This week we attended an Entertainment Book members dinner at Church St. Enoteca, our first visit to the restaurant. The evening was advertised as a celebration of classic Autumnal Tuscan produce, chestnuts, mushrooms, honey, and the king of the festival, lamb, and presented a 5 course tasting menu with wines from McWilliams.
The menu looked good and the reviews were promising, so we scuttled off in the rain to attend what promised to be a good evening.
Of course the weather delayed a few people, but it wasn't long until we were enjoying a glass of champagne while we waited.
Once the evening kicked off, freshly baked bread was bought around to nibble on. By then the champagne was long gone and there were no offers of a refill. So bread and water is was.
Then came the tortellini, with a Yarra Valley chardonnay. These were delicious, with a creamy goats curd filling, and a perfect match for the crisp wine.
Second course was the wallaby; I was a little apprehensive about eating this native animal but it impressed along side the Tasmanian Pinot Noir.
The third course was my least favourite. I'm not a huge fan of mushrooms and this dish did not sit well with me. The Pinot served was heavier than the previous one and very pleasant, but the only win for me.
It was nearing 9.30pm and I was starting to tire. It seemed a long wait between courses, particularly as they were all on the very small side. I had envisioned a lovely fillet of lamb for the main, and was disappointed when the following was placed in front of me. The disappointment was short lived; the lamb was sensational! There just needed to be twice as much of it. The Heathcote Shiraz was a big miss; decanters were seen on the wine table but went unused, and the wine was young and not that enjoyable to drink. A little time in a decanter would have made all the difference.
And then it was finally time for dessert. The pannacotta in a glass was very enjoyable, as was the matching dessert wine. However by this point in the evening I was well and truly over it, having taken over three hours to be served five courses. The food was amazing, though a larger serve here and there would have been well appreciated, but I found the wine matching a bit of a miss. The bottles seemed to be labeled with "home brand" type labels leaving us mystified as to what they actually were should one want to purchase them later.
Overall? A protracted evening, with good fine and average wine. I'd go back to the restaurant again, but wouldn't bother with this sort of evening as the wine really did nothing for us.
thanks for this blog
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