Leonards Mill: A true representation of place and people
A restaurant at the far end of the Fleurieu Peninsula deserves a gold medal for its locavore commitment, writes Simon Wilkinson
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Today’s lunch is presented by Alan, Kerry, Greg, Grant and Wendy. Ben and Julianne. Ian and Colleen. And for that you can thank Iain and Hayley.
All can be found at the far end of the Fleurieu, along the road that heads southwest through Yankalilla and ends before you hit the drink at Cape Jervis.
The first pair are fisher folk. Others raise cattle or sheep, grow vegies and fruit, on family-owned farms.
Iain and Hayley? They are the young couple who have brought all this to the table at Leonards Mill, the handsome stone property at Second Valley that has captured (and subsequently broken) the hearts of more than a few owners over the years.
The Mill is full of potential but a marketing challenge given its distance from the city and relative isolation. The surrounding countryside has stayed just that, a mix of relatively small holdings devoted to their own agricultural pursuits. For Iain and Hayley, this has become the restaurant’s big selling point. If there were medals handed out for locavore commitment, the pair would be contending for gold.
Suppliers are credited by name and location on a blackboard just inside the door. Beef comes from a farm 700m away. The asparagus was lopped in Myponga that morning and picked up by our waitress on her way to work. This makes for some good anecdotes, of course, as does the building itself, especially if sitting at a table inside (as opposed to the deck), admiring the ingenuity of its structural joinery and giant cogs that look like they might turn the hands of some ancient timepiece.
A single page menu offers only a quartet of entrees and of mains, yet repeats a few of the ingredients, restricted no doubt by both the season and limited catchment in play.
Beetroot, for example, features with venison, as the key component in a dessert, as a side and in a snack with the chef’s selection.
Asparagus is another double-up, though at this time of the year that’s not a complaint. For an entrée, the spears are shaved into ribbons to weave through lozenges of fried gnocchi that have bone marrow added to the potato mix, giving them a pleasing, slightly unctuous quality. A trickle of goat curd runs through the middle, while a few scattered sunflower seeds add crunch.
Lamb tartare is a pure expression of quality produce, the pale pink meat simply diced by hand, spiked with mustard seeds and finished with pickled blackberries and karkalla (also known as pigface).
The catch of the day from Cape Jervis is snook, though it could just as easily be gurnard, gummy shark or squid. Two fillets have been grilled until their skin has bubbled like crackling and the white flesh comes away in coarse, waxy shreds. They benefit from a good smear of a basil/mint (or “masil” pesto) and a leek foam that along with fresh peas and snow peas are concealed under a handkerchief of pasta.
Wild venison, brought in by a hunter, is presented in two ways: superb slices of rare and properly rested loin; and crumbed logs of other nondescript parts pressed into a dense and not terribly appealing farce. Beetroot doubles up, in a sweet-and-sour chutney and sliced and layered, while a smoked jus helps it all make friends.
Most diners would avoid having more beetroot for dessert but the idea of it transformed into a “vegan brulee” is intriguing. A shallow dish of bright magenta, coconut-based custard is covered in a toffee layer so fragile it shatters at the lightest spoon tap. The highlight, though, is a sorbet made from the beetroot stem that is reminiscent of rhubarb, coated in a few too many black sesame seeds.
At the time of our visit, Iain and Hayley are away, awaiting the imminent arrival of their second child, which might explain a few glitches in communication and delivery on the day.
A restaurant at this level should pour its wine at the table, for instance. And a simple request to serve two mains as separate courses is either forgotten or ignored when it gets to the kitchen.
But while there might be a few bumps along the way, Leonards Mill is offering a dining experience that is a true representation of its place and the people behind it. Go for a drive and see what Alan has caught for you today.
LEONARDS MILL
7869 Main South Rd, Second Valley, 8598 4184; leonardsmill.com.au
OWNERS Iain Calvert, Hayley Pember-Calvert
CHEF Konstantin Putkin
FOOD Regional
SMALL $17-$22 MAIN $35-$42
DESSERT $16-$17
DRINKS Wines from McLaren Vale and the Adelaide Hills dominate a list reflecting the locavore commitment.
OPEN LUNCH Wed-Sun DINNER Fri-Sat
SCORE 14/20