It's always a delight when you stumble, unexpectedly, on a restaurant tucked away in the woods, almost undetectable. Though this positioning is not good for business it does make the discovery and subsequent dinning experience all that more exciting. Heritage 3059 Restaurant is just a quaint find, off the road and opposite the Balnarring shops. It looks heritage listed and once inside you get the feel you have just walked into a country pub. It is as much a pub as a restaurant with a good selection imported beers on tap and a wine list well supporting local growers.
Through the week there is a staff of one so service is very personal. The kitchen is open and meal can be had. Your personal waiter will ensure your time in the restaurant is enjoyable. There is a big bar and drinks on the deck, on a warm night, would be most enjoyable. The menu has good choices and a wide range of food selections. I went for the pasta with olives. Most of the time you can count your olive allotment on one hand. Not at Heritage. The meal was large, extremely flavoursome and a stack of gorgeous olives. I could find no fault with the meal. It was perfect and a Fat Yak from the tap just boosted the experience. Make that two Fat Yaks for the fat diner.
Meals are not expensive. The surrounds could be described as: warm, quaint, country (complete with log fire) and friendly. Low level easy listening music immersed you in a tube of warm enjoyment. With the smell of freshly cooked pasta, punctuated by salty olives and the swill of a good beer this is about as good as it gets. And at a price anyone can afford. Stumbling on Heritage 3059 is a trip you must take.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Thursday, June 2, 2011
The Briers - Mount Matha
One thing the Mornington Peninsula is endowed with is big open spaces of land. Some times paddock stretch as far as the eye can see. Vineyards, farms, horse stables, parks, reserves and estates are numerous all the way down the Peninsula. One reserve\estate and restaurant is The Biers at Mount Matha. This restaurant is part of a very old and rambling estate\farm which appears to go on and on for acres. You need a cut lunch to get you to the main restaurant because the drive to it, on the estate, is so long.
Perched up high on a hill, over looking most of the estate is a cluster of old farm buildings. They are rustic but plain. Attached to the main building is an al fresco easting area. This very pleasant area at one time was probably just a modern undercover area attached to the side of the original building. Now being closed in and light and airy it makes for a delightful dining experience. A great place for a wedding or engagement. With beautiful and expansive grounds surrounding the restaurant area this location is secluded yet open.
So what of the food? The service firstly was very good. Plenty of staff to take drink orders and obey your every wish. The host himself was friendly and chatty. Beers and wines are well represented on the drinks list with better than average support for local brewers and growers. The Main Menu had good choices and the large table of friends I sat with had a lot of trouble deciding between some excellent sounding dishes. The food matches the mouth watering descriptions laid out in print, no one on my table complained about their meal.
But the Briers is more than just food and drink. Though a little spares in yesteryear structures and oddments it is well worth a walk around the grounds. There are many areas to this huge estate. I kept my wandering to the hilly restaurant area. The main building has a bar and a big open area which is being use as an art gallery. I would well image if a wedding was held here this area would become the dance area, though tables and chairs setup here would make for a quaint old world celebrational experience.
You would think this place perfect. I have not bitched about anything yet. As with most places of public eating and entertaining there is always a chink in the armour of an otherwise perfect setting. So here it is. The toilets are shared with non-dining folk and are not only outside but a short walk through an open area. If it is raining, as it was on the day we visited, you get wet. And the dunnies are basic, partially open to the weather and cold. Don't sit, just stand or hover.
This is a place you must visit. The fine food and excellent selection of thirst quenchers may be the draw card but the sheer size of this once prodigious estate has to be seen to be believed. If you don't want to layout for a meal in the restaurant bring a picnic and join the working class. Feed the ducks or water foul, enjoy the big open expanses or walk off a few hundred kilojoules. You can do it all here. This end of it is free. So grab it.
Revisit; I recently when back to the Briers for lunch. It has changed hands. The new owner said it was a little run down when they took it on. The dinning area looks tied and a little dirty. To the the sound of a staff members crying child in the reception area I ordered both entree and main. The entree was Dukka and a hot white roll with oil and salt. The Dukka was very nice, the bread roll a little ordinary. To the sound of the same child now bouncing a hard ball on a echoing wooden floor I eat my Beef Wellington. The meat was dry and a little over-cooked, the sauce barely had any taste but the greens OK. Service was OK also and the view pleasant from the dinning area.
The Briers may have had its day. I was hoping for a quiet steak lunch, I was disappointed on both counts. Try coffee and cake but seriously dine elsewhere. Sorry guys, you will have to do a lot better. And organised a baby sitter. The wining, crying child and continuous ball bouncing in the reception was awfully off-putting.
Perched up high on a hill, over looking most of the estate is a cluster of old farm buildings. They are rustic but plain. Attached to the main building is an al fresco easting area. This very pleasant area at one time was probably just a modern undercover area attached to the side of the original building. Now being closed in and light and airy it makes for a delightful dining experience. A great place for a wedding or engagement. With beautiful and expansive grounds surrounding the restaurant area this location is secluded yet open.
So what of the food? The service firstly was very good. Plenty of staff to take drink orders and obey your every wish. The host himself was friendly and chatty. Beers and wines are well represented on the drinks list with better than average support for local brewers and growers. The Main Menu had good choices and the large table of friends I sat with had a lot of trouble deciding between some excellent sounding dishes. The food matches the mouth watering descriptions laid out in print, no one on my table complained about their meal.
But the Briers is more than just food and drink. Though a little spares in yesteryear structures and oddments it is well worth a walk around the grounds. There are many areas to this huge estate. I kept my wandering to the hilly restaurant area. The main building has a bar and a big open area which is being use as an art gallery. I would well image if a wedding was held here this area would become the dance area, though tables and chairs setup here would make for a quaint old world celebrational experience.
You would think this place perfect. I have not bitched about anything yet. As with most places of public eating and entertaining there is always a chink in the armour of an otherwise perfect setting. So here it is. The toilets are shared with non-dining folk and are not only outside but a short walk through an open area. If it is raining, as it was on the day we visited, you get wet. And the dunnies are basic, partially open to the weather and cold. Don't sit, just stand or hover.
This is a place you must visit. The fine food and excellent selection of thirst quenchers may be the draw card but the sheer size of this once prodigious estate has to be seen to be believed. If you don't want to layout for a meal in the restaurant bring a picnic and join the working class. Feed the ducks or water foul, enjoy the big open expanses or walk off a few hundred kilojoules. You can do it all here. This end of it is free. So grab it.
Revisit; I recently when back to the Briers for lunch. It has changed hands. The new owner said it was a little run down when they took it on. The dinning area looks tied and a little dirty. To the the sound of a staff members crying child in the reception area I ordered both entree and main. The entree was Dukka and a hot white roll with oil and salt. The Dukka was very nice, the bread roll a little ordinary. To the sound of the same child now bouncing a hard ball on a echoing wooden floor I eat my Beef Wellington. The meat was dry and a little over-cooked, the sauce barely had any taste but the greens OK. Service was OK also and the view pleasant from the dinning area.
The Briers may have had its day. I was hoping for a quiet steak lunch, I was disappointed on both counts. Try coffee and cake but seriously dine elsewhere. Sorry guys, you will have to do a lot better. And organised a baby sitter. The wining, crying child and continuous ball bouncing in the reception was awfully off-putting.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
DOC - Main Street Mornington
Where DOC Mornington is now, some run-down old buildings were. These had no place in Toorak's southern campus: Mornington. Now with million $ apartments above and on the ground floor a gastophile experience no hard core diner could prepare for. DOC is in Main Street Mornington down the salt water end. It is just over the road from Brass Razoo.
A modern up-market, up-beat restaurant which "spits" Italian in your face. The food is Italian, the goods (sold in-shop) are Italian, the waiters are Italian the music is CRAP! Let's get the yucky bits over and done with first. Try sitting in a knockout Italian restaurant, in a prime Mornington location, waited on by gorgeous young Italian men, eating traditional Italian food and listening to techno crap up loud. YUCK!! Did I put you off this place, please don't let me. Now for the nice bits.
The decor of the restaurant is modern. The kitchen is within sight of most customers. I like the feeling of knowing where my food is coming from. The restaurant is as much about preparing and server food as it is about selling it. The range and variations of food products sold is beyond description. But think imported Italian. Go to the "store" and take a look for yourself and while you're there, have a meal.
My wife and I ordered pizza. This is served as a genuine Italian pizza which most Australian men describe as too thin. Pizza is meant to be a thin dry crust with a smattering of spicy, aromatic ingredients. NOT TWO INCHES OF HAM AND A SHIT LOAD OF OTHER INGREDIENTS. Sorry I feel strongly about this. Unfortunately this genuine style Italian pizza needed a nappy change. The base was far too wet. Not only my pizza but other pizza lovers suffered the same fate. A dry crispy base please. Mine was the mushrooms and truffle oil. A great pizza spoiled by a wet ass!
Service is good but you will find yourself shouting above the noise of other customers and techo-crap-rap-syncopated-noise competing with conversing humans. How about some soft jazz, Italian style music or NONE! Oh, I said I would get the yucky parts over first. Wines are good but not a huge selection. Beer, Peroni of course.
A modern up-market, up-beat restaurant which "spits" Italian in your face. The food is Italian, the goods (sold in-shop) are Italian, the waiters are Italian the music is CRAP! Let's get the yucky bits over and done with first. Try sitting in a knockout Italian restaurant, in a prime Mornington location, waited on by gorgeous young Italian men, eating traditional Italian food and listening to techno crap up loud. YUCK!! Did I put you off this place, please don't let me. Now for the nice bits.
The decor of the restaurant is modern. The kitchen is within sight of most customers. I like the feeling of knowing where my food is coming from. The restaurant is as much about preparing and server food as it is about selling it. The range and variations of food products sold is beyond description. But think imported Italian. Go to the "store" and take a look for yourself and while you're there, have a meal.
My wife and I ordered pizza. This is served as a genuine Italian pizza which most Australian men describe as too thin. Pizza is meant to be a thin dry crust with a smattering of spicy, aromatic ingredients. NOT TWO INCHES OF HAM AND A SHIT LOAD OF OTHER INGREDIENTS. Sorry I feel strongly about this. Unfortunately this genuine style Italian pizza needed a nappy change. The base was far too wet. Not only my pizza but other pizza lovers suffered the same fate. A dry crispy base please. Mine was the mushrooms and truffle oil. A great pizza spoiled by a wet ass!
Service is good but you will find yourself shouting above the noise of other customers and techo-crap-rap-syncopated-noise competing with conversing humans. How about some soft jazz, Italian style music or NONE! Oh, I said I would get the yucky parts over first. Wines are good but not a huge selection. Beer, Peroni of course.
Go there, be knocked-out by the sheer mass of product held within the store, try the food and the young Italian men and decide for yourself. Book though, many love it already. DOC or not? You decide.
Note: My wife re-visited here with a group
of friends and had an awful experience.It was noisy and the piazzas were
embarrassing. Try it yourself. Some of our very respected friends love
it here and go regularly so it may just be us. But I doubt it.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Montalto - Red Hill Morington Peninsula
This would be one of the few restaurant/wineries I have been to where I really did feel like I was in another country. Montalto is a massive estate combining open outdoor eating, alfresco, wine tasting, indoor fine dining and an extensive sculpture park. Once I sat at our out door table, amongst the vegetables and herbs we were about to be served, I just had this over-whelming feeling I was in the south of France or Tuscany region Italy.
We secured a table early (11am) by putting coats on the table (there is no booking, be early) and ventured into the tasting room. There was many whites and reds ready to sacrifice themselves on your pallet. And try all five of the olive oils and olives. I settled on a Sav blanc and my wife a Pinot. Back to the tables for lunch.
You need your imagination to picture sitting "in" a veggie and herb garden of glorious colours and smells. There is no other word for it. You "smell" curry sage and fresh green, healthy looking veggies in very much a provincial French setting. You are in another country and you are looking across many acres of rolling vines of green and brown coloured from autumn's icy touch. Your vista vanishes into the rolling hills beyond the valley. Mist veils the vines and the hills themselves are capped. Big white brollies provide some shade from the odd sprinkle of rain or hot sun.
Pizza is very much the selection for the outdoor diner. And though the pizzas were satisfactory they are not mind shattering. The selection of olives we had prior to the pizza were delicious. You must try the olives. Once fed and watered take the walk through the sculpture park. The trek is steep and stony. Take a pair of walkers for the culture tour. Don't miss the art, some is excellent.
As a complete package Montalto is hard to beat. My wife and I have been to France and Italy and the Montalto experience is as close as you will get to country Europe. If you sit indoors you will miss the smells, the cent and sense that you are somewhere else. In the herb garden your body may be an hour from home but your heart and mind will be in another land. Travel there.
We secured a table early (11am) by putting coats on the table (there is no booking, be early) and ventured into the tasting room. There was many whites and reds ready to sacrifice themselves on your pallet. And try all five of the olive oils and olives. I settled on a Sav blanc and my wife a Pinot. Back to the tables for lunch.
You need your imagination to picture sitting "in" a veggie and herb garden of glorious colours and smells. There is no other word for it. You "smell" curry sage and fresh green, healthy looking veggies in very much a provincial French setting. You are in another country and you are looking across many acres of rolling vines of green and brown coloured from autumn's icy touch. Your vista vanishes into the rolling hills beyond the valley. Mist veils the vines and the hills themselves are capped. Big white brollies provide some shade from the odd sprinkle of rain or hot sun.
Pizza is very much the selection for the outdoor diner. And though the pizzas were satisfactory they are not mind shattering. The selection of olives we had prior to the pizza were delicious. You must try the olives. Once fed and watered take the walk through the sculpture park. The trek is steep and stony. Take a pair of walkers for the culture tour. Don't miss the art, some is excellent.
As a complete package Montalto is hard to beat. My wife and I have been to France and Italy and the Montalto experience is as close as you will get to country Europe. If you sit indoors you will miss the smells, the cent and sense that you are somewhere else. In the herb garden your body may be an hour from home but your heart and mind will be in another land. Travel there.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Crown Promenade - Melbourne
I have stayed at the Crown Promenade on a number of occasions and have always found it a great experience at a reasonable price. What I call reasonable and you call reasonable may vary immensely. It is definitely affordable at $375.00 a night including the best breakfast you will ever have and valet parking.
Situated at the beginning of Whiteman Street just a few minutes’ walk from South Bank you may not be on the strip but you are so close you can smell it. Rooms are spacious and extremely well appointed. No you don’t get the marble bath in the basic rooms as you do in Crown towers but the bathroom is more than big enough and well appointed. No there is no TV over the bath as in Crown Towers but there is a big screen TV at the foot of the bed.
I arrived just after 12pm on my last stay and was asked if a room with a bay view from the 12th floor was suitable. And if it was I could move in right away. BAY VIEW ON THE 12TH FLOOR. Yes thank you. Generally check-in is from 2pm but if a room is ready from 12pm on, it’s yours. Late check-out at 11am. Check-in was quick and painless and right from the moment I arrived in the car the staff were out to please. Yes I’m paying for it but the staff are serious about good service. But in a fun way.
I ventured into Melbourne for lunch and had a delightful meal (scallop risotto and a house white) in Hardware Lane with my son. Then back to the room to bask in the tranquillity and opulence. I have to admit I’m a would-be-if-I-could-be-but I-can’t-be although I can enjoy the Promenade. To avoid the sting of the Promenade’s costly wines from the mini-bar I selected a very nice red from a bottle shop near the bottom of Queens Street. A red, a shower and a read on a king size bed with 180 degree bay views. Love’n it.
Of course there are the usual shampoos and soaps but a small tube of tooth paste would have been nice. Plenty of towels, a well stocked mini-bar a stunning view of the bay and city and all the mod-cons. It just needs you to make the stay perfect and perfect it was.
Due to rain I ate at the Mesh Restaurant in the Promenade. I almost need another blog entry to describe what I ate, how good it was and how much I ate (guilty). The floor manager came over on a few occasions to ask if I needed anything. They do care. Breakfast had me back in the Mesh Restaurant for some more gastronomic indulgence. Service, food, wine, ambiance, class, distinction, location-the Crown Promenade has it all. Spoil yourself and do it often and make sure you feel guilty when you leave the restaurant. With all you can eat and an extensive choice of beautiful food, I did both times. Guilty!
Monday, April 18, 2011
Pelican - St. Kilda
After a night at an exhibition in Melbourne my wife convinced me to drop by St Kilda and take tapas and a drink at Pelican, 16 Fitzroy St. St. Kilda . Cathy had dropped in here once before and said I would like it. I was not prepared for the spices and delights which awaited me. Pelican is a modern wine bar/hotel but is just a little tied and needs a freshen-up. Though modern it is quite cosy inside and also has some very nice outdoor, on the street, dining and wining areas. Smokers gather here so if you don't like the smell of smoke, stay indoors. There are lots of nice areas to sit so things aren't all that bad.
We arrived late, about 10pm, but this was no problem for the staff. All service is at the table and within minutes I had glorious drinking Belgium beer and my wife a Cab-Merlot. We ordered three tapas and though the waitress felt we needed a forth, three turned out to be perfect. The tapas consisted of a potatoes in paprika, Moroccan meat balls and a mushrooms dish. Diced potatoes in paprika, who would have thought? This dish was divine, and had me ambush the chef to identify the spice. The meat balls were, as was the potatoes, lightly spiced and yummy. So too the mushrooms. The whole three dished were very enjoyable. I want to do it again!
Service is excellent and the staff friendly, including the ambushed chef. The music, for a pleasant change, was modern and thankfully not techno, dance, trance, rap or electric crap as can be served up far too loud by far more expensive eating houses. How you are meant to enjoy food and conversations in some bars and restaurant with loud inappropriate music playing is beyond me. But not at Pelican. The music just added to an excellent experience and a great late night chill-out. Not expensive and extremely enjoyable. Fly in or drop by.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Beretta's Hotel - Langwarrin
The term "pub meal" is used quite a lot in the Australian language with reference to food quality. It is quite often a derogatory term. Because the basic "pub" meal is just that: basic! But can one hotel/pub stand out and shine when a lot of the others serve just plain bad food. By the way I don't consider a Chicken Parmigiana a rare delicacy.
Lucky for me the Langwarrin Hotel or Berettas is just down the road. The meals at the "langy" are better than the pub meals you will receive at other local hotels in the area. They are restaurant quality. Not fine dining at a pub price but good tasting and good size. To top it all off the service is very good to, pleasant and friendly. The nice part about the langy is the kids free area. This allows a couple of adults to dine and wine away from children. The langy is a family hotel but does provide for those who want a quiet meal, away from children and some of the noise.
They have a huge kids area, sports bar, smoking area, pokes room, decking area and general bistro. Brekky at the langy is not to be missed. Beretta's really tries to have areas dedicated to all requirements. The beer on tap is limited so big beer aficionados may not find strange brews on tap but many a bottle is held on the cool. Kids drinks are also well catered for. Wines, reds and whites are a plenty and at bar prices so it is not hard to have a cheap and enjoyable night at the Langy on minimal cash. I drink Fat Yak which is rather pricey but is very nice and on tap.
I drop in for the fettuccine carbonara and my wife the salt and pepper sqid. Many other nice meals are available so most tastes are catered for. In fact I would not be surprised if the langy does not cater for all tastes. Even yours.
Revisit: Back many times for great meals and drinks. Today fried squid, excellent and plenty on the plate.
Lucky for me the Langwarrin Hotel or Berettas is just down the road. The meals at the "langy" are better than the pub meals you will receive at other local hotels in the area. They are restaurant quality. Not fine dining at a pub price but good tasting and good size. To top it all off the service is very good to, pleasant and friendly. The nice part about the langy is the kids free area. This allows a couple of adults to dine and wine away from children. The langy is a family hotel but does provide for those who want a quiet meal, away from children and some of the noise.
They have a huge kids area, sports bar, smoking area, pokes room, decking area and general bistro. Brekky at the langy is not to be missed. Beretta's really tries to have areas dedicated to all requirements. The beer on tap is limited so big beer aficionados may not find strange brews on tap but many a bottle is held on the cool. Kids drinks are also well catered for. Wines, reds and whites are a plenty and at bar prices so it is not hard to have a cheap and enjoyable night at the Langy on minimal cash. I drink Fat Yak which is rather pricey but is very nice and on tap.
I drop in for the fettuccine carbonara and my wife the salt and pepper sqid. Many other nice meals are available so most tastes are catered for. In fact I would not be surprised if the langy does not cater for all tastes. Even yours.
Revisit: Back many times for great meals and drinks. Today fried squid, excellent and plenty on the plate.
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