Vasse Felix — Attraction in Cowaramup

In short, wow! Bit of a long review but the experience totally deserves it.

It’s rare these days to go to a restaurant and be completely blown away. The calibre is high in fine dining. And yet, Vasse Felix completely blew our minds and filled our souls with decadent happiness.

It had been nine years since we’ve visited the restaurant on our first trip to MR and now, as we celebrated my wife’s 30th birthday and 10 years since we met, we decided to revisit our favourite memories.

The renovated winery is beautiful. It holds all the heritage and prestige that has led it to where it is now but holds a modern contemporary twist. It’s beautiful, refined and elegant.

We’re greeted by the very friendly and welcoming staff. A special thank you to Melanie who looked after us, made the experience feel all the more special and was an absolute delight.

Onto the food… Chef Brendan Pratt and the team absolutely knocked this menu out of the park. It’s a perfect balance of rich and fresh dishes that dance on your palate and make you want to run your finger across the plate - leave no sauce behind and I’m unashamedly guilty of that on most (all) of the courses.

Bread and butter. The simple things in life being such joy when done right. Who knew burnt butter emulsion infused butter was a thing?… We didn’t. But we are glad we do now. Superb.

Snacks. Most restaurants serve these delicate and artistic creations to start your meal and wow your eyes. We were greeted instead, with a glazed and stuffed chicken wing… And it was epic. The smell was the first thing to hit us, then the sticky shiny glaze of the plump wing stuffed with scallop. No knife and fork here, do it properly, pick it up and get into it. I could have happily had a bucket of those and a crisp beer. Wow. What an amazing decadent and yet refined start to the meal.

Scallop, apple, poppy seed and orange. Beautifully delicate and zesty to freshen the palate from the rich starter. The acidity and tart/sweet apple pairs perfectly with the beautiful elegance of the Abrolhos island scallop. It’s simple, gorgeous and a symphony of stunning produce.

Beef, lettuce, oyster, caviar. This was a perplexing dish when explained to us. Slow cooked beef short rib, oyster cream, baby gem lettuce and a jus with caviar. Ok. I’ll trust you. If the way it smells is anything to go by, it will be delicious. First bite. Ok. Delicious is an understatement. What a cascade of flavours and textures. It just all works together. The beautifully tender rib with the caramelised bark, the freshness of the lettuce, richness of the oyster cream (wow), and the sweetness of the jus with the salty pops from the caviar. Superb. Just superb. What a dish.

Yuzu, lemon, bay leaf. We are then created by these little marshmallow like pillows of wonder. Again, fresh, zesty and moreish.

Toothfish, spring onion, seaweed, béarnaise. Wow. Out of all the amazing dishes we’ve had this year, this by far is the standout. An absolutely flawless expression. The toothfish is so perfectly cooked a fork easily creates a clean cut. It melts while retaining its beautiful texture all at the same time. The sweetness of the fish is balanced by the salty seaweed it’s wrapped in. Incredible. Then the spring onion which has this amazing charred depth of flavour to it. And the béarnaise. Just wow. Rich, decadent, delicious. Every mouthful was followed by a pause of contemplation, indulgence and bliss. Just outstanding.

To finish, chocolate, burnt butter, whey. Beautifully rich yet light at the same time. I’ll be honest and say I was in such a state of happiness I didn’t pay too much attention to the intricacies of this dessert. But it was delicious. And a lovely way to finish the degustation.

By this stage we’ve truly come to appreciate that full impact flavours and balance are the key to this menu. And the thing we admired most is how decadent the dishes were in terms of flavour yet we didn’t feel overindulged by the end of it.

10/10. And we absolutely cannot wait to...

We chose to visit this restaurant for lunch because it’s renowned as the top winery and dining destination in WA, and we’re so glad we did! We ordered the tasting menu, and I can confidently say it was one of the most memorable dining experiences we’ve had in years.

The meal began with their house-made sourdough paired with cultured butter – already impressive and full of flavor. This was followed by the fried stuffed scallop zucchini flower, which was absolutely delicious and paired perfectly with the Blanc de Blanc.

There were also a few delightful snacks that were both beautiful and tasty. The stuffed chicken wings were bursting with flavor, and the sweet potato flatbread with mussels was a unique and wonderful combination. We were also blown away by the freshness of the tomato and rock melon, which was complemented beautifully by the peppermint buttermilk cream.

The cured kingfish was incredibly fresh and harmonized perfectly with the other components, especially when paired with the Sauvignon Blanc. Each bite was simply perfect.

Next came the oyster beef and toothfish, both of which were truly exceptional – I honestly can’t find the right words to describe how incredible they were. A mango yuzu course in between was a lovely palate cleanser, and the finger lime was a perfect final touch.

The grand finale was a gorgeous peach and fig leaf waffle – just as stunning as all the previous dishes. Not a single part of this meal was anything short of extraordinary, and the service was impeccable as well. Every team member was friendly, welcoming, and attentive to every little detail.

All in all, this was one of the finest dining experiences we’ve had in years. Everything, from the food to the service, was just top-notch. We can’t wait to return. You guys...

Overrated!!! Disappointed with the restaurant and wine experience. Cannot blame the staff because the poor service is a direct reflection of the management efforts to train, oversee and incentivize the staff members. We are travelers from US and no affiliation with any winery business in the area. Facts: Food mediocre at best, steak is only served “rare”, cannot order it medium rare or medium. White and rose wines were served room temperature! Really? We thought this is the art of wine place and the best at what they do. Restaurant and entire winery building is vast, empty spaces everywhere, yet the upstairs restaurant tables are super close and you can hear everything your neighbors discuss and you can be heard around even if you keep voice very low. Again lack of leadership from the management side in organizing the available space for customer comfort. Staff is overworked, laid back, demoralized, unwelcoming, tired to serve customers and most importantly untrained! As we reached the winery, we were told by a staff member that the restaurant is full with reservations and I should not waste my time going in. I mentioned we do have reservations and proceeded to the restaurant reception, where the person receiving guests ignored us and left in a hurry…no words. When I demanded service, we were eventually sat and the disappointment followed. Don’t waste your time at Vasse Felix, we had top notch service at Clairault Streicker or Voyager Estate or...