port phillip estate

we visited port phillip estate for lunch today and the views were just spectacular although sadly our prior window table request saw us seated in the obstructed view section on stools. we elected to move and the atmosphere was pleasant nonetheless. staff were friendly and we enjoyed their ‘cheeky lunch’ which at $38 i thought was very reasonable. of course to this we added a side, desserts and wine but well worth it.

you do get to select out of three options for the three courses. the first was the ‘bite’ and i chose a delicious arancini. this preceded the complimentary bread which was really yummy. for my ‘small’ i opted for the flash flied calamari and then the ‘big’ was the sirloin with bernaise. the fries with aoili that we added as a side technically weren’t fries but a chunkier style chip. very tasty regardless.

the sirloin was slightly disappointing in that it was overcooked for my liking. we then had both the desserts on offer, lemon tart and chocolate brownie. a simple sweet way to end the meal.

there is a more prestigiousrestaurantacross the other side of the venue with equivalent views but a more elaborate menu. for the casual nature of our lunch the cellar door was more than agreeable but if you have a special occasion the other is probably more suitable as there is a slight distraction/interruption from those doing tastings, particularly if you are seated closer to the bar.

came here over the weekend with a large group of friends. wow, wow! what a stunning venue! beautiful outlook from therestaurant& simply stunning architecture. just divine.
we didn’t eat but we drank wine on the wonderful balcony. the service was perfect as was the wine. i cannot wait to come back to sample the food.

really nice place and the food was great. we chose the 3 courses for $95 per head. we were so disappointed with where they sat us. a table for two shoved to the side behind the reception desk. a table shouldn’t have even been put there. our view of the window was obstructed by the hazard sticker which was at eye view when seated and we were overlooking the balcony where people were obstructing the view of the vineyard. who the heck wants to be looking at people taking photos of the view you should be able to see? the waiter even mentioned the nice window seat. i was really unhappy and asked to move but there was no other seating available. there were many two seater tables by the window (as pictured) but the waitress said “no”, i made the reservation a few days before and asked if this was the reason we were given the table and she said “yes” it’s first in best dressed and that was the standard across the industry. we were still paying a premium price just the same as any other person there but for terrible seating! when compared to the rest of therestaurantit was just not up to standard. the pics are of our view to the left and then a pic of the rest of the restaurant. completely ripped off! we were unable to even sit opposite each other! dissatisfied- just shoved us in to make money! i would rather have been told they were fully booked at the time of booking and we drove so far to be there. many kids ran up to play the piano we were wedged behind too- annoying!

we dined here to celebrate my partner's birthday and while i'd say on the most part we really enjoyed our meal, there are a couple of aspects that we feel was a disservice to the dishes that we loved.

firstly, i'd suggest going here during the day. therestaurantreally lacks ambience during the evening as you don't have the sweeping views to take in on your visit. that aside, the interior is a bit cold and sparse, in the main dining room anyway .. the complex and building itself is quite impressive in all its concrete work but it feels cold and uninviting inside. i think for a special occasion you'd hope that the interior and ambience might add to the whole experience.

next, i chose the butter poached calamari for my entrée. bad move, in my opinion. when you hear 'butter poached' you immediately have an idea that it's going to be tender and sumptuous.. well, to my disappointment it was a thin slightly firm piece of calamari and i couldn't help but wonder if it would've have just been better to be soaked in a citrus juice and grilled. it lacked seasoning too, so it was, to me anyway, a firm bit of plastic with not much flavour happening around it.

if you do decide to give it a go, you can't go wrong with their carrot cake soufflé... it was our standout dish of the night.

worth adding that the lady that served us was excellent, nothing at all against the service we were provided here.

i think overall for what thisrestaurantis attempting to be, it misses the mark. only as you're so spoilt for choice in the general peninsula area. i'd go back again perhaps during the day and visit the bistro and do a wine tasting, but for a special occasion dinner i'd probably give it a miss.

as far as settings go there isn’t to many better... therestaurantis absolutely stunning. the waitress we had was extremely knowledgable about every dish on the menu answering all our questions and was very friendly too. had the prawn entree with i thought was great followed by the chicken which i never usually order but glad i did the flavours were excellent. side of potatoes were a bit of a let down. followed that with the white chocolate chilli pana cotta combined with a cracking desert wine which was recommended by our waitress. the whole experience was fantastic.

therestauranthad great atmosphere. the service was ordinary. i ordered a wine and the wrong one came out twice. set menu selection was ordinary. food was unimpressive, so much so that members of our party sent back food. great views and great company.

after being to a few highly rated wineries in the yarra valley and red hill area, i have to say this place just didn’t impress me. it is nice, clean and very posh. upon arrival the high wall and dark door intrigued me. the. therestaurantis on your left and cellar door on you right. all facing he vineyard. the food was fine dining presentation but very much lacked in flavour. $200 for 2 people. we didn’t do the wine tasting although it was included

came here for a wine tasting and maybe a bottle of wine.
well, apparently you can't order a bottle of wine unless it's atrestaurantrates, you can't have coffee (even for the designated driver) unless you eat in therestaurantand when you get there at 3.45pm, the preparation of closing begins.
out of the 3 wineries i went to today, this was the only one that didn't tell me what wines i was drinking. if it is wasn't for the view (and the wet table i got after i asked for the chairs to the table while they were packing up at 3.45) it would be a 0.
at 20 bucks a glass for the time that i couldn't buy buy the bottle and the lack of coffee i could order cause i had not eaten there, i have no wanting to eat here or try it again.
it's a shame, the place it gorgeous and worth the view.
shame the people that manage it have no idea how to do so.

the building is impressive and both therestaurantroom and wine testing room have panoramic views on the vines. service is excellent and attentive. food is tasty and well priced. we did a quick wine testing before sitting down for lunch which was great. perfect spot for a lunch with friends or family. special note on the desserts... devine!!

what a shame!!! stunning, awesome beautiful venue -
went for a special anniversary dinner, when making the phone booking specifically asked if there were 'nicer' places to be seated and was told 'we will ensure you have a nice seat. well, it would have been nice by the window or close to the open fire, instead we got the first table out of the kitchen hmmm. bearing in mind it is a chilly june eve, it was frigid in this huge dining space, at one point the air con kicked in and it was unbearably cold and we had to ask for it to be adjusted.
the food - we opted for the three course, i started with the' cured cobia, kohlrabi, lemon, seaweed'. there was literally zero taste, to any part of the dish, i don't know how it was cured, ??but it was so bland, i did enquirer and was told that's just how it is!
i appreciate it could be subtle, there was no taste to it what so ever, and i really don't know what part of the dish was seaweed??? - there was however some white possibly cabbage in a dressing, which was more like a naff slaw, i will add i have never ever had a meal replaced, but this was a waste of fork to mouth.
our young females server was very nice, friendly and attentive, unlike the stern older female server and i assume the malerestaurantmanager, who didn't even bother to ask if we had enjoyed our meal when we paid and left a tip!!
the subsequent offerings were just ok, unbelievably my cheesecake desert was possibly the most savoury of all the dishes, and not in a good way, there was absolutely no sweetness. the food was really bland, there was very little balance between savoury sweet salty - there was no seasoning, thank goodness for salt on the table. if i thought presentation was the main objective over substance. and taste, but even the presentation on the plate was drab.
i would whole heartedly suggest the chef tastes all the dishes that he sends out.
so so disappointed on our special evening, have wanted to dine here for a long time, still the venue is still pretty special.

the port phillip estate is absolutely stunning. it reminded me of something out of a james bond film. we ate lunch in the bistro today and the dishes from the lunch menu were very well priced and extremely delicious. i hope to come back here again for therestaurantanother time!

nice about sums it up for me! not wow'd sadly and i thought a little over priced. the service in therestaurantwas good tho. whilst the wines were good the tasting service was poor. the wine tasting was rushed and we were given no information about the wines on offer. the lady serving the wine whilst pleasant didn't really talk to us. there's better wineries on the peninsula. but, it was nice!

over it.. thisrestaurantwas a huge disappointment. over priced, rude "service" and they tried to add an obligatory 20% tip to our $450 bill for 4 lunches.
no one had more than 2 glasses of wine and a 2 course lunch. there with 2 scallops in the entree and when we requested that the eye fillet come medium rare, we were told it would be cooked to the "chefs discretion". who are they trying to please here? certainly not their patrons.

laughable incompetent service. service so poor i almost couldn't believe it actually happened as we left the venue after 25 minutes. called on friday to see if we needed to book for the casual cellar door dining on sunday, told not required.
arrived and greeted the front of house lady, table for 2 and some wine tasting was what we were after. advised they would just clean up a table for us (pointed out which one) and to head to the tasting bar to wait which was literally 5 metres away from the front desk. they said they would grab us when the table was free. no names taken down, despite offering to provide them. got taken through the wines by 1 very friendly and knowledgable lady, and 1 lady who seemed to be having trouble with the small number of groups (2-3 max) at cellar door.
turned around after 5 minutes to see our table occupied by a group who arrived after us. questioned what had happened, got an apology, they forgot (after 4-5 minutes) and gave it away. reminder - we were standing no more than 5metres away from front desk.
accepted it, and said we would wait for another. told 5-10 mins. no problem. continued to taste the wines, and was then told to enjoy the balcony view while they cleaned up the next table.
enjoyed the nice view for 2-3 mins, came back inside. greeted by another couple being shown to the newly cleared table. pathetic service.
just had to laugh and say, thanks we will take our business elsewhere.
please learn to run arestaurantbusiness properly - a simple name taking of guests might solve your incompetence?
won't return. looking at food reviews here, probably didnt miss much anyway.

the food wasn't too bad but it was a mutual agreement that it wasn't worth the money and we would not visit thisrestaurantagain. we do not know why but their services was sooooo slow. fine dining is not just about the quality of the food, its about the full dining experience. from food to service to enviroment. basically the only good component in the equation is their enviroment. other then that, it was a little disappointment.