July in Tasmania: Cold, cloudy dreary. But... not this weekend. The first weekend of July this year was quite special for me as it was my 40th birthday. Doubly special as I had my two best girlfriends visiting from Brisbane to celebrate with me.
I had decided to try the newest restaurant in the Derwent Valley, The Shed. A new project from the Winery 'Derwent Estate'.
We were met with an absolutely perfect day, actually the whole weekend was lovely blue skies, and still days with maximums around 15 deg C.
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| Grapevines, sheep and lambs with Mt Dromedary in the background |
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| My girls and the sheep and adorable lambs |
The menu alone had been my reasoning for selecting The Shed for my birthday lunch. We have wonderful options in the Valley now for dining (see posts on
Osteria Vista and
Agrarian Kitchen) but I thought with the group of us dining, this menu would provide something for everyone including my slightly less adventurous Gudgeon.
But of course, we selected a bottle of Derwent Estate Sparking to begin with and it was delightful.
The Shed is set back from the cellar door and offers magnificent views of the Derwent River. The setting is casual and perfectly suited to a sunny day. I cant begin to imagine how spectacular it would be to lunch here on a summers day with those bistro blinds up and a breeze wafting across the river.
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| Stoneground beer bread with nasturtium butter |
We order bread for the table. Absolutely beautiful. I'm not sure if it was the bread or the nasturtium butter but the saltiness that came through was gorgeous.
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| scallop, oyster, croquettte |
For entrees we all choose a few bites from the snacks menu. I opted for the Raw scallop with mandarin and chives, the Bruny Island Oyster and the parmesan and leek croquette with lemon butter.
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| raw scallop, mandarin, chive |
What a delight this scallop was. Texture was retained by the curing from the citrus and the sharp sweet and tartness of the mandarin was spectacular. This was one of my highlights of the meal. The croquette was crispy and crunchy and salty and potatoey and cheesey. Just great.
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| oyster, buttermilk, parsley oil |
I love an oyster. I especially love a Tasmanian oyster: smaller but sweeter than many others. This oyster didn't do it for me though. Milk and oyster is not a combination I would recommend... ever. Very pretty though.
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| butter poached blue eye trevella, oyster and yuzu cream, kohlrabi |
Ordering fish as a main.... I've said it before... it's risky business, I've found it will either be mediocre, not bad, but forgettable or it will be the best thing you ever had. I have found as a gambler, that the odds are 5-1 for a truly spectacular fish main, something you'll remember for a very long time, and today I backed a winner.
The texture was velvety smooth and flaked off beautifully. A lovely fresh fish flavour which was almost chicken-like. The oyster and yuzu cream was a gorgeous savoury accompaniment and the kohlrabi was a clean and fresh finish. This may have been THE best fish main I have ever had.
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| sides |
To go with our mains, we ordered the octopus and raw tuna from the small plates menu and the charred cos and pinkeye potatoes from the sides menu.
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| octopus, black garlic, chimichurri |
I first tried octopus in
Barcelona and in both that dish and furthermore in
Rome I found the octopus to be very strong in flavour. Not this dish however, very fresh and tender. I'm not sure if I would order it again but nonetheless, delicious.
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| charred cos lettuce, anchovie, prosciutto |
This little side packed a punch, and with lettuce going to about $1000/kg at the moment, how could we not. I loved the POW of the anchovy in this dish. Lots of saltiness to contrast with the charred cos.
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| pinkeyes, creme fraise, saltbush |
Oh Tassie, how are you so good at potatoes? These were crispy, beautifully seasoned and a great side.
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| raw tuna, ponzu, black sesame, wakame |
The raw tuna dish was a favourite all round. When tuna can be caught so close, it makes perfect sense to serve it in it's purest form.
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| chicken breast, cauliflower puree, oyster mushroom, artichoke velute |
All three of my guests had the chicken. It's very rare for me to order chicken when dining, it's hard to do magnificently or even 'not boringly', however when I tasted some off their plates I was utterly blown away. I think the photo shows how succulent that breast is, it was more than succulent, it had the texture of triple cream brie- it was mind blowing. The combination of cauliflower and artichoke was a revelation and the mushrooms were jewels in the crown.
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| date pudding, kunzea butterscotch caramel, malt cream |
We order a bottle of iced Riesling to have with dessert, a beautiful semi sweet chilled white wine and my favourite dessert of all time Sticky Date Pudding. Guest Anna described it as "probably the best sticky date she had tried" and it was certainly up there for me also... I do have to always compare it to
the one that made me cry and I reckon it was a solid second place after that one. Moist with crispy edges a slight almost whisky flavour, lightly whisked but beautifully flavoured cream. My goodness... what an end to a meal.
In conclusion, I am so happy with The Shed; divine outlooks in a charmingly understated setting with beyond friendly staff that make you feel right at home. The food overall was excellent with some crazy high highlights and one or two experiments that I may avoid next time.
I will happily be adding this to my 'will visit again' list and will be one for our future guests. I would say a definite must-do if venturing north of Hobart to our beautiful Derwent Valley.
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| photo courtesy of Derwent Estate facebook page |
