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

Mercato@Daylesford

24/4/2011

2 Comments

 
Picture
Mercato is probably our favourite restaurant in Daylesford and the one we would return to should we re visit this town.

Funnily enough the B&B owners say it is better than the Lake House too. It's not better because it outranks in food; it's more about the overall experience but I'll get onto that as we progress.

Once again we were slightly early for our table and expected to wait in the bar but we were shown to our window table instead.

Our waitress was lovely; very personable and friendly. She recognised as being from teh North of England and it turns out she is from Manchester but has been in Australia for ten years now and has no trace of UK accent any more.

The one blip in the service is we asked to speak to a sommelier for some wine guidance to go with the degustation menu and no one appeared or wanted to speak to us so we made our own choice and told our waitress who apologised profusely but it as hardly her fault. Anyway our choice of wine was out of stock so she returned with a different bottle that was more expensive but sold to us at the lower price so all was good with the world. It was a bit strange to replace what we ordered, a riesling with a chardonnay but admittedly the chardonnay did go very well with the first few courses.

The amuse bouche, we felt was a bold choice as it was a raw oyster with salmon caviar and a red onion salsa. Rich, salty and reminiscent of the sea with a chewable consistency unlike the cheap watery oysters that sometimes appear on menus.

Next up was seared fillet of ‘Tuki’ trout on a fennel and leek risotto with sautéed spinach and a beurre noisette. I don't like fennel but this was good. Really good piece of fish with a light and tasty risotto. Very similar to the food at our favourite restaurant back home, Artisan. In fact as the courses came in, that familiarity resonated so perhaps this association explains why Mercato is our favourite in Daylesford.
Steve's favourite dish of the weekend came next; roasted fillet of pork on a cauliflower puree with seared Bass Strait scallops, caramelised apple cider glaze & baby herbs. The pork was tender and juicy and the sweetness of the apple running through was really refreshing.

One of my favourite dishes followed the pork; seared quail on a warm salad of ‘Istra’ bacon lardons, shallots, chestnuts, endive and finished with a raspberry vinegar jus. We were given little finger bowls so a sure sign to get stuck in with our hands. The quail was just so tasty and gnawing all the meat off those little bones was a delight. The sharpness of the raspberry vinegar made the whole dish taste a lot less rich and filling.
As the photos appear side by side, it strikes me how alike the dishes look in colours and textures. However flavours of each dish were individual and memorable in their own right.
Seared fillet of kangaroo with sautéed cavolo nero, roasted parsnip, cocotte potatoes and a red wine ju reminded us of the gamey taste of meats in South Africa. We've had kangaroo whilst in Australia but this dish was far superior. The meat was tender and soft and as a non parsnip eater I managed two bits as the sweetness of the root vegetable was a nice complementary flavour.

The final meat course was roasted loin of central highlands venison of truffle infused polenta and wilted rocket. Again meat of an excellent quality with some good flavoursome accompaniments - a classic combination that never goes out of fashion.

Pre dessert palate cleanser was refreshing green apple sorbet then Steve had baked apple crumble with almonds, local honey, currants and a spiced rhubarb sorbet and I opted for the kaffir lime infused crème brulee and crisp almond bread. My creme brulee had the perfect consistency with not egginess or scrambled egg effect beneath the sugar top. The sugar had that great snap effect as the surface was cracked with the teaspoon.

Dessert was probably the course that wasn't as great as the others. Passable but not wonderful.

We loved the vibe of Mercato; cosy and like someone's living room much like Artisan back home but on a much bigger scale. We loved the service there; friendly and efficient with smiles a plenty and the food was the type of food we enjoy. Good quality ingredients cooked well with respect and love.

Mercato @ daylesford on Urbanspoon
2 Comments
Angel
23/5/2011 04:40:30 pm

Have been to Mercato twice. I enjoyed the food on my first visit....however on the second visit... we were seated in an area from where I had a good view of the kitchen and chefs...As a chef myself, I was shocked to see them use their hands to put food items onto plates to be reheated. Are disposable gloves that expensive? On to the meal...the chicken was great...but the sword fish was raw!!!! and had to be sent back. On a positive note, the staff were wonderful and friendly

Reply
windows8problems.com link
29/7/2013 10:14:09 pm

Mercato is my favorite restaurant too. They have the best desserts in the locality. Their specialty is that they offer the best and affordable foods with awesome customer service. They have a wide variety of oyster recipes. Thanks for sharing your views.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    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.