Easter Friday was such a gorgeous day (the beginning anyway. Let's forget the storm that came later that night). I was scheduled to do night duty that night but Mr HSH decided that we should treat ourselves to lunch at the Lake House in Daylesford. We've frequented Lake House several times before and in fact, it may be one of the more up market restaurants that we choose to keep revisiting. It may have to do with a combination of beautiful country ambiance and a very reasonably priced menu.
The first time we went to the Lake house was when MR HSH were in Daylesford celebrating our first 100 days as a couple (lame, i know). It was the middle of winter and I remember stumbling across the lake house whilst considering whether we should go back to Melbourne for dinner. The warmth and ambiance of the restaurant when we entered just took our breath away, and together with immaculate service, and beautiful food, made the night one worthy of remembering. One little incident did occur that night. MR HSH found a piece of glass in his dessert. We told the waiter, who apologised, and the manager later also came to apologise and offered us some complimentary dessert wine. Nonetheless, we still fell in love with the Lake house. We seriously considered getting married there, but in the end, decided Daylesford was too far for guests to travel.
Anyway, fast forward to Easter Friday 2012. We got up late morning and on impulse, decided to go to Daylesford. We rang the lake house to get a booking, half expecting to be turned down as it was the beginning of the Easter weekend. Fortunately, they were able to accommodate us. We decided to sit outside as it was such a beautiful day.
Service was professional, prompt and efficient and we didn't have to wait long for food at all. For those who are not familiar with the Lake House, they are a 2 hatted fine dining restaurant with a philosophy for using local seasonal produce. We chose to have 3 courses for 88 dollars.
Let's start with the bread. MR HSH and I love bread. Him in particular, as 3 courses alone would not usually be enough to fill him up. The bread was fresh out of the oven and beautifully baked. The butter that came with the bread was smooth and silky. 3/4 of the way through the first serving of bread, we ran out of butter. We asked for more from one of the waiters and was delighted to be presented not just with another plate of butter but another full bowl of bread! They are indeed generous! That's one way to impress your customers.
For entree, I had the sashimi mackerel and MR HSH had the Charcuterie Board. They were both mouthwatering.! My sashimi mackerel had the most delicate texture and everything on the plate worked seamlessly to compliment each other. Mr HSH was extremely happy with his charcuterie board and the variety it provided. It was a much bigger dish compared to the Sashimi mackerel.
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| Charcuterie Board |
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| Sashimi Mackeral |
For mains, I had the steak and Mr HSH had the Snapper. My Steak was well cooked (although, i thought the steak was probably more medium, than the medium rare i requested) and had the most interesting smokey favour. It came with a separate dish of slippery jack and pine mushroom and that was the star of the main to me. It was just so full of buttery, garlicky goodness, i thought i was in food heaven! I didn't really try Mr HSH's snapper, but he did say it was less tasty and that he preferred my steak.
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| My Steak |
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| Heavenly Mushrooms |
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| Snapper |
We ordered potatoes as a side and was slightly disappointed they weren't roasted and crispy. Nonetheless, still reasonably tasty.
The desserts were more disappointing. Mr HSH ordered the White chocolate and I actually quite enjoyed it, although I felt it fell short compared to the other dishes we tasted. My textures of chocolate with mint however, was distinctly pedestrian and I didn't enjoy it at all and wouldn't recommend it.
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| Textures of Chocolate-mint |
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| White Chocolate |
Together with a couple of drinks, our bill came to 201 dollars which I felt was reasonable for a very pleasant lunch overall. A couple of the dishes were a bit hit and and miss but the entrees and the steak honestly made us squeal with delight in our seats. To me, the lake house, romantic and relaxing, will continue to be one of our favourite country restaurants and comes with my highest recommendation. It was a much anticipated escape from the hustle and bustle of the city.
