port phillip estate

undecided. we dined recently at port phillip estate and came away with a slightly mixed view. the place itself is excellent, lovely architecture and superbviewswith a lovely warmth to the whole environment. the staff were fine and the wine list good, the wines we chose (by the glass) couldn't be faulted especially the chardonnay., farrago i think it was. the issue was with the food, which wasn't bad, but by the same token, wasn't remarkable either. i think the best dish was the chocolate self saucing pudding which was beautiful and the other desserts were of a similar quality. the mains, a fish, a pheasant and a rabbit were ok but not startling, the scallop entree was fine as was the salad entree but the tuna carpaccio was bland, a surprise given the ingredients. all in all, the meal was good, but was it worth $400? that's the question and i think the answer is no.

one of the bestviewsyou will get, and a really classy winery with great service. absolute highlights with the food were the risotto milanese which was perfect, and the chocolate mouse with malted ice cream.

we visited port phillip estate for lunch today and theviewswere 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 prestigious restaurant across the other side of the venue with equivalentviewsbut 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.

😱lizzie’s first impression: this location is immaculate - theviewsare great

🍩lizzie enjoyed: the wine was superb, we ordered a full bottle and it was simply devine.

🍅lizzie did not enjoy: the service was a little off with staff not being attentive and getting their attention was a whole other issue

🥇lizzie rates overall: i will definitely be back for the food as i loved the ambience and theviewsof this winery.

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. the restaurant really lacks ambience during the evening as you don't have the sweepingviewsto 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 this restaurant is 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.

did a wine tasting here on saturday and the wines were very good (good flavour and variety of samples for $5). we found the staff to be very distracted during the tasting and didn’t gain much knowledge from their descriptions of the wines. overall, goodviewsand good wine but staff seemed to lack time to conduct the tastings properly.

codalicious and i turned up after a great morning down the road. no booking so headed to the bistro section (not the restaurant).

theviewsare fantastic, the menu has a good range of options and the food was quite good.

while the wait staff were all friendly, drinks took a long time to arrive and we had to ask for my second drink three times. we were also charged for it twice (they adjusted the bill when we pointed out the problem).

this is just another great place to come for lunch in red hill. theviewsof the winery and beyond are sensational whilst having some food to eat. we had a great 3 course meal and the service made us feel welcome. definitely a place to come back to.

the restaurant had 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. greatviewsand great company.

very impressive location and building. beautifulviewsover the vineyard and westernport bay. ppe have a large range of wines but only 6 were available for tasting. the tasting service was a bit casual - we did not feel very special and obtained more info from the tasting notes than the server. we are lovers of red wines and were not impressed by the reds we tasted under either the port philip estate or kooyong estate labels. we liked the quartier chardonnay and the port philip estate salasso rose. the latter surprised me as i am not a fan of rose but this was very crisp and refreshing. we had lunch in the dining room and ordered a bottle of the salasso rose with our meal. we had a window table with a view - the whole setting is very pleasant. service was very good -the staff were friendly and attentive and offered explanations re the food and wine. it offset the poorer service we received in the tasting room. the menu is restricted but offers some interesting choices. for entrees we chose pork jowl and agnolotto moreton bay bug. both were well presented and very tasty. for mains we chose the venison and roasted hapuka. the latter fish was excellent. the venison was good but uninteresting. the bread was freshly baked in the restaurant's own kitchen and was excellent.

the building is impressive and both the restaurant room and wine testing room have panoramicviewson 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!!

one of my favourite places on the peninsula. spectacularviewsof the vines on a beautiful day, i guess i have been lucky as every time i have visited port phillip estate, the sun has been out - it's quite breath taking! food is fine dining and the wine is beautiful! as a chardonnay lover, i am in foodie heaven! fabulous, fabulous, fabulous!

as hubby reached for the imposing timber door surprisingly it opened automatically in greeting. we entered the grand dining room with polished concrete floor, enormous timber beams and vast array of windows which must afford beautifulviewsduring the day. subtle lighting, white table cloths with black plastic wicker chairs - a minimalist affair.
the house made sourdough was fresh and the butter churned with nori, squid ink and mushroom reduction was interesting although required seasoning.
our mains of beef and pork were both beautifully presented, had layers of complexity, surprise elements and although visually on the small side were satisfying. hubby hit the jackpot with the white chocolate panne cotta and mandarin dessert however my gingerbread soufflé missed the mark tasting of egg rather than of gingerbread although the rhubarb ice cream was a winner.
served from the left, cleared from the right & table 'swept' before desert made for proficient and pleasant service. other than being a little too warm our overall experience was enjoyable and we would love to return during the day to appreciate the vista.
$172 two courses, pino gris, apple cider.

lovely surroundings, niceviewsout to the vineyards. there are two sections to dine, the formal dining room and the cellar door area. the menus (and prices!) are completely different. we had lunch in the formal dining area. the entrees of scallops and pork belly were very nice, the ocean trout main excellent and the chocolate desert was stellar! my partner's peach desert was also very good. the only let down was the lamb. very dry and didn't really belong with the other meals.

the service was spot on, effortless and friendly.

if it wasn't for the lamb main the experience would have been spot on. beware it's not cheap though, $85pp for 3 courses plus additional cost for any sides/drinks etc which is even for the nice meals too pricy in my book.

port phillip estate is a magnificent location, it's hard not to be taken in by theviewsacross the vineyard and out to the sea. luckily though, the wonderful food and wine on offer is able to well and truly match the stunning views. the wines of port phillip estate and kooyong are well recognised as leading producers of pinot noir.