stillwater at crittenden

stillwater - incredible!. i have just got back from mothers day lunch at stillwater and was compelled to write my very first restaurant review. greeted with a gorgeous gift and incredibly warm and professional service - then came thefoodwow. i cannot fault our meal, wines, service or the outlook from this incredible restaurant. i do not hesitate in recommending it to all my family and friends. thank you thank you thank you for one of the best mothers days ever x

excellent food, let down by service issues. truth be told, i loved thefoodand wine selection at stillwater.

my partner and i shared the pork belly entree (which was excellent) and i then proceeded to enjoy the lamb rack for main (which was superb!) whilst my partner had the wagyu steak (which was very good, but i'm unsure if it warranted the $75 price tag?)

the issue we had was with service, particularly at the beginning of the meal. we were seated at an unset table, which means that the staff proceeded to set it around us which made it a little difficult to relax if i'm honest. i'm gluten intolerant and naturally inquired as to what was safe to eat on the menu. not only did the waiter seem unsure as to what and wasn't appropriate, but he walked off when i attempted to ask a question - not good!

that said, as the meal progressed the service improved and the older gentleman was replaced with a far more outgoing individual (who had an accent, from memory).

one other thing worth mentioning - cudos to stillwater for serving gluten free bread (which i assume they made themselves), but please warm it before you send it out! gf bread can be quite dry and crumbly (especially when made with rice flour) so warming it can make it far more palatable. i'd also recommend using some chia seed to replace the gluten and assist the 'binding' process a little more next time.

otherwise, we were well pleased, :)

been here twice and both times have had great experiences. the dining room has great views and wine andfoodare really well presented and tasty.

came here a few months ago as it was the only place where we could get a table at the last minute so expectations were low but it was so much better than expected. first off, it’s a beautiful restaurant with a gorgeous set up and views. the service was incredible and the staff were attentive. now, thefoodwas the best. wonderful flavours and cooked to perfection. kudos to the chef!

far exceeded expectations, we had what can only be described as a truly memorable lunch. the outlook and service were fantastic, but thefoodwas even better. everything we ate was very very good. it is very rare that i will leave a restaurant without thinking that at least one thing could have been better, but this was one of those occasions. would definitely go back, the only issue would be with selecting what to eat next time, i would like to try different dishes, but everything we had was so good that i would want to eat it again. had the tasting plate and pork belly for entree, lamb and fish of the day for main, cheeses and panna cotta for dessert.

it’s used to be very nice place for lunch,foodwas nice and taste with elegant presentation, wow beautiful and friendly atmosphere. now it’s worth then fish and chips. i hope it’s will be back to privies place with good chef and staff.

celebrated my mum’s 70th with a party of 14. each & everyone of the dishes were exquisite. the wine was very good & the service excellent. it’s a lovely classy winery with a very pretty setting & superbfood& wine.

lovely place to have the opportunity to celebrate a family member's birthday. ordered scallops, seared tuna, eye fillet and duck, couple of bottles of wine. the power went out for the duration of our visit and thefoodstill managed to be absolutely delicious. couldn't fault any element. only downside, we couldn't try any of the desserts however, definitely a good excuse to return.

thefoodthat was served was of great quality and cooked to perfection. there was a big group of us, so we were able to order each item on the menu and everything was delicious. no complaints. we also ordered a cheese platter and dessert - only complaint is we waited about 30 minutes for this to come out. bit surprised as our mains came out faster?

great views and the environment was nice, air conditioned inside and great natural light. great for all kinds of dining styles.

honestly service here overall was mediocre. the lady who served us especially had appalling service. (above the shoulder length blonde hair with a half ponytail) as someone who works in hospitality myself, i expected a place like stillwater to have a certain level of service and hospitality, however i was disappointed. we ordered a tasting platter halfway through ourfoodbecause there wasn't enough but our server told us that it would be a bit too much (which we acknowledged), but we decided to go ahead with it. we finished our lunch, waited about 20 minutes and the checked to see if it was on it's way, which we were then to find out she did not put it through because it was 'too much food' but i didn't realise we lived in a communist society at stillwater. this wouldn't have been an issue if she had apologised about it but instead looked at us like it was our issue and asked if we would like dessert instead. we looked at the dessert menu and decided to get the cheese platter. i asked her whether we could grab some cold meat on the side with it and she responds by saying that we can't because it only comes with the tasting plate (which she didn't put through). i thought some compromising of her mistake would have been possible but apparently not. service makes a very big difference with how enjoyable a place is despite how greatfoodis. management need to make sure their staff are equip to deal with conflict in this dining environment.

favourite venue,foodwas delicious and the pinot was lovely (even for those at the party who aren't big on red wine!) i can't recommend this spectacular location enough. can't wait to be back!

i came here with my fiancé just after he had proposed. the service was beautiful. everyone was so lovely and happy. thefoodwas just perfect. honestly i think it’s the bestfoodi have ever had. will definitely come back here when we have saved a bit of money! 😂

a lovely lunch today. thefoodwas superb! i enjoyed the duck, it was to die for! very tender and was accompanied with wonderful combinations - golden raisin compote and celeriac puré. the dessert also hit top marks with the banana cake. simply delicious. the only let down unfortunately was the service. not only did we have to wait a good twenty minutes for anyone to come and serve our drinks, we had to ask for a menu as they still hadn't given it to us once we had ordered our drinks! at such an up market place, we would've thought menus would've been given straight up when we were seated... in addition when we asked for her knowledge on the food, she seemed uninterested and clueless about what was on the menu. another thing was a crying baby who sat next to us for almost our whole sitting. this was very unpleasant, and although we understand it is hard to control these things, it was still extremely uncomfortable. nevertheless we still had a wonderful experience and would be back to try some more gorgeous food!

following a very enjoyable late morning wine tasting at crittenden estate, we decided to stay on and have lunch at the adjacent stillwater restaurant. our most recent dining experience was 2 days prior at dinner by heston blumenthal in melbourne cbd so it was always going to be difficult for stillwater to compare favourably with that outstanding experience.

the greeting from staff was warm and friendly. we had a window table with a pleasant view of the small lake, garden and vines. service was very prompt and we quickly had glasses of water and had ordered ourfoodand wine.

we chose the pork belly and scallops starters. pork belly is a demanding dish and is a very good guide to the quality of the chef's cooking. in this case, the pork belly was very good - crispy top and very tender tasty meat. the scallops were also very good. for mains we ordered the barramundi and tasmanian eye fillet. i enjoyed the barramundi - crispy skin and not too soft underneath. the steak was cooked to our requirements - medium rare - and was very tender. all the sauces and vegetables were very good. the accompanying sourdough was also tasty. we were too full to order dessert. we enjoyed a couple of glasses of crittenden wines but other wines were also on the wine list.

i thought the cost of $160 for 2 people (2 courses plus wine) was appropriate for the quality of the dining experience.

this was my 2nd visit to stillwater, 12 months ago it was fantastic and a large group had a great experience, this time it was a bit and miss with things.

90% of thefoodwas really good (avoid the lamb it's way to fatty) but it's way overpriced for the portion sizes. service was good from the manger but other staff seemed to have no idea and it was hard work even getting a drink ordered and they completely forgot 1 of our groups main meals (i give some leeway for this as you expect some top up staff over the summer but not with forgetting a meal) it's a beautiful place to go and the grounds are beautiful but so are all winery's down there so that's not enough.

food taste 8/10 (pork belly, prawns, saganaki, antipasto, fish, duck all very good)
value 5/10
setting 8/10
service 3/10

love this place! the entry to this gorgeous property is enough to make you feel special but between the perfectly manicured gardens and the exceptionalfoodand wine offerings, stillwater is truly a spectacular place. thefoodespecially is fresh and vibrant whilst remaining traditionally and well executed. the staff are seasoned veterans and well suited to the venue being professional, friendly and knowledgeable. a perfect place to take a partner or family! a must visit!