Sault, Daylesford

Two weekends ago, we went to Sault in Daylesford as we were considering it as a potential wedding venue. Unfortunately, I failed to take any decent photos of the place and the food, and so can only comment briefly on it. Most of the photos I have posted are found on Google, or from the website "Image eight" which is a photographic company in Melbourne

Mr HSH and I do plan to return when spring comes as I hear they have a marvelous lavender patch which we'd like to see in its full glory. In terms of general feel and ambiance, we felt it was quite whimsical, a bit shabby chic and low key, which suited our desired feel for our eventual wedding. The french provincial type house within which the restaurant is housed is absolutely gorgeous from the outside. However, I found some parts of the property a bit run down (holes in umbrella covers, rusty outdoor chairs, pot holes in the ground and lots and lots of kangaroo poo!). I understand, however, that there will be general maintenance of the property before the wedding season, and perhaps we will see the restaurant in its full glory in Spring and Summer. The service we received was generally professional and knowledgeable - all of which met expectations but did not exceed them. Mr HSH's glass of water had lipstick marks on it which I politely pointed out to our waitress, and his glass was efficiently changed.

Food wise-Mr HSH's entree "Beetroot-cured Salmon, white bean puree, pickled baby beetroots, fried rocket and white chocolate vinaigarette" was decent although presentation was a bit clumsy. My "Tortellini of wild rabbit, thyme and local chestnuts with Jerusalem artichoke cream, sauteed mushroom and light rabbit jus" was again, decent but non refined in the way that it tasted and plated up.

"Beetroot-cured Salmon, white bean puree, pickled baby beetroots, fried rocket and white chocolate vinaigrette"

For mains, I had the "pan roasted duck breast, carrot and orange puree, sauteed silverbeet, baby leeks, tokay jus and a cannelloni of water chestnut, duck and herbs" which i thoroughly enjoyed. Mr HSH felt his "Pan roasted Terramirra Park venison loin, with spiced lentils, spinach, celeriac puree, apple caramel and red wine sauce" was over seasoned (this is coming from someone who puts a lot of salt on his food normally).

Our dessert, the "Delice of harcourt apples and fennel, apple filled fennel cigar, and black olive ice cream" was very interesting. This was the first time I tasted olive ice cream and I think Sault does it very well. It certainly tastes like olives but is incorporated into the ice cream in a way which made something savoury "work" as a dessert. Mr HSH had the "Callebaut chocolate and Cointreau fondant, orange and chocolate jelly, pistachio ice cream" where again, the ice cream was the winner.

Overall though, I think the winners of our meal were the two desserts, which I felt were on par with a lot of fine dining establishments in the city. The entrees and mains were all of high quality which met my expectations but did not wow me. The prices were reasonable and we got an additional 40 dollars off as holders of the Entertainment card.

I look forward to revisiting Sault in the near future. Perhaps I will get married here one day....

P.S. After rereading the post above, I understand that I may come across as a pretentious, try hard food critic. I just wanted to stress that I am only your average girl who enjoys being wined and dined (don't we all?). We love eating out (from your average cafe, eatery, to the occasional fine dining establishment). Everything on this blog is purely my own opinion, experiences and feelings. I am not a food critic by any stretch of the mind.