Some advice on Oakridge’s desserts: order them. Jo Barrett, half of one of Australian dining’s best double-acts with Matt Stone, does sublime sweet stuff, like the pistachio three ways served with apricot kernel crumble. But it’s not just about a happy ending. Barrett is also responsible for this winery restaurant’s superb sourdough bread and other baked highlights, such as the caraway croissant accompanying smoked trout, caviar and cultured cream, and the golden flaky pastry base of a mushroom tart with washed-rind cheese sauce. The room has glorious views of vineyards and distant hazy mountains, and there’s a similarly impressive, estate-heavy wine list to match. Stone has been on the low-waste and low-food miles trail since the start of his career; almost everything on the menu is sourced close to home, beginning at the vegie patches and stretching to thrillingly fresh burrata made with local Jersey milk, superb chorizo or belly with shatter-crisp skin from neighbourhood pigs, or a snack of emu pastrami with pickled green almonds that’s all Yarra Valley. Uncompromising? Sure. But it’s also uncompromisingly delicious, which is the best kind of sustainability.
Gourmet Traveller’s restaurant guide gives a yearly snapshot at the best restaurants to eat at right now. The best-rated restaurants, as judged by the reviewers’ first-hand experience, form our national Top 50. The wine star-ratings, which range from zero to three stars are made by wine editor Max Allen on the strength of the quality of the restaurant’s wine list. View our rating key here.
Jason Loucas
