Lake House

Find romance, Jack and Annie style at Daylesford’s Lake House. The prized two hat restaurant ranked amongst regional Victoria and Australia’s best has kicked more goals than Romario’s professional career and the awards to go with it. Situated on Lake Daylesford, the large windows offer majestic views of the water and forest surrounds from the comfort of linen clothed tables in the Barry White let’s make love baby candlelight dining space. No 50 miles per hour thrills and excitement here, just an intimately relaxed groove and a sense that it’s 7pm when it’s really 11pm. Executive chef Alla Wolf Tasker, the grand dame of Australian cooking directs and creates luxurious dishes using seasonal and locally sourced ingredients that give the tastebuds a deep sensual massage. Thank goodness for the glossery at the back of her other half’s artfully designed menu to navigate and educate about the offerings, but the more than friendly staff are more than willing help with their business at the front but party at the back mullet approach. Might need their assistance to choose from the smorgasbord.

Entrees of Bambi carpaccio, hairline thin slices of rare, gamey deer is drizzled with a sparky herb and mushroom vinaigrette, nicola potatoes and taking an Iron Chef technique straight doubling up on the theme ingredient with pan fried deer sausage. Bambi’s mate Thumper comes in a large Krang raviolo that’s braised with leek, chestnut provides constrast to the tender rabbit meat.

Mains came in multiple acts and parts. Work through each of the soft fillet that’s salty brined, slow roasted pork belly with all the tasty fat trimmings, a ragout stew of trotters and crispy golden brown crackling that is a demonstration of master cooking of the humble Porky Pig. Daffy follows a similar serving theme, sip rich duck consommé from a modern champagne flute with the surprise of a duck dumpling at the bottom, roast duck breast cooked to medium rare with duck snag, celeriac and apple puree pairs beautifully with the gamey meat.

If you’re not completely stuffed, there’s a fine selection of worldly cheese. What better way to have coffee than to have some chocolate with it and then some, warm chocolate fondant with a dark chocolate oozy centre, a coffee chocolate marquise, a sophisticate, dense and very adult goo, a creamy chocolate sorbet with a coffee cardamom croquant (toffee crisp).

Little wonder this place is a culinary gem. Unlike the American rebadged movie of the same name, there is no shortage of imagination and creativity in the Lake House offerings.


3.5 / 5 yums!
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Where? King Street, Daylesford, VIC