries, tarts, cakes etc were all made in-house.
They also have pastries and muffins.
And a selection of quiches and croissants with fillings.
I was a bit hazy with the prices, not everything was labelled and I was too busy choosing something to eat but the thick shake, pie, croissant and large coffee came to $17.00.
Cheese and bacon pie ($5.00). A meaty pie with a little bit more bacon than your average cheese and bacon pie, but nothing particularly exciting.
Croissant. It has a lovely pastry network inside but it wasn’t buttery and flaky. It felt more like a squishy bread roll.
Large flat white. TimmyC said it was mediocre coffee.
Vanilla creme brulee ($5.90). I felt that I didn’t try enough of their menu so I told TimmyC to go choose another sweet from the cabinet, he got the creme brulee which I thought was odd to have in a bakery (it is served in a ramekin so I presume you can only have it when dining in?). They pre-prepare the base and store it in the cabinet and sugar is caramelized on top before serving. The toffee ‘hat’ broke beautifully under the knock of my spoon which revealed a velvety smooth custard. I didn’t understand that since there was a toffee layer, how there were still some granules underneath the sugar top that didn’t caramelize, it didn’t do anything to the taste it just took away from the smooth custard texture.
I didn’t have an overall amazing bakery/patisserie experience here but I’m not convinced it is a bad bakery, maybe I just didn’t choose their specialty items, which the website suggests is their cakes and bread. I don’t know how much their bread costs but I thought the large tarts and cakes had a hefty price tag (tarts $29.00 cakes $50.00) but I’m determined to try one soon, maybe not this week though.
Venue: Chris’s patisserie and bakehouse
The cake cabinet should have been my first clue not to eat here, can you see the huge chunks of carrot in the carrot cake?
While we were waiting for our food, the woman next to us had ordered the waffles and she was super excited when three thick store-bought waffles topped with bacon and banana was placed in front of her. I had noticed that she shared some with her Mum and even then they only finished half a waffle each which meant there was plenty still left on the plate after they left.
Caramel thick shake ($7.00). We watched them make this and it had tonnes of ice-cream in it and there was just enough topping without making me feel sick. YUM!
Coffee (lge ($4.00). TimmyC said it was okay coffee. They also serve a ‘jumbo’ size here.
Eggs benedict eggs with bacon on a sour dough roll with hollandaise sauce ($14.90). The hollandaise was nice enough but still tasted like it was bottled sauce and I’m a bit confused as to why there were unseasoned chips on the plate. A very underwhelming breakfast when I promised TimmyC waffles from a diner. I don’t see exactly what the kitchen is cooking when the sauce is from a jar, the waffles and pancakes are store-bought and the chips are from frozen packets.
The plates that they serve on are massive.
Cheeseburger with fries ($8.90). I was really disappointed with my burger, it was an okay patty drowned in tomato sauce and mustard topped with a plastic (at least melted) slice of cheese. Don’t get me wrong, I love plastic cheese but I couldn’t taste much of anything other than mustard and tomato sauce. The chips were hot and seasoned with something that I couldn’t pick, it reminded me of mamee noodle snacks. The thick shake helped with washing the acidity of the sauces from my mouth.
I couldn’t taste anything other than sauce.
TALES OF A CONFECTIONIST 