SA Weekend restaurant review | Lost Phoenix Farm, Hindmarsh Valley

An unnecessarily complicated ordering system aside there’s a lot to love about Andrew Ursini’s new coastal venture, writes Simon Wilkinson. And the food is just the start.

Dining room at Lost Phoenix Farm, Hindmarsh Valley

Picture the scene. It’s a glorious, windless autumn afternoon on the road heading to Victor. Up a dusty track, amid the parched paddocks and statuesque eucalypts of the Hindmarsh Valley,
a shimmering white restaurant sits at the top of a hill.

From a seat on the veranda, our attention shifts from the mesmerising rural view, to the theatre of a dining room running at full throttle, to the joyful proceedings out on a lawn where a few young tykes are tearing around.

Clearly, it’s time for a drink and a nibble, for some gifted staff person to read our thoughts and suggest the perfect fare.

Except that is not how it works at Lost Phoenix Farm, the new project for MasterChef-contestant-turned-hospitality-entrepreneur Andre Ursini and young co-owner/chef Will Doak.

Instead, the focus turns to phones and QR codes, to bank details and emails, to setting up a tab and following protocols.

Overnight Fleurieu lamb shoulder, preserved lemon salad, roasted eggplant.

Anchovy finger, whipper ricotta, pepperonata.

Now, I know it is tougher than ever to find staff and run a viable business, particularly out of the city. I agree that technology has a part to play but, at the risk of living up to my children’s most scathing dinosaur jibes, I don’t think it is taking the place of a waiter.

Especially when there is so much else to love about Lost Phoenix: the farmhouse/bistro/bric-a-brac fit-out of bentwood chairs, assorted mirrors and pot plants hanging from weathered wooden ladders; the relaxed Sunday session party vibe, soon to include a jukebox; and the seamless flow between inside and out.

Doak isn’t about to mess with this dynamic. His background might be in the kitchens of Press and Ursini’s eastern suburbs showpiece Orso but he and head chef Bridget Corber have put together a menu here that doesn’t require over analysis.

Cucumber and melon de sapo salad.

Still, there is room for a few twists and surprise deviations. Take the salad made simply from wedges of cucumber and the pale, barely sweet flesh of melon de sapo, a pas de deux of ingredients offering crispness and juice but almost neutral in flavour.

The genius, then, is a dressing of gin syrup, rosemary and dill, along with basil leaves and a delicate sprinkle of salt, that make it feel like someone has managed to turn the world’s most refreshing G&T into a vegetable.

Anchovy on toast, the ubiquitous snack of the moment, is rendered with the salty fillet draped over a mellowing base of sweet stewed capsicum and whipped ricotta.

Have it with an excellent Campari spritz and that sea breeze might be coming from Positano rather than Port Elliot.

Slow-roasted lamb shoulder is familiar territory as well but I can’t imagine many people turning their noses up at big chunks of luscious meat sitting on a cushion of smoky eggplant and yoghurt puree.

A salad of parsley and filaments of preserved lemon complete the picture.

But just when you’ve got comfortable on this Mediterranean cruise, the cauliflower comes from a different place altogether.

While the veg has a soft golden glow of turmeric, it is really just a conduit for the various accompaniments.

On the plate an unctuous almond aioli, tangy coriander and avocado sauce and feisty chilli oil are creating an abstract painting.

There are also fried onions and a heap of toasted coconut.

The origin of all this might be a mystery – South-East Asia? … Mexico? … Pacific Islands? – but goodness me it is banging with flavour.

Dessert, on the other hand, shows great technical virtuosity with jiggly panna cotta underpinned by a sable biscuit and accompanied by slices of fresh fig and a fig syrup.

A final word on the ordering system.

Doak says it has been invaluable in the early days with new staff on board and a flood of bookings. He aims to introduce table service in the dining room as soon as possible.

Then it really will be smiley face emojis all round.