If you think you had a fine dining experience in Australia and haven’t been to the Royal Mail, you might want to think again. This restaurant, lost in between Melbourne and Adelaide, is world class. Dan Hunter, who was chef de cuisine at Mugaritz in Spain, cooks amazing food with vegetables grown in the hotel’s gardens, which kind of says it all. This meal was 3 Michelin star quality, whatever that means, and I would be happy to eat it anywhere in France or Spain. It’s modern yet simple, some dishes reminded me of the best stuff I had at L’Astrance, L’Arpege or Le Chateaubriand. And the wine list is superb, with great picks, both French and Australian. I have never been to Mugaritz (hopefully this year) but I can only imagine how it is after having tried Dan’s food. Now all I want to do is go back, as the degustation menus change almost weekly, as soon as they run out of a vegetable or when another one is in season. Dan Hunter surely has a great future ahead of him, and is truly Australia’s shining star right now.
Dan on the far left in the open kitchen
Our omnivore menu that night (we had a few extra dishes)
Carrot, coriander, calamari cream - pork sandwich - sardine cracker
Sea salad, lemon and lychee (all that on raw squid, phenomenal, a taste of Tokyo)
Tomato on toast, handmade sheep’s ricotta (a modern pan con tomate)
Egg yolk, rye, legumes, yeast (amazing)
New potatoes, burnt nashi, mustard, mojama (one of the best dishes I ever had)
Asparagus, kohlrabi, duck ham, summer blossoms
Marron and pork, pea and parsley (amazing, the “lardo” was very mild, not overpowering at all)
Pigeon, beetroot, white chocolate, rose (fantastic, Pascal Barbot meets Inaki)
Lamb, eggplant in white miso, young garlic, onion
Rhubarb, licorice, almond, citrus
Banana in Szechuan pepper, coconut and cocoa ice (it’s actually shaved chocolate ice cream on top, crazy dish)
Pistachio, hazelnut, honeycomb, chocolate (one of the best dessert I ever had)
Strawberries on chocolate dirt
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