Highland Heritage – Highland Lodge Meets Swiss Chalet?

A post from No Experts Australian Correspondent

We turned up at Highland Heritage at 1:20pm, amazed to be greeted by a sign that said the restaurant was closed! Quite a shock at 1:20pm on a Sunday afternoon. On popping onto the Railway carriage which Highland Heritage uses as  a Cellar Door, we were advised to go in and ask, because some other customers had just gone inside! We decided to have a try, and were rewarded with a window table with lovely views of the vineyard.

The restaurant itself had the interior design that was somewhat of a cross between a Highland Lodge and Alpine Chalet! The venue specialises in Weddings and other functions, however the food was fairly decent. Our starters of Crab Ravioli with Prawns had good flavour and the prawns were well cooked but the crab stuffing in ravioli was slightly dry.  Scallops and Chorizo were well balanced, however the Chorizo had been chopped so thickly, that it made it quite difficult to chew. Main courses were much better, with a lovely piece of Angus Sirloin and soft well cooked duck.

We skipped desert, as the road to Sydney beckoned.  A  nice enough place, but I don’t think we’d go out of our way to go back, especially in light of the number of fine dining restaurants in the Orange region.

Marks out of 10

Food 4.6

Service 4.2

Ambience 5

 

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Mon Vinic – Serious about wines (Closed)

It is good to have local knowledge, we certainly would not have known about Mon Vinic without it.

Mon Vinic is more than just a stylish wine bar and restaurant. The emphasis here is firmly on the wine, which is selected via PC Tablet that breaks it down by Country, Grape and cost. For the techies out there the OS was Microsoft and it crashed while the waitress was showing us how to use it.

We went here at short notice, so did not manage to get a table in the restaurant. Instead with had Tapas in the bar area opposite the glass box that forms the not so private dinning area, so we were able to get a good feel for the place.

The Tapas selection is small, we ordered a selection of cheese and meat and some beautifully cooked cuttlefish crockets, accompanied by a glass of Au Bon Climat, Santa Maria Valley AVA, Pinot Noir 2004 and Aldonia, DOC Rioja. La Dama 2005.

We then ordered dessert, a mixed chocolate dish and a banana and coconut concoction (very pina colada), with a half glass of Emilio Lustau Pedro Ximenez (more than enough off this rich raisony sherry) and a glass of Bodegas Pedro Luis Martinez DO Jumilla. Monastrell Alceno, 2004

It’s so easy to visualize Nils and Frazer sitting in the glass box sipping fine wines, with Roz and Daphne sitting at the Bar chating up the waiters.

Next time we will plan ahead and get a table in the popular restaurant.

UPDATE 2020 – Closed

 

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What’s coming in September.

More posts on top London destination restaurants this month, including

and lots more posts from our Australian correspondent, covering some interesting venues down under including a couple of the fine dining restaurants in Orange NSW, an area known for its Restaurants, Vineyards and Farmers Markets.

Texture – feeling a bit rough!!

Birthday lunch at Texture – rather over did it, going for champagne cocktails, tasting menu and matching wines, cheese board and more wine. The Food was of a high standard and the Wines were all very, very good. Maybe a little too good as I definitely suffered for my overindulgence later that day. This level of fine dining comes at a cost (physically and financially), next time definitely going for the very reasonable set lunch at £22.00.

The menu we had included a delicious Heritage Tomato (or Heirloom Tomato as they are known in the US) salad, my favorite Texture dish – Anjou Pigeon with, sweetcorn and bacon popcorn, a rather moorish Icelandic Cod dish and a very refreshing Strawberry Textures Moscatel sabayon.

The presentation and menu choices included in the Tasting Menu were not as effective as those on our earlier visit (see Texture – something good from Iceland),  but eating at Texture is certainly a pleasure. Looking forward to returning in the not too distant future.

 

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Acontraluz

Acontraluz is part of the successful Grupo Tragaluz. It’s situated in a pretty suburban area near Sarria and far enough off the beaten track not to be mistaken for a tourist destination. We have been here several times over the years for lunch.

It’s a pleasant, relaxing venue. You would normally need to book as it is popular with the well healed locals. It’s also not the easiest place to find.

Marks out of 10

Food 5

Service 5

Ambience 5.4

Update : August 2012 : What have they done with their web site – very weird : – Acontraluz

 

 

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The Landmark – Champagne brunch in the Winter Garden

OK so it is still Summer, but champagne brunch in the Winter Garden at The Landmark Hotel is just too good to resist.

It’s 3 hours of non stop champagne and access to an extensive buffet containing a wide variety of lovely dishes.

You can go for breakfast, perhaps have an omelette from the Omelette station, or go for  typical brunch dishes like Eggs Benedict. There was also a lovely fish pie, lots of salmon dishes, and a really good range of sea food and sushi.   If you prefer Lunch to Brunch, you also have soups and roasts.

For those of us with a sweet tooth, this place is an absolute delight, as there is no skimping on the dessert selection either.  Desserts included a chocolate fountain, sorbets and ice cream, tarlets, fruit and cakes off all sorts.  I especially loved the marmalade meringues and the cup cakes.

In fact to really appreciate what’s on offer here, it is best to make this the only meal of the day.

The venue is lovely too.

This has to be one of the best brunch spots in London.

Marks out of 10

Food 7

Service 7

Ambience 7

 

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