01 August 2008
Rita Erlich
Dunkeld, Victoria, Australia.
+61 3 5577 2241.
Fly, drive or hitchhike if necessary to find your way. Thoughtful, delicious cooking in a beautiful and considered setting – at the foot of the Grampians, with revegetated surroundings and vegetable gardens and orchards that provide much of the produce. This is pastoral country, so the beef and lamb are excellent, and freshly picked vegetables and herbs taste superb. Chef Dan Hunter has a finely honed contemporary sense of flavours (smoked tuna broth with baby shoots and wafers of radish), textures (dehydrated olives are mixed with polenta for crumbs over free-range chicken with zucchini flowers), and presentation. Try à la carte, a five-course dinner or full degustation with or without matched wines. The wine list alone is worth the journey.
Open: dinner Tue-Sat (hotel bar daily for lunch and dinner). Licensed. Mains $36-$42.
Source: Qantas The Australian Way May 2008
Updated: August 2008