Contentious Character — Restaurant in District of Canberra Central

I emailed the CC team following my poor experience but have never received a reply, so am posting the experience here as my review. Really unfortunate - I wanted to love this place but it's just disappointing.

I just want to start by saying that I absolutely love your vibe. Your setting is beautiful and wines are so so good.

We were delighted by being able to sit inside even though our booking was for outside - that was awesome and so appreciated that it was offered before we even asked.

We ordered our entrees, mains, wine and dessert all at once. I ordered the vegan scallops.

When they arrived (everything took so long to come to the table by the way), I ate half of one of three and just really didn't like it. When someone came to clear our table they asked if there was something wrong with it and I said it just wasn't for me but I'm sure it was lovely. Then we asked what the "meat" component was as it was a vegan meal and we couldn't place it. The waiter looked surprised and said it was not the vegan one, and that the vegan scallops were big mushrooms and very recognisable. He apologised that I had eaten meat. I was upset but just let it go. He offered to bring the mushroom ones and I said no thanks as I was turned off food at that point, but he offered again and we agreed. He then asked if he could get me some wine to try, that would pair with the mains. I was excited about this and felt bad for the error it seems they were trying so hard to fix.

The wines he returned with were the pinot gris and the verdhelo. We had just had a glass of each - so I had actually already had both of them. I feel like this should have been recognised?

Mains didn't come for an hour and 45 minutes after we were seated - so it was almost 3pm before I had something to eat. The chickpea cakes were delightful but nothing special, especially for the price (basically smashed falafel). We were also served a steak but were never given a steak knife, and at that point it was just kind of comical to have to struggle with the food.

After a few minutes, the same dish that we were told was the meat scallops was served to our table by a different waiter. I told that waiter that we were told we were getting the vegan ones. He apologised and went back to the kitchen, then came back with the exact same dish again, saying they were the vegan ones. It seemed like one of the waiters didn't know what the dish was and all trust was gone at that point, so I just said we would pass on it as we were eating mains at that point.

We were then served the creme brulee which was essentially just mousse? It was so strange. Nothing creme brulee about it, at all.

At the end of the meal we paid for everything, including the scallops. And the cost to dine here is huge considering poor staff training on the menu and poor dish execution. Happy to pay for a dish I didn't like, but feels a bit rough to pay for a dish we couldn't eat as none of the waitstaff knew if it was meat or not.

The entire experience was disappointing. I hope that this feedback helps to ensure that others are wowed by what seems like a really cool venue.

Thanks...

If you’re planning a wedding, CC is a great location. We held our's there earlier this year before the world turned upside down and such events became impossible for the foreseeable future. We cannot speak more highly of the team (Tony, Mark and Chef Tom).

As a venue, CC is absolutely stunning. The restaurant is nestled amongst the vines and overlooks the rolling hills of Wamboin, about 20 minutes outside of Canberra. Really, CC is a vineyard in the middle of the Australian bush, and that’s exactly how it looks and feels. We held our ceremony outside on the lawns between the restaurant and the vineyard with the hills in the background. There is also a wet weather option in the barrelling room under the restaurant, which is really intimate and unique.

As far as photos, CC has it all. From the vineyard to the bush, and a gumtree lined country road to a small wooden jetty jutting out over a dam, there’s plenty of great locations; and depending on the time of year, the vines will be a vivid green, golden yellow or deep ruby red (we checked it at various times before choosing a date). We’ve also never seen a sunset on the East Coast of Australia quite as beautiful.

On the food front, we were clear about the menu we wanted: fresh Italian style pastas, risotto and seasonal salads and vegetables. Chef Tom delivered the perfect menu (which didn’t require a side trip to McDonald’s on the way home - there was more food than we could collectively eat). When Tom told us Italian was his jam, he wasn’t kidding - the food was perfect and plentiful. Of course, it was all accompanied by CC’s excellent wine range, which is quite diverse depending on your tastes (we highly recommend ‘Dry as a Dead Dingoes Donga’ - the 2018 Riesling).

In conclusion, we really cannot recommend Contentious Character enough; and until we’re allowed to go outside again, I highly recommend getting down to your local bottle-shop and trying some (or...

What a little gem. We had heard about Contentious Character and had been meaning to check it out. We were planning our monthly lunch and Contentious Character’s name popped up so we decided that we would try it out.

When we arrived the team quickly seated us and looked after our drink order while we went through the menu. We choose the Al la Carte menu with the Indulgence wine tasting option. All I can say was that the wines matched the menu perfectly. There was no hurry to move us along to make way for another sitting. We had a relaxing afternoon overlooking the vineyards while enjoying sumptuous wines and delicious food.

After our first visit, we quickly revisited Contentious Character for another afternoon of wine and food. This time, we choose a grazing board for four people. Again, we were left to enjoy the atmosphere while indulging on the grazing board and matched wines. When we were finished, we looked down at the grazing board and there was still quite a bit of food left. I think that anyone who tackled the grazing board would be doing well if the board was finished.

We waddled out of there with our next challenge is to head out one Friday night and try their pizzas. Given the quality of our previous visits, I can’t think that the Pizzas will let them down.

This is a big call, but I would have to say that of the wineries in the Canberra region with restaurants, my pick would have to go to Contentious Character. Purely because the team there are so passionate about their products and you’re not rushed like some of the other establishments.

I forgot, the other thing I loved was the Winemaker was our tasting expert and he was so casual, on our first visit, he had just come in from mowing the lawns. Now that is...