Simon Wilkinson reviews Serafino

An ambitious cellar door restaurant in one of the state’s favourite wine regions has plenty of competition, writes Simon Wilkinson

Serafino gets an A for effort

Way, way back in the dark ages, say around 2005, there was a time when a winery could put most of its energy into the production and sales of wine. Cellar doors of this era might offer bread and cheese, if you were lucky. They left the restaurant caper to the experts.

Now, the genie is well and truly out of the bottle, particularly in McLaren Vale, where d’Arenberg, Coriole, Maxwell, Mitolo and others vie for attention with their various dining ventures.

The perilous nature of going into competition with this lot comes to mind while contemplating a twin-set of appetisers at another of the region’s cellar door eateries.

Serafino, McLaren Vale

The first is a shell filled with a creamy oyster concoction topped by a dot of orange gel and lapped by an inky black liquid that makes it look as if there has been an oil spill. The other is a scallop shell that holds a roughly scallop-shaped disc of decidedly stiff seafood panna cotta decorated in a splash of fish roe. Rather than rouse our appetites for the rest of the meal, as is the general idea, all that over-the-top richness has the opposite effect.

We’ve come for lunch at Serafino, a vast property that includes accommodation, function rooms and a cellar door, all looking out to manicured grass slopes, majestic gums and a lake.

From our place in the restaurant, we watch as the resident flock of geese are wrangled off the road and towards the water but, picture book views aside, this cavernous space has a few challenges.

The lake at Serafino

It is clearly designed with weddings and other functions in mind. Minus the crowd, the flowers and the matrimonial goodwill, the room feels empty, the mood low-key, despite the best efforts of a waiter who puts a positive spin on everything she delivers and more than earns her money with a recital of ingredients and cooking techniques that are often beyond complicated.

Chef Daniel Armon, who came to Serafino nearly a year ago, is certainly leaving nothing in the tank. But for all the effort put into multiple crisps and 30-day ferments, it is basics such as gnocchi or a curry paste that really fall down.

Some dishes are plain silly. A lonely single scallop sits on a cauliflower and truffle puree at the centre of a deep white bowl. Along the rim, three tiny cubes of salmon, a curl of cucumber and blobs of mustard and buttermilk are lined up on a narrow, flimsy cracker that breaks apart when lifted.

Scallop and Ora King Salmon

“Autumn on a plate” is a thick disc of watery cooked kohlrabi plastered in jerusalem artichoke cream under a bivouac of crisps: green spinach, pink beetroot and a glossy brown sheet of the artichoke skin.

Easily the best of this first flight is a generous portion of ever-so-slightly cured kingfish, lazing in a pool of clear-flavoured miso consomme. Shiso leaves and oyster mushrooms ride shotgun in a combination that makes total sense.

Moving up to the larger plates, beef fillet is cooked as ordered (as you’d hope for $48) and served with a naughty-but-nice stack of potato gratin.

Braised kangaroo tail meat is shredded to make a deep, dark and soulful ragu that’s built to eat with one of the house reds. But beetroot gnocchi, half-a-dozen or so anaemic pink dumplings, are so stodgy and bland all the good work is undone.

It’s a similar theme with the Lenswood duck. The roasted breast is superb, the skin golden, fat properly rendered and medium-to-rare flesh having a lovely, lingering gaminess. It’s worth a point on its own. I’d like to have tasted the leg from such a fine bird but this meat has been shredded and bound in a hot and harsh green curry sauce that overwhelms anything in the vicinity.

The Lenswood Duck Curry

The best of the desserts is a “deconstructed apple tart” with slinky strips of pressed fruit, a mound of crumble and marscapone sorbet. Still, I’d take an old-fashioned constructed apple tart any day. Serves of leaden chocolate mousse and fig leaf icecream are lined up in a wooden wine box that releases a billow of smoke when opened. The combination layers bitter on more bitter.

And “autumn fruits” aren’t apples, pears or quinces, but pineapple – as a sorbet and a single marinated ring that is decorated with tiny cubes of peach and a gel made from “tepache”, a fermented pineapple drink brewed in house for 30 days.

“Autumn on a plate”

Once again, the plate would have been better with an element or two less. Serafino might get an A for effort but, in this competitive environment, that isn’t enough.

SERAFINO

Kangarilla Rd, McLaren Vale

8323 8911, serafinowines.com.au

OWNER Maglieri family

CHEF Daniel Armon

FOOD Contemporary

ENTREE $20-$24

MAIN $30-$48

DESSERT $16-$18

THREE/FIVE/SEVEN COURSES

$75/$100/$125

DRINKS Serafino labels only, including older vintages and reserve bottles.

OPEN LUNCH Thu-Sun, DINNER Daily

SCORE 11.5