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Upstairs at Hollick
Ravenswood Lane
Coonawarra South Australia 5263
W www.hollick.com
Eupstairs@hollick.com
T+61 8 8737 2752
F+61 8 8737 2952
OPEN Lunch Tuesday to Sunday, Dinner Friday and Saturday
FOOD A flourish of an entrance stylishly understated
with a curved wall of the exquisite and sought after Mount Gambier
stone leads straight into a small well-designed tasting area with
handsome timber stairs to the dining room. A cold and wet day the
mist clings to the tops of the trees and drips into the vines and
the brilliant emerald grass between the scraggly autumn vines is
hopefully a promise of more rain yet to come. The restaurant space
is beautiful and the air is laden with the smells and promise of
good cooking.
This is a little regional restaurant of some sincere
excellence. Their menu is not the monotonous cloned menu so common
in the city and they are taking full advantage of the bounteous food
basket of the region. The Twice baked mushroom
and raclette cheese soufflé, grilled field mushroom and hazelnuts ($16)
was a masterpiece with just the right amount of mushroom, a lovely grilled mushroom
base and a smattering of nuts. Best of all the texture was perfect without a
trace of egginess. The Sweetbread filled tortellini, Dijon mustard cream
jus, parsley salad ($16 entrée and $26 main) was impossible to go past.
They were delicious but the pasta was thickly rolled and the dish would be benchmark
if the pasta was rolled to the last notch. Regardless it is a good dish. The
prawn salad ($16 entrée and $26 main) showed none of the genius of
everything else we ate (or saw pass by) and was something of a token
dish.
Spoiled at dessert we were lucky enough to try a selection of their desserts.
The Vanilla bean panacotta was to ’die for’, the Chocolate
and orange custard pot, vincotto orange salad was
exquisitely velvety chocolate with an orange compote that, with firm acidity,
hauled the richness back to just the right degree. Creamed rice is a personal
dislike (one of very few), however the Warm spiced poached pear, creamy ’Poire
William’ Rice pudding and macadamia praline was very good and the subtly
flavored just warmed creamed rice was something of an epiphany because it tasted
so wonderful.
Often we quite unfairly put our expectations for regional restaurants somewhat
lower than we do for city establishments. Upstairs at Hollick’s is very
much driven by the passions of the winery’s owner, Wendy Hollick who has
been a determined promoter of the region and its bounty, including ABC Food with
local presenter Stan Thomson. Add their superb wines to the experience, friendly,
opinionated and enthusiastic service Upstairs at Hollicks would rate
well anywhere. Next time there has to be a B&B within walking distance or maybe
we can hitch hike there and back and take full advantage of their excellent wines?
AO
WINE Too bad we were driving and had to be so abstemious
with our drinking, begging half glasses and damn-it spitting. Running
downstairs to taste and select your next wine is encouraged. All
wines, with the exception of museum wines are available by the glass
including wines with as much as six years of age range from $5.50
to $14 for their 2001 Hollick Ravenswood Cabernet Sauvignon.
Their 2004 Hollick ’Hollaia’ Sangiovese Cabernet
Sauvignon comes highly recommended, as does their Sparkling
Merlot and their 2005 Hollick the nectar. The nectar
has superbly balanced sugar and acidity and my mind is running wild
with the matching options for this elegant little princess. |
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