• Barley Background
  • Farewell UK
  • Melbourne Magic
  • Restaurant Reviews
  • Guestbook

The Terrace

7/4/2012

0 Comments

 
For our Easter getaway, Steve and I headed to Rutherglen for some fresh country air and some strong wines. Whilst researching the area, it appeared that The Terrace at All Saints Winery was probably the best place to go for fine dining and so we decided to spend the Saturday evening there and took advantage of the free transportation.

Our driver arrived on time and we were shown to our table. Unfortunately I didn't like the location of our table as it was right by the main entrance to the restaurant so it felt a little in the way and there was a draught. I almost asked for another table  but it was just about bearable so kept quiet. Plus after we were seated, service was frantic and it was hard to catch sight of a passing staff member.

It took a while for menus and drinks to be taken care of and we immediately felt that too many of the staff were new or were casual staff called to assist during the holiday weekend as there didn't appear to be anyone in charge or that knew what they were doing.  Later discussions over the rest of the weekend with some Rutherglen locals confirmed this to be true.  There was one lady in charge but early on during our arrival she was waylaid with other things and only became visible towards the end of our meal.

There were times wait staff brought out dishes to the wrong table or weren't able to recommend dishes or advise. When this happens its not really relaxing as I don't feel looked after so on this front we expected more and were disappointed.

We started off with some whipped goats cheese with breadsticks and this took a long time to arrive and it was offered to the table next to us who had already eaten their order of it causing confusion. Finally it made its way to our table. It's not a dish that needs cooking really and its more about sourcing the right produce. The cheese was ok but I didn't find it flavoursome enough. It lacked creaminess, saltiness and sweetness and was too bland. Shame as there are some amazing goats cheeses around and a better job at sourcing them would have been well received.
Onto our entrees. Steve had pancetta wrapped scallops, cauliflower puree and white balsamic dressing. The scallops were sweet enough but the pancetta lacked smokiness and saltiness. The cauliflower puree could have done with going through a seive as it was a bit globby. I ordered quail with salsa verde, beetroot and whipped goats curd. The dish was a little unbalanced in that the greens were very salty yet the salsa verde and quail was bland and tasted unseasoned. The beetroot was underdone and hard which was a shame as the sweetness and earthiness really did give the flavours a good kick.
Main courses fared better. Steve had the Rivalea roasted pork belly with cauliflower puree, caramelized shallots and slaw and I went for twice roasted half duck with estate oranges.

Both dishes were decent. They weren't remarkable but the true flavours of the produce came through and the favour combinations were classic and enjoyable. I think with the duck I can cook to the same standard at least so that took it down a notch. It would have shown more culinary skill or at least impressed me more if the leg had been done roasted and the breast done so that it was still pink whereas in this case the whold half duck was roasted. It still tasted good but like I say, I can do that!

We enjoyed some side dishes, roast potatoes and a salad if I recall correctly and were full enough that we declined dessert. Also the fact that we hadn't been blown away by our meal meant that we weren't curious enough to try anything.

In summary, it was a nice enough meal but this place wouldn't be good enough in Melbourne. There's much less competition in Rutherglen so it can afford to be a bit hit and miss although we struggled to find the hits and it was more along the lines of acceptable.

Terrace Restaurant on Urbanspoon
0 Comments

Pickled Sisters

7/4/2012

1 Comment

 
Picture
During our wine tour in Rutherglen we opted to have lunch at Pickled Sisters with a view that a substantial meal would help soak up all the strong fortifieds and other wines we'd have been sampling.

Four wineries before lunch certainly meant that we needed significant sustenance! A quick tasting at Cofield Winery next door and we settled down to eat.

The café is bistro like - light and airy and given it was Easter Saturday it was buzzing and busy. Waitress service was friendly although food did take its time to come up and after all that wine it meant I almost fell asleep waiting for it!

We shared a plate of fried zucchini flowers with a lentil salad. They looked a little overdone but luckily didn't taste burnt. The batter was almost like a breadcrumb than a batter perhaps a coating of polenta or cornmeal as opposed to batter. The zucchini flowers tasted light and fresh and the crispy coating was crunchy and not greasy. Enjoyed the soft cheese stuffing too. The lentil salad was an interesting contrast to the light flowers as it was strong in earthy flavours with a sharp tang of tomatoes. I think I prefer a sweeter accompaniment and perhaps the more traditional flavour combination of such zucchini flowers with either something lemony or honey. Having said that the salad was very tasty.

I chose the roast rump of Riverina Lamb with Mediterranean herbs and a Tuscan bean ragout. It was a decent rustic plate of food with robust flavours. The lamb was overdone for my tastes but the ragout had some great tomatoey and herby flavours and the lamb itself was of good quality. I enjoyed the heartiness of this dish.

Steve went for crispy skinned fillets of Brimin Lodge Murray Cod on a warm potato salad with crisp prosciutto, mustard mayo and green beans. Again it was rustic looking and a good portion size. The fish could have been crispier. We found the Murray Cod to be quite muddy in flavour so not my preferred fish but apparently this can be the case.

Overall it was a good place for lunch with decent food. I think we'd hoped for more though and our expectations were somewhat higher given the write up in the Good Food Guide. Had we just stumbled across this place without reading about it, I think we would have felt less disappointed.

Pickled Sisters Cafe on Urbanspoon
1 Comment

    Fine Print

    For those that know us, this section will probably come with no surprise! Steve and I love eating out so this is our record of our time in Australia.

    This is a blog that is 100% written and edited by Steve and I. All opinions expressed are our own and are not influenced by any third party.

    Any sponsored posts are easily identified as such.

    Thanks for reading barleyblog.

    Follow @mindabarley
    View my food journey on Zomato!

    Archives

    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010

    Categories

    All
    Albert Park
    American
    Argentinian
    Armadale
    Armenian
    Beaconsfield
    Beechworth
    Birragurra
    Box Hill
    Breakfast
    Bright
    Brighton
    British
    Brunswick
    Buffet
    Burgers And Pub Grub
    Burmese
    Busselton
    Camberwell
    Canberra
    Carlton
    Cbd
    Chinese
    Collingwood
    Daylesford
    Dessert
    Docklands
    Doncaster
    Elsternwick
    Eltham
    Elwood
    Ethiopian
    European
    Filipino
    Fitzroy
    Flemington
    Flinders
    Footscray
    Fremantle
    French
    Fusion
    Geelong
    German
    Glen Waverley
    Greek
    Hawthorn
    Hobart
    Indian
    Indonesian
    Italian
    Japanese
    Kew
    Korean
    Kyneton
    Launceston
    Malaysian
    Margaret River
    Mexican
    Middle Eastern
    Mildura
    Modern Australian
    Mornington Peninsula
    Northcote
    North Melbourne
    Port Fairy
    Port Melbourne
    Prahran
    Richmond
    Ripponlea
    Rutherglen
    Southbank
    South Melbourne
    South Yarra
    Spanish
    Steakhouse
    St Kilda
    Sydney
    Thai
    Thornbury
    Toorak
    Torquay
    Vietnamese
    Werribee
    Williamstown
    Windsor
    Yarra Valley
    Yum Cha

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.