Watervale Hotel - Ethical Epicurean Experiences — Restaurant in Watervale

Our evening began with co-owner, Warrick, giving us a tour of the restaurant, including the very schmick huge open kitchen, with his lovely wife and head-chef, Nicola (@nicola_j_palmer), at the helm. We placed ourselves willingly in their hands, opting for a vegetarian degustation menu with matched wines.Warrick very obligingly modified his wine pairings to match our preference for reds. No small feat, given that most sommeliers, even in Michelin-starred premises we have patronised, seem to think that only whites match the peculiar flavour profiles of plant-based options.

The menu kicked off with an amuse-bouche of dried/dehydrated apple with ricotta and floral adornment – a tantalising palate opener. Then the action really started with a restrained watermelon crudo complete with shallots and dill paired with a lovely mild O’Leary Walker Riesling. Visually tempting purple potato chips, pulled from their biodynamic garden that morning followed, with a beetroot tartare and an equally moreish local tempranillo. A delicious baked squash stuffed with quinoa and feta and perched on a smear of smoked corn sauce was next, paired with another red. This was absolutely gorgeous and left us longing for more. We needn’t have worried. Our experience was far from over! A delicate citrus lime sorbet followed to cleanse the palate in preparation for a finale of superb dishes that had our taste buds popping: • Charred carrots with a dollop of apple sauce and a smattering of hazelnuts paired with the subtle Jim Barry Assyrtiko; • Baked yellow zucchini with one of the best Baba Ganoush ever (more like a Greek melitzanosalata) and a wonderful tomato relish. Wow – this was only just our favourite, in a full list of winners. It went beautifully with a rich 2017 Skillogalee shiraz. And just when you thought it couldn’t get any better it did! The dessert! Nicola’s playful watermelon four ways was paired with another Riesling: this time a very very sweet one from Mr Hyde. So as the evening began and ended with watermelon and a Riesling, so it ended. It was a true act of poetic symmetry. And that dessert was probably one of the best we have ever eaten! Overall, it was a superlative evening – lasting two and a half hours. Not only were all dishes attractively plated, and the integrity of the hero vegetable or ingredient of each was totally preserved, with any accompaniments only enhancing the flavour not overwhelming it. Each dish had a subtle and beautiful flavour The final surprise was the actual bill ($224 for two). Country pub prices, particularly for the wine, with culinary flavours that matched, if not surpassed, other vegetarian degustation experiences at Hentley Farm, Hardy’s Verandah, and Botanic Gardens. What a gem of a place! We can’t...

This is one of the best restaurants in South Australia. Maybe even Australia. Every single thing we’ve eaten here has been at a ridiculous deliciousness level. (This was my second visit). Sometimes you go to a restaurant and the waiter asks, “would you like some bread to start”, and you say, “yeah ok, sure…” but really you’re expecting just bread and butter and nothing to get excited about. But here the most delicious crispy but soft bread turned up, with butter that tasted like it was whipped by hand straight from a cow’s udder by some cheerful milk maiden who probably yodelled. Before I had recovered from this heavenly bread and butter combo: BOOM - beef carpaccio. Delicious, fresh, get in my mouth vibes the entire time. Then prosciutto pasta, with these adorable little caterpillars which I’m sure have a fancy Italian name but I can’t remember it - every single caterpillar was just the right texture, and each time I chewed one I felt like smiling like a maniac (although admittedly sometimes I do this in reaction to other amazing things, like donkeys). But really, they were chewable happiness! And then, even though I was so full I had to undo the top button of my jeans (but in consideration of my fellow diners, I didn’t until I got in the car), I ordered a raspberry sorbet, because even though I was super full, I know that desserts go into a special dessert stomach. So then the sorbet arrived and by god, even that was outrageously delicious! Fresh and zingy and perfect. I also should to mention that the maître d was a maître dog called Frankie and everyone else was lovely too. Moral of the story is: this is a great restaurant and I thoroughly enjoyed my birthday dinner here. (AND it wasn’t...

“feast: an elaborate and usually abundant meal” TLDR- average food, average service and poor management.

I used their website and left my number expecting a call back. I never got one.

I then booked (and prepaid) online again expecting to be contacted regarding the menu, i was not.

Upon arrival me and my guests were advised that there was NO BEER on tap as they were cleaning the beer lines, on a Saturday! I was told there was larger beer but then i was brought a dark ale by someone else. When i asked about the larger the waiter said “do you want it or not”.

We prepaid for a “gourmet feast” so we expected, a FEAST! What we got was average tasting food and not a lot of it. The chicken was on par with a hot chicken you can get at the supermarket, but not as delicious. I mentioned i preferred vegetarian options which was a big mistake! The vegetarian options were almost insulting! And again, very un-feast-like. The highlight if the meal was the bread and butter which was tasty.

The wait staff were friendly enough but clearly not very well trained. Apart from having to leave the table to go and order drinks (from the bar with no beer), we witnessed plates being stacked when the table was being cleared several times. The bar was staffed by one person who had 360 degrees of bar to tend with a wall dividing it, so when i went to order a drink i had to wait an excessive amount of time to be told they couldn’t help me.

The venue itself is pretty visually appealing and is definitely setup to deliver on their promises.

At the end of the day we left still hungry having sat through a long disappointing meal with large gaps between courses and a bad taste...