Oakridge Wines Restaurant - Healesville

This winery has an extensive range of lovely wines that you can taste at cellar door, then have at the restaurant at a small markup. The food was lovely in a sunny and bright restaurant. We went when the autumn leaves were at their brightest and this provided lovely scenery to enjoy the lovely meal with.

We were recommended to try out this restaurant and as it was our wedding anniversary thought we would give it try. When we arrived (Monday) the place was very busy and we thought our chances had gone. However the friendly staff advised us they would have a table for us in 20 minutes if we wanted to wait. The wait was worth it as the food was delicious. and we were even shouted a glass of Champers to celebrate our day. Would recommend this establishment to anyone visiting the area, However Book just in case you miss out,

We were gifted with a three course meal which we used for a late Saturday lunch. The staff were attentive and polite. The restaurant boasts a peaceful view across the vineyard and if you sit outside or next to a window you will enjoy this view. The restaurant was noisy and busy, cafeteria style. The wines are good. The menu was modern. The heavy table bread and local butter was delicious. Choosing from the menu was difficult because the choices were somewhat novel and the food arrived appearing quite different from expected. Putting three courses together made for an extremely rich fatty meal and one day later we still feel sickly squeamish. My entree was lovely - rich and creamy (Caraway pastry, smoked trout, caviar, garden herbs) but my partner's entree was quite tasteless (Chicken liver parfeit, muntrie, oat crisp). My main course was dry with unpleasant flavours (Beef Madras). My partner's main (Berkshire pig, sprouts, parsnip, quince mostarda) consisted mostly of thick white pig fat with a little meat and disappointedly soft crackle. Traditionally the Berkshire pig is heavily marbled. But at Oakridge Winery restaurant the ratio of pig fat to meat was unbalanced. The course itself was not as tasty as expected. While the presentation was nice, the pig arrived with the vegetables and mostarda piled together with the pig, maybe to hide the obvious lack of meat. Deserts were hit and miss. I enjoyed the pears with hokey pokey ice-cream but my partner said that his choice of desert was disappointing and bland (Burnt orange, rhubarb

My advise: get the premium range of wines. They are absolutely amazing. After going around the area for wine tasting, Oakridge has stood out by far.The person serving us was able to answer our questions about the soil types, type of oak used for the barrels and elevation/density of the vines.A must go in Yarra.

Last Friday a friend and l made a return to our favourite restaurant at Oakridge. It was a perfect day in the Yarra Valley and we were shown to a window table overlooking the vines. The service was excellent, with all the waiters knowledgeable and helpful with our food and wine choices. Our lunch was truly delicious but the stand out was the orange and gin parfait we chose for dessert. We were still talking about it on the way home. Well done Matt! One thing that really surprised us that a diner at the next table had his poodle sitting next to him. Surely he did not consider the effect on other diners.