yabby lake vineyard

as a vegetarian whose partner is a meat-eater, it’s generally quite difficult to find a quality restaurant that fully caters to both vegetarians and meat-eaters. you will often find that most restaurants will have one vegetarian option on themenuthat is sub-par and pales in comparison to the vast options presented to the omnivores.
so when i saw on the website that they had a seperatemenuspecifically for vegetarians, i was over the moon and managed to get a last minute reservation.
however, to my disappointment, when i approached the waiter to request for the vegetarian menu, i was told that the website is outdated and there is no such thing available which felt misleading.

disappointed, i continued to look at themenuin which, low and behold, had one vegetarian option. if the website has been updated appropriately, we would have dined elsewhere. as expected, the food was very average and the service wasn’t much better.

after waiting for 2 days and calling twice to make a booking we were able to sit outside this afternoon. themenuis quite fixed. you will pay minimum $65 per head as you have to have 2 courses. food was average and in 1 case not as themenuspecified. as far as i know “en papillote” doesn’t mean served on soggy toast. when we paid one of our group offered a small tip to be met with “ is that all you’re leaving”? such rude service. nice wines but i won’t venture back for a long time.

the food here was divine, had the salumi plate, the cheese board from the dessertmenuand the chicken terrine. the plates were empty by the time we finished. the staff are knowledgeable and helpful. the wines are also very delicious. i love that the cellar door and restaurant are together, allowing you to try wine, take two steps, have a seat and enjoy a glass you already know will be good. 100% will return.

absolutely stunning view you would think you're in europe. limitedmenuso opted for the steak. the steak was just alright a bit tough. ideally, themenuwould have a bit more variety.

i have eaten at yabby lake a number of times over the years, and it used to be fantastic. formerly they had a lovelymenulinked to chinchin, then changed to compete with other more quasi bistro type places.

unfortunately they have headed downhill like a slalom racer recently.

we had booked a table, upon arrival though they had my wife's name wrong and had given it away, so scurried to find another.

themenuis now so short that of the five mains, one is vegetarian, two fish and then a duck and a steak. which quickly was reduced further as they had sold out of duck. which is a disgrace when it's a long weekend and they were fully booked.
so if you we didn't feel like seafood then steak it was.

our mains arrived in less than 15 minutes, which is almost fast foodesque, unfortunately it was before our entree, which had been forgotten.

at $36 one may expect a decent piece of meat, yabby lake was consistent on the day- both our steaks were similar to boot leather.

needless to say, we won't be heading back.
sad that what used to be a lovely spot has so fallen so far.

an amazing lunch at yabby lake vineyard with two friends from the gold coast, sitting on the balcony overlooking the vines - it truly is a beautiful setting. the waitress that was serving our table was extremely knowledgeable about themenuand the wines. the highlight for for me was the local mussel hotpot, although all the dishes were of the higher standard. well worth the drive and will definitely be back.