Cullen Wines — Restaurant in Wilyabrup

My expectations were set high on coming to Cullen Wines, as it has long been a wine brand that I have held in high esteem. So high, that we decided to book the lunch tasting menu whilst we were there to ensure that we could enjoy these wines to the max as we thought positive that this would be a fantastic fine dining experience. But instead we left with a bad taste in our mouths from the underwhelming service, average food and badly presented wines we found at our cellar door experience.

Given that we had experienced Wildflower in Perth only days prior with an excellent experience at a similar price point, this is where we had a WA benchmark in our heads, but alas, Cullen came no where near.

Almost every element of our seating required a lot of waiting, and we even booked outside the peak lunch hour, and after a bit of an awkward wait at the restaurant entrance we were finally seated a a rustic picnic table on the balcony.

To start our meal they first gave us a terrible pet nat (trying to sell it as the kombucha of wines), swapped for a very flat and badly oxidated 2009 Sparkling that belonged down the sink, but the staff didn’t seem to believe our sentiment. The snacks to start were not a choice that really added value either.

The scallops were ok, very subtle in flavour but the Sav Blanc was matched well, we got two vintages of Chardonnay served with the fish of the day which was also just ok, followed by the dessert & a late harvest chenin blanc which was probably the best part of the meal which I normally wouldn’t go for.

All in all, I probably wouldn’t go back unless I hear that things change drastically on site as the experience just wasn’t at the level you’d expect for the price point they command. Their neighbours are doing it much better and they should probably visit other cellar doors to pick up on some hospitality...

Wine tasting & restaurant areas have been combined to provide a warm & welcoming atmosphere. The interior decor is rustic with photographs & timeline of the history of the winery greeting you on entry, before moving into the spacious restaurant layout adjacent to an intimate wine tasting area. The floor to ceiling windows provides a gorgeous sunny view overlooking beautifully manicured lawns & gardens, an organic vege garden & vineyards extending upslope. The vibe was relaxed & comfortable with a sense that everyone was thoroughly enjoying themselves. We felt right at home here! We had booked vertical-tasting of Cullen Chardies, Shiraz & Cabernets, followed by lunch. It was an unforgettable experience, so good, that it was superior to any food & wine tasting we have ever had, including at the Hunter Valley, Mornington Peninsular, Barossa Valley, except for D'Arenberg winery & restaurant which was on a par! The highlight of our experience was being taken through the wine tasting by Christian, whose knowledge of wines was encyclopaedic, but his explanations of the detail of each wine was even better! We felt that we learnt so much about wines from him, particularly Cullen wine making philosophy & innovative wine-making techniques which are designed, & succeed in producing wines of great subtlety & character, with point of excellence over other wines of the same variety. We highly recommend a visit to Cullen if you want a magnificent food &...

My wife and I are visiting from Sydney and booked a few special places to celebrate our wedding anniversary (and first trip since covid first hit) we were super excited to dine here at Cullen after reading through reviews online and taking a look at the sample menus. The front of house (wine tasting crew) were super friendly and welcoming but unfortunately the subsequent degustation menu did not match. Being a 2 hat restaurant we came in expecting a level of service you would find at other similar venues around Australia. When each course was dropped there was no explanation of what was on the plate or how it was prepared eg. “this is your first duck Rillette course”. When we got to the mains it was such a let down. My wife ordered the fish of the day (groper) and I had the wagyu beef. The fish came out overdone and was rubbery and I was given a butter knife for my steak! I couldn’t flag anyone down to ask for a knife so I gave it a shot — ended up pulling the beef apart with a butter knife and fork. When the waiter came back and asked how the food was, we usually don’t complain and say we loved it but this time we thought it was worth passing on the feedback. The waiter said thanks for the feedback (assume it was never passed on). Would have loved to see someone from the kitchen and hear our feedback on how they can improve.

Better restaurants out there in Margaret river (we went to a few others that were...