Kooroomba Vineyards and Lavender Farm. — Attraction in Mount Alford

Unremarkable

The food was disappointing for a Sunday celebration lunch. The meal started off nicely with warm bread with smoked butter and fermented tomato. We also had the scallop entree and a piece of octopus which were ok but unfortunately it went downhill from there. Maybe because it was a Sunday the mains didn't seem to be to be freshly cooked. Everyone's mains seemed to be all slow (pre) cooked . Even the "wagyu score 8/9+ karubi" cut which is meant for Japanese bbq was only available slow cooked. The "crispy pork with rainbow chard, warrigal greens and plum jam" was a 1cm thick slice of basic porchetta on a spoonful of plum jam and a few leaves of raw rainbow chard not even wilted but still cold from the fridge. The porchetta slice also seemed to be stewed and the skin crisped in places afterwards. We ordered sides... the lavender baked potatoes were 5 little baby chats that had been given a quick sear...nothing you could describe as a baked potato. The "heirloom ox-heart tomatoes with shallot dressing" were 4 thin slices of unremarkable tomato... like what youd get from a supermarket ...with a balsamic glaze. The servings were not generous by any stretch. The salmon main was a narrow slice with leathery skin and while the centre wasn't overcooked the outside was very dry which wasnt acceptable for a $42 main. It had 2 cherry tomatoes cut in half as a garnish. There was no sign/taste of coconut in the thin sauce with a few finger lime pearls. We did comment on the meal when asked as we were leaving as this was the only opportunity. We weren't asked at any other time how anything was and had to wait for the next course to be served to even ask for pepper as they seemed understaffed. If you want to give customers small servings the food needs to be impeccable to justify the price. Wouldn't bother going back to the restaurant. The scenery was pretty and the wine we had was good but didn't make up for the...

I recently attended the Kooroomba lavender farm & winery with some friends with the intent on sampling some lovely rustic food accompanied with house made wines and didn’t it disappoint.

The venue itself is well constructed and framed by gorgeous lavender crops and picturesque mountain ranges. Honestly the view is spectacular.

Upon being seated we were given the “terrace menu” which after reading it seemed like it was confused at what it was trying to achieve. The menu seemed slapped together and lacked cohesiveness.

Our group ordered 2 serves of the wild snapper main, a serve of the popcorn fried cauliflower and a serve of the buffalo mozzarella with red sauce and basil. Both serves of the snapper came out overcooked and were tougher than an old leather boot served on a base of cold puree and diced carrot and chorizo. Felt like the meal was slapped together by a child with no experience in the culinary field. The buffalo mozzarella also disappointed with what appeared to be a can of tomatoes emptied into a dish heated up and a few slices of mozzarella thrown in.

I approached the manager and explained our food experience and she offered a round of replacement meals. We declined and asked for a refund as the only edible dish was the cauliflower, so 1 out of 4 dishes we could eat.

The manager returned to our table with a bottle of sparkling Chardonnay and $30 cash by way of reimbursement for this epic fail. Realistically it should’ve been closer to a $100 refund. This left us very confused as none of us were drinking sparkling Chardonnay from the 3 wine varietals previously ordered by our group.

All in all I wouldn’t recommend this food to my worst enemy and would give it less than 1 star if that was possible. If you choose to attend this venue better to be safe than sorry and bring a...

The drive from Brisbane to the farm is just over an hour. Whilst we were driving we could feel the busyness of the city melt away. The vistas of the Flinders Ranges, the Scenic Rim emerging on the horizon, are just majestic. Tuscany hills and Provence valley have nothing over this beautiful region in Queensland.

Once we parked our car, the first thing we did was to take a deep breath in. The scent of lavender and the views are something to not just take in visually, but with as many senses as possible. That being said, we sat down at the semi-circular bar first thing to taste some of the vineyards wines. The grapes are mostly harvested from the granite belt, as are most of the grapes used in SE Qld wine making these days. The wines are serious contenders for superb food pairing or just for a bottle shared with friends or loved ones. The sparkling wine is very original and just perfect chilled on a spring afternoon listing to live music and sampling locally produced cheeses.

We chose the chardonnay to go with our lunch. Its a full flavoured ripe fruit (pear and melon) tasting wine that reminded me more of the Loire river sauv blancs from France than the minerally dry chardies. The menu is full of surprises and presents courses that are so different from anywhere else. We enjoyed the mushroom linguini, pumpkin bread, salmon steak and tagine. The deserts were very tempting, but we have small stomachs and have to come back for one of those.

After dinner, we had a browse in the shop and wandered around and about the farm with its most prominent and spectacular views. We don't think one can ever get sick of these and we'll be...