ten minutes by tractor

i took my partner here for his birthday and despite it was a one-hour drive, ten minutes by tractor delivered exceptional, refined food that really made the night extra special. i've been here in the past for wine tasting during the day and glancing over at the finished dishes on kitchen bench when the restaurant was closing at lunch, the plates were so attractive i had to come back. dinner overlooking the vine-yards was perfect, great ambience, outstanding service from all the friendlystaffand the food was faultless. every dish of the eight-course degustation menu was unique, well-presented and the waitress even gave me extra red wine jus (more sauce makes cindy extra happy haha). the wine menu was on-point, definitely try the estate pinot noir which complemented the dishes so well (not too dense and a little more fruitier). expensive but worth every dime for such an experience, and i can't wait to come back to try the a la carte menu!

good food!. went to peninsula for a culinary trip and this was a nice find, small restaurant, beautiful views, nice tasting menu,staffvery attentive and knew what they were serving.
i will go back next time i come down
thanks for a good experience!

one of the best dining experiences i've had in my life.
as soon as you walk in you are made to feel comfortable and at home.
we started off with the complimentary wine tasting, where we got to try some magnificent wines, that we then chose to have some with our lunch.
graham, the restaurant manager is an absolute gentleman. the service that him and hisstaffoffer is second to none.
we were seated promptly to our table near the window so we overlooked an amazing setting on a wonderful sunny afternoon.
not once during the lunch did we feel rushed or pushed to order, it was all very at our leisure but with that attentive non intrusive service.
to start i had the vegetarian rotolo - think rolled gnocchi and pan fried, followed by fish of the day (i can't remember the type but it was amazing) lots of different flavours happening on the plate and finished with a selection of fine cheeses from their fromagerie menu.
their rose wine - 10x, is outstanding as is some of the pinot noirs we consumed.
i highly recommend getting dropped off and picked up from the venue and not driving, so you can enjoy a leisurely lunch with beautiful wines.
i can't wait to come back! until next time...

the best on the peninsula. good food, knowledgeablestaffand relaxed atmosphere. we've been here twice and loved it both times with different menus.

high court of consumption

betty cocker cj

background

1. in 2020, 28,000 unfortunate souls caught the vid-19.

2. back in january 2020, the judge caught a ripe and juicy puerto rican off the coast of the mornington peninsula. after a few bottles of georgian wine, their bodies intertwined along the sands of shire hall beach.

3. cut to 2021, and for the anniversary of the judge x puerto rico, the longaniza took the judge to 10xt for a night of debauchery and glistening excitement. needless to say, expectations were meteoric.

judgement

4. the judge has been around the traps. #trapcard. and that's not to say she doesn't have a few of her own; like the one between her leggggs. at least with her traps, you know what you gon' get. this place's ultimate trap? not one sign of a tractor anywhere on the property, in sight from any vantage point, through any window, in any manner of a sculpture within the interior, except for the miniscule stamp on the leather pouches housing the menus. disappointing.

5. side note: the views are lovely, v romantic, v gorgeous, v beautiful.

6. the court honourably sights the evidence presented regarding costs of $500 for a dinner for two, including wine flights. whilst the judge has finally paid off the mortgage on her toorak mansion, she still expects a level of quality when forking out five watermelons in exchange for putting things in her mouth. the restaurant game is a tricky business. adam sanderson, props for your efforts. it’s difficult to tell what influence you have on the restaurant when you’re not at the restaurant. you win some, you lose some. tonight, the judge x puerto rico lost more than they won. it’s the little things. maître d absence of solid morale boosting ambience? check. maître d lack of personability? check. use of french waiters to create a false sense of a european restaurant? check. failure by chef to interact with guests? check. instance of pouring still water into a glass of sparkling water? check. absence of memorable standout dish? check. explanation of dishes by waiters cut off by maître d? check. sour dish presented as palate cleanser demonstrating little-to-no evidence of neutrality? check. no offer of additional bread? check. the judge is trying to be less nit-picky. her psychiatrist says it’s not healthy.

7. speaking of bread: the court must acknowledge this to be the most memorable experience of the night. but the judge didn’t take an uber black from toorak to main ridge for bread.

8. one thing's for sure, the judge enjoys her sexy waiters. she's all about those cute eyes that sit atop our era of covid masks. the judge acknowledges the evidence presented. the judge acknowledges it as subpar. diners are hereby ordered not to write anything home about it. masks are great but it’s unclear whether they have much utility whenstaffremove them whenever they speak with guests.

9. in these trying times, the judge has grown soft around her curvy edges. to that extent, the judge acknowledges the fair efforts of the waitstaff(exclusively those in green; the judge is looking at you martin, you sexy beast) and has decided to grant an award of 3 stars, otherwise known to the court as “fair effort. please try again. red hill loves you and knows you can do better. looking forward to future efforts.” it appears much has changed at 10xt since its glory days pre-fire. it appears too much is relied upon in the realm of pre-existing goodwill and reputation. it appears much further work is required to return to the frontpage of good food let alone mfwf.

10. prospective patrons, take it as you will. the judge jests but the judge also speaks the truth.

note:

11. see zomato review by gee for further information.

we’ve been eagerly waiting for the last 19 odd months for ten minutes by tractor to be rebuilt and open for business! i’ve been here 6 or 7 times myself (pre fire), and have fond memories of amazing food and faultless service. it was their second week of trading since the fire and we were there for a birthday. alas, it was fairly disappointing. the menu is either 3, 5 or 8 courses. there are only three choices for the 3 course option. it’s a new chef and most of thestaffwere new and didn’t have much idea. it was very amateur. kudos to nikki who tried her best and jacques (who i think was there prior to the fire). it wasn’t all doom and gloom, but it’s annoying to be paying top dollar to be a guinea pig while they’re still sorting things out. surely soft launches could fine tune everything? main course was a choice of fish, duck or a mushroom dish. the fish was ok, the duck was undercooked and underwhelming with soggy skin. nobody at our table had the mushroom dish. one of the desserts was panacotta with coriander and green peas. it just felt like they were trying too hard, regardless of ‘feedback’ they’ve had about that dessert. we voiced our disappointment and they knocked 10% off but it’s not about that. it was a special occasion and it was a real let down.


below is a 5 star review from a years back:

magnificent food and service, amazing attention to detail, everything about this dining experience was top notch. fine dining without being over wanky. had the spanner crab with fish to start. the serving was much bigger than expected and everything about it was delicious. all entrees at the table looked perfect. sirloin for mains and the rum caramelised bananas for desert. i can't stress how good this experience was.

what a delightful fine dining experience in flinders! the cocktail serves of salmon roe and lamb cutlets beautifully foreshadowed the exquisite three course meal that followed! even the brown butter beer roll - crisp and crusty on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside with in-house churned butter on the side - was so good! food heaven. they make a really good cappuccino, too. the wine list was extensive, although the absence of nz marlborough choices was notable. the service was great! the high ratio of waitstaff(quite a few of whom are french) to guests ensured a seamless experience. very happy to recommend @10xtractor!!

my friends and i had the set lunch - the food came out really slowly and at the end of the lunch thestaffwere chasing us out as they were closing to prep the dinner service. i thought that was bad service. but the food though was so good. each dish was delicious and well presented. my friends thought that the lamb and duck were slightly overcooked but i didn’t have a problem with it. there was so much food we were stuffed even before dessert. this place doesn’t come cheap but is a good place to have a long lunch in the winery...until they kick you out!

i was so looking forward to my lunch here and unfortunately i was let down. the entree of spanner crab w local native herbs and peas was refreshing and tasty. however, my main - hapuka was flakey and overcooked! hapuka is my favourite white fish and i’ve grilled/baked/fried this cut many times before. i don’t identify myself as a home cook (why cook when you can eat out) or a fish monger, but a fresh piece of hapuka should never be flaky. i drowned my fish with their burnt butter ‘jus’ so it didn’t taste chewy and flaky. i enjoyed the heritage cauliflower & roasted macadamia salad that came with the hapuka.
my friend had the duck, which looked colourful and pretty but she reported that the duck was average in taste but blueberry jus was delightful and made the dish.
overall they failed to impress with their main proteins, and was able to ‘recover’ with their side dishes/condiments.
thestaffprovided excellent service and their estate pinot noir is spectacular!

why oh why must people act in such a snobbish way when greeting customers?! tables out the front gathering cobwebs that could accomodate extra people and yet they act like it's way too exclusive to even be there??!! we did a wine tasting today and the young girl that served us had absolutely no idea about wine??!! pouring not even a drop with each tasting? rolling her eyes when we asked questions! we would have bought half a dozen wines if the attitude of thestaffwas friendlier! we went elsewhere and had a great day! was going to book a lunch here but have since changed our minds as we would prefer somewhere wherestaffare nicer and not snobs!! bye felicia !

great place for a really fancy swanky lunch. you have to book at least a week in advance, make sure you get a table that looks out to the vineyard behind. we had 8 course degustation with matching wines.staffwere so accommodating, an absolute delight even though we sat and ate and drank for 4 hours. incredible matching wines, definitely worth it. highlights for me include the butter (simple but amazing), the fish, and the deep fried muscles. i normally hate muscles but these were crumbed and deep fried, so unexpected. carrots with goats cheese were wonderful and also the chocolate desert with beetroot was great. hmmm so was the cucumber ice cream. a wonderful meal, was made even better by amazing staff, beautiful decor and a winning view. also the trick to an amazing lunch like this is to be organized! we organized transport through your shuttle - christine was fab and it was $80 return for two to arthur's seat - they work just like a cab, it was awesome.

is it possible to feel like a regular when your second visit to a restaurant is eight years apart? perhaps that is a kpi for ten minutes by tractor. without any facade, thestaffhave you feeling completely at ease in an instant.

looking around the room, the recent renovation has been nicely undertaken, not making a big statement but certainly leaving a very comfortable dining room to spend three hours over lunch. the seats in particular are the perfect choice, both well designed, and like your favourite couch. as you can imagine, there is plenty of emphasis in having a good view of the vines in this beautiful part of the world.

notwithstanding first class service, and a terrific newly renovated dining room, i want to talk about one dish. offal has never been the flavour of the month. it has been lauded for reason over a long time, but has never escalated to the heights of true popularity. perhaps it never will be. when you look at a "balanced" restaurant menu you would ordinarily expect certain main star ingredients, some choice of secondary stars, and then something surprising. i'm afraid while beef, chicken, and fish take that staring role, offal has always been kept to the "surprise" meaning it gets a gig only on occasion.

while livers take the cake, sweetbreads (which actually sound like a cake) must be the second most unsexy ingredient going around. i mean they actually gave them a name that tries to confuse the customer into having a go! ten minutes by tractor are serving veal sweetbreads for entree, and like a kid in a candy shop, i'm excited. to serve offal, you need to honour the flavour, but present it looking delicious (in spite of itself) and with complimentary accompaniments (more than other dishes).

we only did a tasting here but it looks like a great place for a luxe long lunch. the tastings were generous and thestaffwere friendly. awesome chardonnay, pinot gris & of course pinot noir. they also sell small individual glasses of chardonnay & pinot in packs which is a great idea for when you don't want to crack an entire bottle.

what an epic culinary adventure of eight beautiful plates with eight paired wines that, in our opinion were perfectly paired. the service is 'fine dining' & 'prim & proper' but never did we feel that it was ott or snobby. professional and attentive. allstaffshowed love for their restaurant which translated into the dining experience being a very very memorable one. hands down best restaurant on the peninsula by far.

had the degustation here for lunch and i was extremely satisfied and happy. thestaffwas amazing, attentive and knowledgeable.

every dish had the adequate portion needed to fulfil my taste buds. the bread was given with a house made garlic butter which was just delicious. i can't fault any of the dishes.