La Petanque - Main Ridge, Mornington Peninsula

When looking for some where new to lunch or dine on the Mornington Peninsula you never have to look too far. There are so many very good and even high quality feeding stations, almost choking this long stretch of land, choosing is a chore. Once you chore is completed you should be able to enjoy your spoils of choice.

So the wife and I set out on a sojourn to Main Ridge to partake of the culinary pleasures at La Petanque. And yes there is a game of Petanque already setup for you to play should you so desire. Not for me I’m here for the food. On reflection the game may have been more satisfying. La Petanque tout their food as “contemporary French cuisine”. This is all very fine and where price for lunch is not an issues we should indulge from time to time.  Satisfaction and disappointment are two sides of the fine dinning coin. You never know which side is going to come up on a $69 toss.

For our credit card swipe we were served two courses. For me entree and main and the wife main and desert. We shared entree and dessert.  Three “punched-out” scallops (no foot) with a smear of source is a tolerable entree. My main was Lamb which I found just a little chewy but a reasonable portion. Side vegetables were delicious. When the coin landed at the end of the toss disappointment glared. My wife’s “fish” was two tiny strips of whiting.  If the fisheries officers had been present they would have thrown it back in. It was just too smaller serve. Four strips would have made the coin toss unnecessary. Two is gouging.

The wine list is 3” thick, looks like a wedding album and contains what appears to be hundreds of wines. I enjoyed a Stumpy Gully sav. blanc. Lovely florals and a nice full bodied flavour. Dessert of the day was fig. Four small pieces of fig on a biscuit base. The ice cream was French Earl Grey and was delicious. Dessert would be fine for one but we shared.

Service was exquisite and the surroundings delightful though the grounds are crude. None of these you can eat and eating you feel like when strolling back to your car. I glanced at the Petanque balls all ready for a game. I thought “no” I lost at one game today by drawing tails of the pleasure coin. You maybe more luckier in the toss than I. Good luck if you play the game.

Revisit: On a re-visit to La Petanque I was very pleasantly surprised. We had an excellent three course dinner with friends. The food was absolutely delicious and the evening was thoroughly enjoyable. I would recommend you try it for yourself. If you had an experience like ours you are in for a real treat.