point leo estate

mother’s day set menu👌food was lovely, fresh and very light. service was lovely and the staff were all very friendly and welcoming. we enjoyed the 2016 pinot noir and loved it so much, we purchased a bottle from the cellar. cocktails and coffees were also good. the views are amazing as is the sculpture park. probably won’t return to dine here but will be back to try some other wines and enjoy a platter etc with the view

a lavish fit out of a huge space, with a jaw dropping view of modern sculpture against a backdrop of the bay. philanthropist joe gandel established this estate as a family compound but it is now available to all, albeit at a modest cost to tour the open air art gallery. and home to 2 age good food guide ‘toqued ‘ restaurants.

laura ( 2 hats) is upscale fine dining, degustation menu. while pt leo ( 1 hat) restaurant is more casual and a la carte. we ate a fabulous lunch at the latter.

our lunch dishes varied from the outstanding to pretty good. we ate multiple appetisers/small platters between the 2 of us. mussel sandwiches ( bascically a savoury donut) were our favourite to the extent we ordered a second round as a desert. zucchini flowers stuffed with scallops a close second. snapper ceviche also excellent and the coconut, avocado and chilli flavours excellent. goat cheese tart with pickles and finally,a beetroot pancake with lemon curd and salmon roe. looked beautiful, and the taste was fine without being as gobsmacking as the visuals! wallaby pies were enjoyable but my least favourite, with the meat a bit dry.

last course of a repeat of the mussel sandwiches. we also wanted more of the zucchini but by 4.30pm, they’d run out.

the cost of $270 for 2, and included a jamsheed garden gully at $110. so great value.

september 2019. a return visit for lunch. still an outstanding restaurant. the food is outstanding value for money. stuffed zucchini flowers maybe the best dish i’ve eaten in the last 12 months. and a novel crumpets with drunken chicken. finished with some white strawberries from warragul. incredible taste. first time ever but not going to be the last.


the service is first class. friendly, knowledgeable and efficient.

honestly, what a disappointment. the restaurant was so talked up, especially by social media food influencers- that it took ages before i was able to get a weekend reservation. i took a gf here to celebrate her birthday after seeing all the ig hype.
after the dishes came out in the photos below, we were so over it we didn't bother taking more photos. we had oysters to start, zucchini flowers, fried mussel sandwiches. the snapper ceviche was so small i thought it was a child's portion. when the waiter told us the 'carrot souffle was a must', that's when i knew it was all downhill... if the carrot souffle is the best thing this restaurant has to offer then we're all doomed.
anyway we got the carrot souffle (which was decent- if you're a vegan or vegetarian you would prob say it was life changing), prawn pasta, john dory, wagyu and potatoes and 12 hour roasted carrots that i could do in an hour at home legit. no offence-

anyway don't waste your time. if you're going to head out 90 minutes and 80kms like i did, ten minutes by tractor is a much better pick for lunch. you'll actually walk out feeling joyous, over the moon, wow'd and full.

however, if you are going for the gram, for a hens, to take nice photos in your best outfits then this is the place. there's some cool art sculptures outside the restaurant.

approx $330 for 4 w a bottle of wine.

i went for lunch on the weekend with my friend and loved every bit of it. there is a nice outside area with tables on the grass, and inside has floor to ceiling windows so you can look out onto the winery. there is also a sculpture park walk which is worth the $10 to go for a stroll before/after lunch. i ordered the snapper and it was cooked to perfection, i want to go back and order it again! we shared the corn and the potatoes as sides. the corn was amazing! it kind of tasted like it was marinaded in butter.

the ceviche with avocado, chilli and coconut & lime dressing was a stand out dish. also had the hapuka for main which was good but not mind blowing. service was great and we enjoyed the relaxed ambience of the restaurant on a monday afternoon.

point leo estate has some fantastic views coupled with a unique selection of food and wines. often popular places like this can feel a bit "touristy" but ple is anything but. the food at the main restaurant is fairly priced for what you get; a neatly curated and tasty affair where lots of care has gone into each dish. stand out wine was the estate nv sparkling.

highlights:
- oysters. sourced from merimbula, nsw. extremely fresh and tasty, zero fishy taste or smell. (5/5). a must try if you enjoy oysters.
- pasta. exceptional flavour.
- snapper main. small amount of spice, again excellent flavour and perfect texture.
- coconut ceviche.

improvements:
- chicken main course was a bit lacking, well cooked although i was expecting something a bit more exciting given how amazing the previous dishes were.
- dessert was a bit too rich sugar wise for my taste but was nicely balanced.

overall a great restaurant with awesome service. i would also recommend an earlier booking if you are not dining at laura, as it becomes very busy and therefore quite loud.

we didn’t go inside due to staff at the door.

the staff spoke as if they were going to do us a favour by letting in.

there was a small queue to get in when we reached. we thought we would grab a lunch and have wander.
we were told that cafe is closed (on a sunny weekend afternoon).
we decided to go elsewhere.

this location probably has the best view of any winery on the peninsula. there’s a sculpture garden that’s well worth spending an hour wandering around.
great choice of wines and a good menu. very high end location.

straight up, it is a beautiful place. grand entrance, breath-taking ocean view when you walk in, amazing vineyards lead to the infinity. after we settled down at the wine terrace, the amazing weather and fantastic atmosphere got us excited to be able to eat here.

what we didn’t know, we walked into amid of chaos. everything stopped right there. we were told the kitchen couldn’t keep up so they stopped taking orders for half and hour. we patiently waited despite we were starving. then were told 15 more minutes and then another 20 minutes. we could have left but we were hopeful.

finally we get out food, but what we got were disappointing. falafel with baba ganoush was like a entree served in a fine dining restaurant, price only. nothing spectacular about it. minute steal was thin with mushrooms sadly dumped on top, beef burger made from home will look more appetising because at least we melt the cheese.

i wanted to be gob-smacked but guess too much expectation.

after walking around the sculpture park, we ate at the wine terrace which unfortunately was a bit underwhelming.

while the flavours were great, $25 for three balls of falafel was disappointing. the braised chicken was also $25, and didn’t have any accompanying sides so it was just the chicken on a plate (no salad, starch, or carbs).

what i did enjoy was the strawberry bellini, views, and live music. perhaps next time we’ll book at the restaurant on the other side of the venue to try that out 🙂

food: 4/5
service: 3.5/5
venue: 4.5/5

shared a 2 and 3 course meal ($75+$95) plus drinks.
food was very tasty, simple asian contemporary flavours executed well. we had the pasta fiore, hapuka ceviche, steak with curry butter, roast chicken, watermelon panna cotta and profiteroles.
simplicity of food (very similar to cantonese cooking with fusion elements) meant it felt a little bit overpriced given its equivalent to $37.5 entree and mains. dessert was really fresh and tasty but well executed.

service felt very slow for my liking, took 30min for drinks to come out and 2hrs for only 2 courses (second seating so maybe it's a more relaxed pace?) friendly staff, nothing to complain about but could be more efficient.

venue is stunning, you have the option to go outside and have a picnic or a long walk around the sculpture park ($10 entry during the day, was free for us in the late evening). would revisit during the day and spend an afternoon here.

visited the sculpture park just before the massive wind and rain change! due to the wait for wine testing decided to enjoy the pinot. sitting in the marquee was very relaxing. attentive service during a busy saturday.

there was something very ungenerous and forced about this place - maybe it was the $50 souvenir aprons on sale; or the trophy bottle tree in the entrance ; or the awful music ... or the food portions, which were meager for the price. small sides - how much does it cost to add a few more kipflers? the dishes themselves were pleasant, not remarkable - although my rather bland piece of chook reminded me why i rarely order chicken in restaurants. the vegetarian succotash was best. desserts of citrus pavlova were lovely but again on the small side. the wine by the glass was well marked up. the best part of the evening was the sensational summer night sky - that was free. oh, and why wouldn’t you serve dinner outside on a lovely night? and welcome well behaved dogs, who are part of the family?

i’ve been to many wineries but this was by far my favourite. not only was the view relaxing as it was overlooking the sculpture park, the interior of the restaurant was clean and modern. wine and food was exceptional. it’s hard to come across restaurants where all the dishes are perfect (literally no fault) but point leo restaurant nailed it! staff were super friendly and helpful.

great place to spend the day after covid-19 iso. restaurant was well catered to look after guest , plenty of spacing in between tables. love the peaceful nice ambient. wi th lovely staff and food. a great little walk around the sculpture park after lunch. great day out and worth spending the little extra for a great relaxing afternoon. well done and keep up the good work in taking care of your guests.