Vines Restaurant at Helen's Hill
Vines Restaurant at Helen's Hill is a modern Australian restaurant located at Helen's Hill winery in Yarra Valley.
The restaurant is on top of the hill overlooking the picturesque vineyard of soft lustrous rolling hills. It is a beautiful place for wedding reception if you are planning one! This time I was catching up with friends for a Sunday lunch and also doing some wine tasting at Helen's Hill and other vineyards in the vicinity. So nice to have a little break from the city and spend a day in the beautiful Yarra Valley.
The weekend lunch menu has a choice of five starters and five mains with a good selection of seafood and meat dishes. There is a rabbit casserole if you love game-meat. Also, there are four desserts and a cheese board to keep the dessert and cheese lovers happy. Here are the dishes that we enjoyed.
Zucchini Flowers - crumbed zucchini flowers in polenta and basil with Montrose ham mousse, served with Yarra Valley Pasta Shop linguine tossed in warm tomato coulis
This is the best zucchini flowers dish I had recently. The baby zucchinis and flowers are crispy outside filled with soft creamy mousse. The fresh linguine and tomato coulis are working so well to complement the zucchinis. Flavours are simple so to emphasis the freshness of the ingredients.
Sweet Potato Ravioli - house made roasted sweet potato and spinach ravioli with pureed chilli con carne
The texture of the ravioli is cooked al dente with the delicious filling. Instead of the usual ricotta and spinach filling, the roasted sweet potato & spinach version is really nice. The pureed chilli con carne also matched so well with the ravioli. The fried sweet potato and spinach added the crispy texture to the dish. Well done!
Trout - Buxton Trout fillet marinated in fresh ginger & spring onions, served on steamed Jasmine rice, braised lettuce & tamarind chutney
This Asian style trout fillet is so delicate with the subtle infused ginger & spring onion flavours. Perfectly cooked and served with the Jasmine rice, drizzles of light soy & tamarind chutney.
Pork Belly - Slow roasted pork belly stuffed with cabbage & sage, served with potato gratin & sauce piquante
This is such a heart warming dish... tender meat and potato. The delicious piquant sauce enhanced the flavours of the dish with the lightly acidic taste.
Bombe Alaska - passion fruit ice-cream inside a sponge cake covered with coconut meringue, served with coconut & passion fruit jelly
Such a memorable childhood favourite. An all-in-one dessert with the lovable ice-cream, sponge & meringue. The tropical fruit flavours of passion fruit and coconut are wowed! What not to like?
Chocolate & Blood Orange Terrine with blood orange syrup
A cheese cake style texture with chocolate and orange. Topped with fancy fairy floss and orange flavoured white chocolate. A truly beautiful and scrumptious dessert.
Coldstream Hills 1997 Briarston
Love this Bordeaux blend... perfect wine to share with friends. We did drink cautiously during this wine tasting afternoon so to drive home safely!
My favourite savoury dish - zucchini flowers
My favourite dessert - chocolate & blood orange terrine
We had a truly enjoyable lunch at Vines Restaurant. The beautiful setting, friendly staff and of course the good quality food. The use of fresh local produce has made the dishes special. It is a great place to have lunch or dinner catching up with family and friends, enjoying delicious food and wines. Hope you will have a good time there too!
Vines Restaurant at Helen’s Hill
16 Ingram Rd, Coldstream VIC 3770
(03) 9739 0222
