Food and Fine Dining

The fine dining experience

Eating out is one of the highlights of a weekend away, especially when you decide to celebrate in style with great food and wine in feel-good surroundings. Here are just a few of Australia’s most significant regional restaurants, and the elements that make them so special.

According to many Weekends for Two operators, there are very definite trends in the way we spend our time away. We love the idea of big country breakfasts, often with a gourmet twist. We also love all-day cafe menus so that we can eat breakfast for lunch, or graze on small, delicious dishes with a cup of coffee or glass of wine at any time of day. Then, on one very special evening, we want to have a fabulous dining experience with the very best food, ambience, wine and service.

Often the focal point of a weekend away, this special dinner is likely to be for a romantic celebration, special birthday or other occasion, and it is important that it goes well and lives up to expectations.

But how do you know which restaurant to choose if you haven’t been before? Word of mouth, such as recommendations from your hosts, is invaluable. It also helps to have a food guide – try The Age, Sydney Morning Herald or Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide – which review restaurants and cafes in different categories.

Very often, where there is one outstanding restaurant, there will be other good dining experiences in the area. If a region doesn’t have a foodie pioneer, and thus no competition of a high standard, average places evolve. So hats off to the greats for their staying power in rural areas. Here are some local favourites, but read the restaurant guides and talk to your hosts for on-the-spot updates. Be sure to book ahead and check opening times as many regional restaurants only open on certain days, usually based around weekends.

SELKIRKS, ORANGE, NSW
This icon is well known to serious foodies, as well as the lucky people who come to sample Michael Manners’ cooking. The setting is romantic – an elegant, old country house in a pretty garden on one of the gracious streets of Orange, with an air of exclusivity that sets the tone for a special experience.

Michael Manners and partner Josephine Jagger have together created one of Australia’s most famous regional restaurants, moving here because of the fine local produce. Orange has an exceptional climate for fruit and vegetables and other produce from the area includes venison which is some of the best in Australia. Local wine complements the regional flavours and Selkirks selects wine to suit the food with fourteen available by the glass, yet another special feature of this fine dining experience. Michael’s consistent use and promotion of the produce has been invaluable in the growth of the area into a gourmet region.

The menu changes often but venison is a favourite, shown here with a parsley and walnut crust. Other mains from a recent menu include breast of pigeon with a stuffed pigeon leg, crispy prosciutto, peas and broad beans; also slow-roasted ocean trout with thyme and a red wine and mushroom risotto. Expect delicious desserts such as chardonnay poached pear with a toffee syrup or a chocolate, date and walnut torte with nougat ice-cream.
179 Anson Street, Orange, NSW.
Tel: 02 6361 1179.

PLOYS, TUROSS HEADS, NSW
When Barbara and Guenther Ploy left their successful Blue Beat Café in Canberra they were looking for a quieter life. But when they made their plans known to local operators, they were strongly encouraged to open a restaurant to fill a vacant fine-dining niche in this part of the South Coast.

The result is Ploys, a stylish yet relaxed restaurant at Tuross Heads, where Barbara and chef Terry D’Arcy create delicious dishes worth driving a country kilometre for. Barbara’s version of homemade Turkish bread, learned from Ottoman in Canberra, is delicious toasted with Ploys dreamy pate, served with herbed butter, or baked with anchovy or with parmesan and garlic.

Starters at Ploys include oven-roasted Chinese-style duck wrapped in coriander and spring-onion pancakes; prawns served sizzling in olive oil with garlic, chilli and shallot; or homemade Grand Marnier chicken liver, bacon and leek pate with warm toast and red-onion jam.
Mains include slow-cooked lamb shank with pumpkin and pine-nut risotto, fresh rocket and olives; or spaghetti tossed with scallops, prawns, chillies and fresh rocket. Tender locally grown beef might be served with a creamy parmesan mash, plus there’s always a fish of the day and pizzas. Later, you can drift into dessert paradise with a vanilla-bean pannacotta with lime and coconut syrup.
2 Trafalgar Road, Tuross Heads, NSW.
Tel: 02 4473 6203.

DARLEY’S, BLUE MOUNTAINS, NSW
The diverse towns of the Blue Mountains are home to a wide range of restaurants and cafes, but for fine dining, there is one that stands out – Darley’s at Lilianfels Blue Mountains Resort & Spa.

Always luxurious and richly appointed, Darley’s has recently been refurbished so that the covered verandah, perfect for summer dining, can be temporarily glassed in for outdoor dining in winter. With log fires blazing inside, this is a very romantic setting. There’s an intimate bar for a pre-dinner cocktail or glass of bubbly, as well as separate, private dining rooms for up to 12 guests if you want to celebrate with friends.

The restaurant has consistently featured regional produce, specialising in Australian regional country cooking, with uncomplicated dishes and an almost exclusively Australian wine list. Check out entrees such as green-pea and lettuce soup with Champagne-poached oysters; or open ravioli of crab and mascarpone. Main courses include grain-fed tenderloin of beef with goose liver and white-onion puree; lightly smoked duck breast on radicchio risotto, grilled figs and orange glaze; or crisp river salmon on a baby-bean compote.

Vegetarians choose from a specially created separate menu, while dessert lovers can expect treats such as wattleseed pavlova with passionfruit ice-cream; or double-chocolate and butterscotch tart.
Lilianfels Avenue, Katoomba, NSW.
Tel: 02 4780 1200.

NEILA ALL-DAY DINING, COWRA, NSW
Serving up some magic at wooden tables in their long, narrow restaurant are Anna Wong and Jerry Mouzakis, who established the Neila Group in Cowra and began by growing Kalamata olives. They went on to supply Sydney restaurants with delectable morsels such as Chinese red dates and quinces. The couple then opened the restaurant to showcase the produce of the Cowra region. The all-day dining is a bit of a misnomer as the restaurant is only open in the evenings – foodies must book ahead to guarantee a table.

Anna cooks with their own olives, kaffir limes, herbs, olive oil, lemon grass and blood oranges. She also sources local venison, lamb, rabbit, duck, asparagus, figs, berries and hazelnuts.
The starter menu features such treasures as duck pate with spiced cherries; Sechuan pepper-cured venison with green mango salad; and sugar-cured trout, green-tea noodle and Asian-pear salad. Next you might choose the crisp-skinned, slow-cooked duck or squab with salt-and-pepper squid and garlic chive buds; or a salad of caramelised pork, green papaya, lime, cashew nut and jasmine rice.

The dessert menu includes a white-chocolate roulade with passionfruit sauce; or a fresh fig-and-honey semi-fredo with peach caramel. All the ice-cream, as well as the pastas and sauces, are made on the premises. You must book ahead to guarantee a table.
5 Kendal Street, Cowra, NSW.
Tel: 02 6341 2188.

SHAKEY TABLES, LOVEDALE, NSW
Making a name for themselves in the Hunter Valley’s Lovedale region and beyond, Simon and Paula Rengger’s Shakey Tables is all about colourful style and wine, as well as great food.
Paula’s artwork decorates the walls, while her love of colour infuses the restaurant space with a happy vitality. She describes her food as a mixture of modern Australian and European, echoing her Scottish roots and Simon’s Swiss heritage. Simon is also a winemaker and a house wine is produced with grapes grown on the property.

The signature dish is de-boned roast pigeon stuffed with black pudding and prunes, and wrapped in bacon on cabbage parcels. To start with, you might try wild-game ballotine with Iranian figs and orange jus; or foie gras with grapes in sauterne jelly, hazelnut and watercress salad.

As well as the roast pigeon, main courses include crisp-skinned salmon steak with caper mash, anchovy aioli and citrus compote; and seafood sausage rolls, seared scallops, and prawn bisque with pineapple and chilli oil.

Mouth-watering desserts include a rose, lychee and pistachio ice-cream pyramid with Turkish Delight in a rose-scented jus; strawberry meringue stack with white-chocolate coated strawberry ice-cream balls; or Pokolbin white-washed rind cheese with merlot jelly.
Cessnock/Branxton Road, Hunter Valley, NSW.
Tel: 02 4938 1744. Website: www.shakeytables.com.au

Luxury hotels & accommodation NSW

SIMONE’S, BRIGHT, VIC
Patrizia and George Simone choose to live away from the main capitals of Australia delighting customers with their restaurant which is now in a romantic, airy house in the heart of Bright. Patrizia creates her delicious food using local produce to echo the tastes of Perugia in Umbria, where she was born.

Victoria’s Ovens Valley is a gourmet paradise, with produce including local hazelnuts, walnuts, pigeon, rabbit, trout and venison. Natural, strong and clear flavours are foremost in each dish at Simone’s, whether it's the homemade pastas made with George’s mother Maria, or a salad of farm-cured prosciutto with zucchini flower and parmesan dressing. Other dishes include Ovens River trout, boned and stuffed with prawns, ciabatta and herbs, then oven-baked with oil and white wine.

Simone’s antipasto degustation showcases little tastes from the entree menu while, depending on the season, you might find dishes such as locally reared pigeon stuffed with bread and herb mousse, with braised lentils and a grape dressing. An Italian tart filled with local berries, ice-cream and crème anglaise could follow.
98 Gavan Street, Bright, VIC.
Tel: 03 5755 2266.

HEALESVILLE HOTEL, HEALESVILLE, VIC
Awarded a chef’s hat, and winner of the Best Pub Restaurant Wine List of the Year in the 2004 Tucker Seabrook Awards, this restored hotel dates from 1910. It offers stylish dining in the restaurant, which has soaring, pressed-metal ceilings, roaring open fires, twinkling candles and French-style wicker chairs to add to the country atmosphere.

While the menu is full of delicious choices, look out for the specials too, as chef Richard Hauptmann may just have pounced on a sack of fresh yabbies – or any other local treat.
The menu changes each month, and might include just-shucked oysters or local free-range squab and kangaroo. Expect delicious starters, such as zucchini flower fritters with lemon and fetta, served with crème fraîche froth and pine nuts; pan-fried ricotta gnocchi; or potted Buxton trout with Yellingbo yabbies.

Main courses on the menu have recently included crisp-skinned Yarra Valley salmon on Arabic fattouche salad; and pan-seared duck breast, pistachio and duck-neck sausage, with crispy potatoes and beetroot jam. Local produce from the Yarra Valley includes breads; free-range eggs; salads and herbs; fruit; dairy; pork; pasta; game; salmon; chocolate; and even tea-leaves.
256 Maroondah Highway, Healesville, NSW.
Tel: 03 5962 4002.

Luxury hotels & accommodation Victoria

THE VINEYARD CAFÉ, BALLANDEAN, QLD
Peter and Janine Cumming’s cafe is set in an old country church complete with glossy timbers and original stained-glass windows, and surrounded by gardens. This is a place for a warm welcome, generous hospitality and Janine’s delicious food. The carefully chosen wine list features local wines selected to match the food perfectly.

Janine prepares her cuisine from the best seasonal ingredients, often including trout, beef, lamb, berries, asparagus, and stone fruit. The sample menu includes starters such as minestro di pomidoro, an Italian-style soup made with vine-ripened tomatoes and fresh basil from the garden; warm salad of smoked New England trout and crispy leeks; and freshly picked Wybera asparagus with egg ravioli, prosciutto, shaved parmesan and Mt Stirling extra-virgin olive oil.

The choice of mains features local produce such as grass-fed Granite Belt beef fillet individually roasted and served with mixed mushrooms and red-wine sauce; or fresh New England rainbow trout in Ballandean Estate white muscat.

Desserts to tempt might include lemon verbena pannacotta; Ballandean trilogy, a layered dessert with Ballandean Estate sylvaner and fresh raspberry sauce; or slow-roasted, vanilla-scented pears with butterscotch sauce and cardamom ice-cream.
New England Highway, Ballandean, QLD.
Tel: 07 4684 1270.

REEF HOUSE RESTAURANT, PALM COVE,QLD
On a large, covered wooden deck overlooking a palm-lined esplanade and white sandy beach, the Reef House Restaurant has been a favourite with diners for many years. Palm Cove has shot up around it, but executive chef Philip Mitchell makes sure that the boutique style is maintained, sourcing ingredients from local waters, the Atherton Tablelands, and regional markets.

The menu combines Mediterranean, Asian and traditional influences into modern Australian cuisine. The Reef House Restaurant is a popular fine-dining venue for many different occasions, including romantic lunches and dinners for two.

Dishes from a sample dinner menu include mouth-watering entrees such as King Island smoked-cheese souffle; fried calamari with sweet-paprika mayonnaise; pear and young-leaf salad; and salad of Moroccan beef, couscous, dates and spiced yoghurt.

Mains include some delicious combinations of flavours, such as Pappardelle pasta with smoked chicken, courgette, pecan nut, mapled crème fraîche and toasted sesame seeds; or blue swimmer crab spaghettini, with chilli, olive oil, sea salt, lemon, continental parsley, and citrus crumbs. A char-grilled eye steak comes with kipfler potatoes, red-pepper spinach hash, porcini sabayon, and sticky onion sauce; while seared barramundi is served with garlic skordallia, grilled asparagus and creole salsa.

Yummy desserts and cheeses follow, and of course you can linger over coffee and watch the moon shining on the water.
99 Williams Esplanade, Palm Cove, QLD.
Tel: 07 4055 3633.

Luxury hotels & accommodation Queensland

PETALUMA’S BRIDGEWATER MILL, ADELAIDE HILLS, SA
Petaluma’s historic Bridgewater Mill is a multi-award-winning restaurant, offering the definitive vineyard-lunch experience in the Adelaide Hills. The dishes on the contemporary menu by chef Le Tu Thai are matched with a range of wines by Petaluma’s Brian Croser. Le Tu Thai’s cooking is based on a fusion of his Chinese ancestry and his passion for classic French cooking, so you might expect delicious marriages such as oyster-and-leek pie with leek butter, served with a Petaluma chardonnay.

Also on the menu: double-baked gruyere soufflé; Kangaroo Island chicken and grilled-squid salad; pheasant terrine; crayfish tail with crustacean mousseline and truffle cream under a pastry crust; and quail in taro batter with chilli jam and green mango.

For a main course you might choose a venison saddle with scampi; roasted rack of milk-fed lamb; rib of Coorong Angus beef with beetroot and horseradish; or fish of the day. Desserts include molten chocolate pudding with caramelised fig and chocolate ice cream; or coconut pannacotta with mango, banana wafer and palm sugar.

Diners can sit outside overlooking the spectacular waterwheel, which dates back to its days as a flour mill in the 1860s; or inside the elegantly renovated historic building.
Mount Barker Road, Bridgewater, SA.
Tel: 08 8339 3422.

Luxury hotels & accommodation South Australia