millbrook winery

disappointing. having been tomillbrooknumerous times before, i decided to take my visitor from victoria for lunch. as always, the view was spectacular and our table by the window perfect. we ordered the tasting plate for entre, as it featured fresh marron - a rare treat for my guest. as the plates were served, we were informed that they had run out of marron and it had been replaced with swordfish. i stated that we had selected this entrée due to the inclusion of marron, but we were not asked if we would like to choose an alternative dish. given that our booking was at 12.30 on a week day and there were few other diners, i wondered why they had run out of marron and why we had not been advised prior to the dish being served. the swordfish was dry and overcooked and the remaining 'tastes' were boring and uninspired. thankfully, the mains were tasty, although both dishes were far too salty.

went along on a no waste monday ($50 per person share plates) for lunch. this place is delightful, beautiful scenery, lovely friendly staff and the chef came out to present each dish. we went 30 mins early to a wine tasting which was unhurried and informative - the sauv blanc and viognier were fabulous.

what did we get for $50? shared appetisers: fresh plucked sweet peas, house made cottage cheese, crackers. delightful. the peas were so sweet and the cottage cheese cool and savoury. my partner’s favourite dish.

smoked mullet from mandurah with fennel and spring onion. this was tasty and the smoked flavour was prevalent. beautiful knife skills.

wagin duck hearts with orange jam. my favourite dish. the hearts were fried to blushing red, juicy and covered in a lovely crispy five spice mixture. duck goes well with fruit, but i didn’t even need the jam, they were that good.

wagin guinea fowl breast with grain salad and local honey. i’ve never had guinea fowl before, it was a tad dry but well seasoned with crisp skin, and the salad was delicious - sweet, warm, savoury with a hint of spice.

berkshire cross pork with pepper stuffed with rice and raisins. this pork was sooooo good. super moist, savoury with a seared crust. i’m thinking it was cured or brined before. yum yum. my normally veggie-preferring partner stole some of mine, it was that good. the pepper was stuffed with a seasoned rice and raisin mix, was a great accompaniment.

main course - a huge plate of confit chicken leg, roasted breast, fried wings (in the five spice mix that the duck hearts came in), beef rib, potato, foraged mushrooms, carrots. this was lovely, a wonderful array of flavours and textures. my only gripe was that the chicken leg was overbrined so it was too salty.

dessert - mascarpone parfait with mandarin curd and cinnamon toast. mmmmm there were brûlée on top of the parfait, which gave it a brilliant crunch. the mandarin curd was ok, i think it’s because i’m not a huge fan of mandarin rather than any technical issues with the curd. my partner liked it.

looking around most tables were getting the same dishes but with varying portions and ratios of meats in the main course depending on the number of diners (due to it being no waste monday!). we left very full and very happy.

i do recommend this place highly, it’s a champion of reducing food waste and food miles and sustainable eating (the veggies, honey and evoo we’re grown or made on premises.

well donemillbrookteam, we’ll be back.

i’ve been wistfully daydreaming for the best part of a decade that one day i’d enjoy a long lunch, glass of wine in hand, in the lakeside restaurantmillbrookwinery. to be fair, i don’t have a particularly good reason why i hadn’t made the trip to jarrahdale, other than it’s at the opposite end of perth to where i live. it’s not on the moon or even as far as margaret river. so when i discovered that lunch atmillbrookwas part of my research into the peel region and it’s produce for buy west eat best’s signature dish competition, i was over the moon.

about 15 years ago, probably not long after it first opened, we stumbled acrossmillbrookand had coffee and cake. “we must come back for a meal sometime” we said. it’s taken a while, but on saturday we finally returned. it was worth the wait: lovely setting, good service, delightful wine for tasting and with meal, and of course delicious food. the three course lunch was good value at $75. chef’s choice starter was exceptional value - 3 generous serves to share with an eclectic mix of tastes and textures; beautifully cured kingfish cerviche for example with oh so fresh fish, and super zingy dressing with counterpoints of acidity and coriander. mains were equally fabulous: rabbit risotto and bbq lamb. a casual mention that it was (truly) my birthday resulted in a nice touch when the cheese was served on a happy birthday board. cute. the almond tart with fresh berries was yumm. wine was all their own and well matched with each dish. i especially appreciated that i could order a half serve of matched wines. including the matched “flight” of 3 wines accompanying the 3 cheeses. smart and considerate. tick. there was only one small teeny tiny area where the occasion didn’t meet the otherwise high standard throughout: the cheddar cheese, which i doubt was actually cheddar, or was poor if in fact it was cheddar. but i can readily forgive given the uniform excellence elsewhere and this can easily be rectified. thanks millbrook.

my top 100 travels continue to take me to some different locations around australia – places that i haven’t even heard of sometimes. this time – a trip to the town of jarrahdale, a 50 minute drive south east of perth to get to number 95 on the list –millbrookwinery, located on the historic chestnut farm overlooking jarrah forests and the serpentine river. we’d spent the weekend at the falls festival in fremantle what an opportunity to get to millbrook. in planning the trip i was thrilled to learn that they were open for monday lunch – yes, we could squeeze lunch in before heading to the airport to get back to adelaide!

i've been tomillbrookwinery twice in the last month, the first time was for fathers day and i went with a group of people. the bill came to $600 which worked out at $200 per couple, which i thought was a bit pricey as the first course was a few different dishes for sharing. however, i had my own dishes as i ordered vegan.

millbrook prepared a seperate vegan menu, which was lovely and the staff were well informed of my eating requirements.  staff were all very lovely and didn't make you feel hurried. 

food arrived quick. everything was lovely and fresh as they grow their own produce on site which is a bonus, however they could try and be a little more inventive with their vegan options. i had a whole plate of lentils with some broccolini, which is great as a i love lentils and broccolini but its not really the sort of thing you serve at a restaurant as a main. 

my most recent visit was for their no waste monday, which i've been meaning to try for a while. the concept is really good and something i'd like to see more of. at $50pp you get 4-5 dishes i think were designed to be shared, so good job i'm vegan and my friend wasn't as i had my own dishes (i don't like to share my food!) it was all very similar to what i had here previously.

the fennel and orange salad was lovely and refreshing but the portion was a bit small for sharing. 

i had the chocolate orange dessert again, which was amazing! hands down the best dessert i've ever had, i wanted to lick the plate thats how good it was. i would definitely recommend this if its on the menu again. 

most of the wines here are average, but the shiraz viognier was very good.

can also get a descent cup of coffee here too.

my partner and i dined atmillbrookfor lunch saturday afternoon. this was our third visit, our last visit was over two years ago. i don’t know why we have left it so long between visits because each time we have dined here it has been a five star experience and well worth the drive from fremantle.

the restaurant is set in beautiful grounds, where you can often see wild kangaroos hopping by. you enter the restaurant through the cellar door where if you wanted to you could do some wine tasting and order some snacks to eat outside on the deck.

the restaurant is upstairs and was very busy this saturday afternoon, despite the business we were never left waiting for long periods in between courses or to get someone’s attention.

the chef is big on sustainable waste free food. most of the produce comes from the kitchen garden and is picked fresh on the day. i love the fact they do a separate vegan menu and it seems just as much thought is put into the vegan dishes as is into the rest of the menu.

although not cheap i think the three courses for $75 is good value for money. in addition to the three courses you get delicious sourdough bread and olives to start, a side with your mains and a granita in between mains and desert.

service was faultless, setting is as perfect as the food so it has to be a five start rating for me.

i’d recommend mentioning if you are vegan, or have any other dietary requirements, at the time of booking.

a great afternoon. couldn’t faultmillbrookwinery. will be back for sure. we arrived for lunch at 1pm and happily stayed till 5pm. great food, service and wine.

wa is filled with quality vineyards but little did i know that hidden amongst the plains south east of perth is a boutique winery calledmillbrookwinery.  if the wineries in swan valley have become a weekend norm, then a trip tomillbrookwinery might just do the trick!  only problem? it located in jarrahdale which is a lot further if you live near the city. so was the 1 hour drive worth it?

we visited today for my dad's birthday. they serve a set menu for $75 pp. this included complimentary bread & butter (delicious) followed by choice of entree, main & dessert with 2 side dishes & an extra dessert taster as well. the food was impressive in presentation & flavour.

service was fantastic!!! attentive, professional, no huge wait times either. i felt that i didn't need to worry about how far away our next course was as i have done at other venues. we were served by a tall gentleman with a very posh accent & he was lovely. it's rare nowadays to experience wait staff that do a fantastic job & are informed about their menu. ten points to him!

the restaurant is upstairs & was beautiful with a view over the lake & grounds. nice beverage menu as well. enough choice to keep all tastes (wine, beer & soft drinks) satisfied.

the grounds are exquisite. we took so many photos.

i would highly recommended a trip out tomillbrookwinery!

in summer and spring,millbrookestate offer these fabulous picnic hampers for only $80.  the food is absolutely beautiful and there is far too much of it for a party of two!  ours contained:. wheel of dellendale brie. jar of zucchini and snake bean relish. jar of preserved lemons. container of salad

until recently, i wouldn’t have been able to tell you the last time i went for a picnic. i remember going on plenty with my family as a youth but now that i’m all grown up, it isn’t something gg and i have rushed to do. truth be told, i’m not much of an outdoorsy person. being out in the elements with bugs and flies and potentially oppressive heat doesn’t have a huge amount of appeal for me. i appreciate that a “toughen up princess” comment may be required but it is each to their own and i’d rather eat my lunch in the lounge room than on the back lawn. so recently when some friends suggested we head tomillbrookwinery and order some of their picnic baskets, i was in two minds. clearly i welcome any opportunity to see good friends andmillbrookhas a stellar reputation but eating outside…..in summer?? i told myself to think positive and off we set one saturday.millbrookis a bit of a drive from perth. ok more than a bit. it’s a very decent drive but as soon as you wind your way down the final gravel driveway andmillbrookcomes into sight, you know that the pilgrimage was totally worth it. it is such a beautiful spot, so incredibly picturesque! we all wandered inside to the cellar door to enjoy a wine tasting and purchase a few bottles to enjoy with lunch, before paying for and picking up our pre-ordered picnic baskets. picnic baskets  (available spring and summer) pate, preserves and sweets from our kitchen, fruit and salad from our estate garden, cured meats from acciari butcher, and dellendale cheese. picnic baskets include cutlery, crockery, wine cooler, water bottle, napkins and picnic rug – wine to be purchased separately. please note bookings and full payment are required three days in advance. upon collection of the basket a deposit of $50 is also required which is refundable when the basket and its contents are returned. the basket for two costs $80 and comes complete with cutlery, wine glasses and blanket. on the food front, it was a very enticing spread

pink snapper, vegetable crisps, pickled veg and a smoked egg. this dish was today's special and by golly it was amazing. it is the fanciest and most refined fish and chips ever! i lovedmillbrookand will definitely be back

love it. we dropped in for a lunch atmillbrookwinery and had a fantastic experience.
the location is just perfect and the food was interesting and tasted great, i had the rabbit risotto and my partner had the beef (as recommended by our waiter) and we could not have asked for more tasty dishes.
we felt welcomed and never felt rushed, our waiter chatted and was knowledgeable of the food. i have to say that it is still rare to find good service in perth but if this is how they do it "in the hills" then perhaps the pricey city restaurants should take a leaf out of millbrook's book.
if i was to find a negative, i would say that it was far too cold and the fire became smokey whenever it was built up.
well done millbrook, we will return with friends.

another disappointed. we had a very ordinary lunch atmillbrooktoday. i had the pork chop which was raw in places (not just near the bone and raw as in bright pink jelly). it was a pity as the flavour of the sauces was good. i mentioned the obviously raw pork left on my plate to the waitress but there was no apology. my husband ordered the fish of the day which was overcooked and rubbery. the truffle mash was tasty. the wines we had were very good and the outlook was awesome. you can forgive average food when the setting is lovely but at the prices they are charging these mistakes were hard to swallow (pun intended). we won't be back.