Fodder review, South East best restaurants | delicious.SA: Regional 50

Good things come in small packages and this little rural restaurant-meets-cellar door is one of them.

Flathead tail with radish at Fodder, Coonawarra

5 Memorial Drive, Coonawarra

[phone]

fodder.net.au

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Good things come in small packages and this little rural restaurant-meets-cellar door is one of them.

Charming in its simplicity, the family-run restaurant (also home to Ottelia Wines) is a place for owners John and Melissa Innes, their daughter Matilda and head chef Paul Stone to share their wine and their love of the region and hospitality with visitors.

The four-course chef’s menu ($45/person for a minimum of two guests) is a great way to kick back, relax and let Paul make the hard decisions for you. Or choose from the a la carte menu which offers light snacks such as soups to more hefty mains.

Paul has an impressive CV behind him (including Melbourne’s Supernormal) and is a particularly deft hand with dumplings. Plump little parcels packed with duck and shiitake and canoodled by chilli and black vinegar dressing are a delight. As are more hearty mains such as pork belly with tamarind caramel, kohlrabi and beetroot slaw and pasta offerings spanning Jerusalem artichoke agnolotti to ricotta gnocchi with sage and burnt butter sauce.

The sourdough pizzas, too, are top notch and rival anything you’ll find emerging from wood ovens in the bright lights of the city.

Simple presentation, beautiful ingredients and genuinely friendly staff make this a lovely place to warm the heart (and the cockles) between wine tastings across the region.

Full list: See the best restaurants across all our regions

• Hours: L Mon-Thu
• Bill: E $7-$20 M $17-$22 D $5-$14
• Wine: Wine list
• Chef: Paul Stone