Salix Restaurant - with wonderful view to Willow Creek Vineyard

Salix Restaurant (part of Willow Creek Vineyard)
166 Balnarring Road
Merricks North Vic 3926
Ph: +61 (0) 3 5989 7640

One of the best vineyard views at Mornington Peninsula is at Salix  Restaurant. The 1.5 hour drive to get there was so worth the ride! You should definitely visit Salix Restaurant if you are ever near the area.

Below are the food that I ate (after lots of pinot tasting which carried through to the dining room ;p ). Yummm

Seared Scallops warm salad, crispy pork belly, peach and roquette ginger and sherry dressing ($22)

Think of a highly sophisticated ‘surf and turf’ as the sweet scallops blend really well with the crispy slightly salty pork belly. A really light and satisfying starter to wet the apetite.

Seared scallops warm salad, crispy pork belly, peach & roquette, ginger & sherry dressing

Charred Yarra Valley deboned quail, saffron risotto balls, chorizo & black sherry marinated Delgrosso cherries

The quail was divine as it’s really juicy and I could not taste the ‘gamey’ flavour. The risotto ball is the modern twist of Italian Arancini (where they mix rice, saffron, cheese and deep fried them). As you can see all the ingredients are sourced locally.

Charred Yarra Valley deboned quail, saffron risotto balls, chorizo & black sherry marinated Delgrosso cherries

Char grilled eye fillet, potato and Heidi Gruyere gratin, local broncollini , chutney jus

I did not actually feast on this but my dining partner’s feedback was DIVINE. She mentioned that the meat was cooked perfectly, while the potato and heidi gruyere gratin ensure that you did not order any startch side. The chutney just added a little sweetness to the dish.

Char grilled eye fillet, potato and Heidi gruyere gratin, local broccolini, chutney jus

2006 Willow Creek Tumut Pinot Noir $55/bottle – lastly no meal in any winery would be complete without the local wine. I ended up purchasing a dozen of their high end pinot noir – Benedictus range which won’t last long .

2006 Willow Creek Tumut Pinot Noir

Related posts:

1. TGallant Winery – Mornington Peninsula
2. Montalto Vineyards – Mornington Peninsula
3. Arthurs Seat – Maze, Mornington Peninsula View
4. Strawberry Farm at Sunnyridge, Mornington Peninsula
5. Beaches at Mornington Peninsula