Wickens At The Royal Mail Hotel — Restaurant in Dunkeld

LOVED THIS PLACE & WILL DEFINITELY BE BACK! Our one night stay at the Royal Mail Hotel was complemented with the conservation tour (we saw quolls for the first time!), dinner at Wickens and a visit to the kitchen garden the next morning. Emma(sorry if I got your name wrong!) from the conservation tour was knowledgeable and friendly. We learnt a lot from her! At Wickens, we requested for a table at the far right of the restaurant so that we could have a good view of Mt Sturgon and the kitchen. It was mesmerising to watch Robin and his team waltz around the kitchen preparing the fresh and delicious food that was dished out at a timely paced manner. We particularly loved the ox cheek and steak, and would not mind driving all the way back from Melbourne for more! The pork loin tasted good but we found the crackling ironically too crunchy/hard... It was almost impossible to politely cut it with the cutlery provided. Also, the forced rhubard dessert and jelly baby vegetables were an acquired taste. All of the wait staff were very attentive and helpful. We especially enjoyed our conversations with the witty sommelier who noticed our obsession with their beautiful plates. We opted for the cheaper Garden Room to stay the night in and did not regret our choice. Despite without a mountain view (it was too dark to see it after dinner anyway), the room was extremely spacious and well-equiped. The bed however, felt smaller than the queen bed we have at home, making us question if it really was a queen as advertised. As someone who works with children with special needs, I also liked how inclusive and accessible the room was designed to be. The Kitchen Garden tour was eye-opening and we learnt a lot. Dave(?) and Michelle were kind and patient enough to answer all the questions that my partner and I had! Perhaps spoilt by our amazing evening meal at Wickens, our lunch experience at Parker Street Project was a bit disappointing. We ordered macaroni and cheese & lamb ribs as starters. The lamb ribs were tasty and divine, but the macaroni and cheese were a touch too salty. The blue eye fillet was overcooked and tough, and the risotto was overcooked and mushy. However, the great service by the team made up for it. Upon receiving our feedback, they thanked us and gave us a discount on our final bill. We felt genuinely appreciated, and will be back to see if things...

So disappointing! While the food was excellent, as we anticipated, we were very disappointed in the service and reluctance to accommodate our simple requests. We didn't receive a warm welcome which gave us a very negative first impression and overall we found the wait staff quite aloof and unfriendly. Upon arrival we asked to be moved out of the cold, draughty entrance to a vacant warmer table, only to receive a blunt "no" by the waitress. Reluctantly she moved us only after it was made obvious the other tables were not reserved. This particular waitress failed to smile once during the evening! When making the reservation at Wickens, we were told that we could order either the 5 or 8 course degustation menu, only to be informed on the night this was not the case. (we all had to order the same number of courses) As we were celebrating significant birthdays I asked the waitress if it would be possible to place a candle/sparkler on one of our group's desserts, which she said would not be a problem. When this did not happen I asked the particular waitress what the problem was, when she then disappeared back to the kitchen, but failed to come back to our table with any explanation! This behaviour left us stunned- quite unusual! We have dined at several 'chef hatted' restaurants who have always been very obliging to help celebrate a birthday! We stayed the night at the Royal Mail cottages and next morning one of our party had to endure a cold shower, when none of us had long showers previously! So we experienced disappointment after disappointment. One exception was our sommelier, Cedric, who had a very friendly warm personality and an extensive knowledge of the wines on offer. As this was a very special occasion which we were really looking forward to for some time, we were so disappointed that we had far from an enjoyable experience at Wickens! After emailing management with our concerns, we received a dismissive reply which did not address the issues raised. The response showed no intention to act on this constructive criticism. We won't be returning there again or recommending Wickens to...

When we knew we would be visiting Warrnambool for the Mirka Mora/Lisa Gorman exhibition we added Wickens and the Royal Mail to our itinerary.

Despite their website suggesting they'd be closed at Christmas we tried entering December 25th for a booking and happily found they were open for Christmas lunch.

The unseasonable weather only added to the occasion, it felt very much like the European Christmases we loved. From our table we could watch Mt Sturgeon/Wurgarri drift in and out of heavy rain cloud throughout the afternoon. All that was missing was snow on the summit!

After a less then impressive experience at Parker Street Project the night before it's fair to say we were apprehensive ahead of lunch, but we need not have worried. Wickens was at a whole other level, from start to finish.

After a short walk from our room, we had our umbrella whisked away and were greeted with a glass of sparkling, a bag of Christmas treats to take home (house made pannetone, jam & butter) and a bouquet of native flowers from the gardens.

We were lucky enough to be seated adjacent to the kitchen, and enjoyed watching the brigade in action all afternoon. Every plate they turned out was a delight and each dish successfully highlighted the locally sourced, seasonal ingredients.

A kitchen walk-through/meet the chef with a local cheese crumpet and a glass of festive cherry punch was a nice touch, and a great leg-stretch at the midway point of a four hour dining experience.

Floor service was impeccable throughout.

We left deliriously happy, clutching a farewell gift of house-made chocolates and mince pies.

It was the first time we haven't cooked at Christmas, and we're so pleased Wickens did such a...