No. 7 Healesville
Punchy share plates and choose-your-own-adventure wines.
15/20
Mexican$$
Why don’t more restaurants loosen the collar and offer a lucky dip-style wine list? Select a glass of “feature white” and what emerges are two to three options to try. Control freaks will despair but wine nerds will love comparing a drop from around the corner with one from a single-hectare French vineyard.
The Mexican-esque menu is more sharply focused on local growers and producers. Foraged mushrooms are transformed into dark and caramel “carnitas” to finish a nutty buckwheat risotto drizzled with ancho chilli oil. Grilled and cumin-tickled pork scotch is plated with smoky pear mole made with fruit from a neighbour.
Tables on the terrace of the converted factory come with trailing vines and Motown tunes. Inside, there’s the romance of grand ceilings, flowers and chandeliers. Basque cheesecake with gems of sticky poached plum needs nothing but a visit from the digestif cart.
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