The Auswine Forum

We are visiting the MR area for a few days in April. Many of the wineries are open for lunch but not dinner. We are looking for a good restaurant in the general MR area for dinner. Are there any recommendations? Also if it's going to be lunch are there any recommendations?

Carl

Carl

The problem is that many, if not all, of the MR wineries are isolated from the accommodation. Accompanied by the fact that most cellar doors close by 4/5pm there is little to choose from for dinner although occasionally some wineries have special dinners - you would need to search their websites. Usually i stay at Pullman's Bunker Bay resort which has an ok dinner restaurant and decent accommodation. Located at the north end of MR region, some 15-20min from heart of Wilyabrup MR wineries.

Regards

Is Arc of Iris still open in town ?
If so, go for their duck.
Also I think the Settlers Tavern is regularly awarded best regional winelist if you want quality drinks with dinner.

Just grab a sausage roll mate ..
Laughin !

Hi Carl

I would say Margaret River town itself is a little challenged for quality dinner venues. I think there are two that are pretty consistent and tick most of the boxes:

Miki's Open Kitchen - tucked away in an arcade off the main street, Japanese with more of a tempura than a sashimi lean, if you know what I mean - but well thought out dishes featuring WA produce, nice ambience and service. The "trust the chef" degustation is a nice flavour progression but possibly a bit small on the portion side - a la carte maybe a better option if you're hungry. Small wine list but can BYO I think $10 per bottle. A tiny place so need to book - go for the late sitting if you don't want any time pressure.

Morrie's Anytime - Casual bistro feel and food always pretty reliable - Tapas options or mains so you can tailor the meal around your wines or how hungry you are - well thought out menu with some nice dishes - wine list is OK without being too exciting but you can BYO here as well just mention when booking. They aim to please with service but your smiling waiter might be a Euro traveller on his/her second shift - but there will be someone there who knows what's going on...

Cuttlefish is right about the Settler's Tavern - worth a visit to warm up with a beer (Margaret River Brewing Co is exclusive to the Tavern and brewed by Janice McDonald from Howard Park) while you peruse the wine list, give yourself about half an hour to look through the bound book - it's diverse interesting and a fun read, and very reasonable pricing on the wines - food is pretty good pub food and they have an authentic American smoker bbq - ribs, brisket etc...

For winery lunches Vasse Felix is the standard bearer and they always seem to meet the expectations. Cullen a little more casual approach but very impressive food. Wills Domain have also heard lots of good things but can't vouch for personally.

Hope you have a great trip

Cheers

Dave

Thanks everyone for your recommendations. Some good options here although for our special shidig to celebrate wedding anniversary a lunch is being planned. Much better options here. Also our stay will coincide with a round of the world surfing competition which will be awesome. Saw 2 Pipe Masters at Pipeline in 2011 and 2013 and it was awesome. Huge waves. Hope MR can produce same.

Carl

Can recommend Voyager Estate for dining, they also have some older vintages of their wines available from the list at reasonable prices which is a bonus.

Lamont's Smiths Beach could be an option. I've not been there myself, but can vouch for the Lamont's establishments in Perth. Perhaps have a look at their website and see if that might suit?

Hi Carl,

MR (region) restaurants / café recommendations (my favourites):
- Little Fish restaurant (need to google to find the location but will be about 25 minutes drive up caves road from where you are staying) – best food in the whole region (and very large portions) – have to try the “blackened fish” if you like fish. Open lunch and dinner but have to book in advance for the Easter weekend – ask for a veranda table overlooking the lake
- Morries restaurant (in Margaret River town) – good dinner restaurant but does B, L & D.
- White Elephant café (gnarabup beach near where you are staying) – great café above water with beach views
- Swings & Roundabouts pizzas (see vineyards above) – lunchtime only
- Margaret River Bakery (in Margaret River town) – great breakfast but closed Sundays (no dinner but worth checking out for breakfast).

Also, just in case you are interested:
My favourite vineyards Tier 1: Woodlands, Cullen, Vasse Felix, Cape Mentelle, Leeuwin Estate, Voyager Estate (although VE charges for tastings) & Moss Wood (for Moss Wood you need to book in advance and takes approx. 1 hour including barrel tastings).
My favourite vineyards Tier 2: Juniper, Lenton Brae, Ashbrook, Pierro, Howard Park and Woody Nook (perhaps a little less known / pricey but still great wine generally).

Other things to do in the region:
- Margaret river mouth kayaking / canoeing
- Gnarabup beach
- Large trees / forest in the Leeuwin National Park (drive south on Caves Road) and the Boranup galley (if you are into furniture / stuff made of wood)
- Caves (Giants / Lake / Mammoth / Jewel/ Ngilgi)
- Walks “Cape to Cape” walking path down the coast – a nice stretch is Cape Naturalist to Yallingup / Smiths Beach (park your car at the Naturalist lighthouse and then order a taxi at the Smiths Beach Hotel to get back to your car)
- Meelup beach (very pretty but gets crowded) or Castle Rock beach near Meelup but a lot quieter
- Dunsborough beach (very shallow for a long way out and often has little sand bar islands a distance from shore which are quiet fun to walk between).
- Hamelin Bay beach (very pretty but a long way to drive for the beach)
- Cheese companies / factories (various)
- Breweries (various)
- Chocolate Co
- Simmos Icecream factory
- Yallingup Maze (on Caves Road)
- Bird sanctuary (off Bussell Hwy)
- Petting zoo (on Caves Road between Dunsborough and Yallingup)
- Eagles Heritage wildlife centre (on Bussell Hwy)

Hope you find at least some of it useful. Let me know if you want any tips for Perth or Rottnest.

Sorry, ignore the "where you are staying" comment(s) - I copied the list from something I sent to a friend previously.