Driving through the Adelaide hills in autumn, the glorious deciduous trees are festooned in bronze, ruby and saffron leaves. We are weaving our way up the Fleurieu Peninsula to Stirling for a special birthday lunch at Patch Kitchen & Garden. As Murphy’s Law would have it, those with the furthest to come are the first to arrive, so we have a little time to ourselves to wander through the garden, glass in hand, exploring this new (to us) venue.
This beautiful old building – from the 1880s apparently – was once the local store and post office. Today it has been transformed into an elegant, airy restaurant with high ceilings, wooden floors and intriguing artwork. Belle tells me she has a penchant for Portabello market and loves collecting old posters there. A local painter provided a vast triptych – or is it four pieces? – of the Adelaide hills from Mount Lofty, looking back over Piccadilly Valley, that stretches across the far wall in the main dining room. The we wander out to the garden, where a large bricked patio offers a perfect venue for a summer evening.
Andy Davies and his wife Belle Kha might be relative newcomers to this lovely spot – they only set up camp here early last year – but they are very much at home in the Adelaide hills, and in the hospitality industry. And even I, with my habit of flitting in and out of Adelaide over the past three decades have visited at least one of their earlier ventures, at Press*. Andy and Belle have joined forces with old friends Peter Harvey and Mette Cordes-Harvey, who have international wine experience. Together the four friends aim to share their joy of food and wine with fellow gourmands in this glorious setting among the towering trees on Mount Barker Road, where they can source local produce from a plethora of producers.
The menu changes with the seasons, and the staff are equally adaptable for all dietary preferences. So, don’t go along expecting what I am about to describe, but I am sure whatever you are offered will be equally delicious.
Anyway, you might prefer brunch with bubbles in the bright, rustic dining room, or just fancy an alfresco coffee and cake in the courtyard. We are here for a long lunch in the private front room, complete with fireplace and a huge round table set for nine. And it’s late autumn so this degustation menu is designed to be warm and filling, and is also designed for sharing.
Plates of fresh sour dough bread arrived first, with the crunchiest crust ever, accompanied by salted butter and small dishes of pickled vegetables. Two different dips – a humus topped with chunks of baked eggplant like a deconstructed babaganoush, and a goat cheese dip with small roast tomatoes – were served with thin toast. At this point – as in ‘so early in proceedings’ – others were being sensible and pacing themselves. I was not. A pig in mud may not be a flattering metaphor, but I was as happy as one as I waded into that humus…
Then there was a perfectly grilled octopus from Port Lincoln, fresh pasta with blue crab from Western Australia, and a parmesan souffle topped with pork ragu. But not all at once, there was apparently no rush. They arrived one at a time, with plenty of room to digest and enjoy the moment.
Thick slices of roast duck were accompanied by a foie gras and mushroom pie that for me was the pièce de résistance...
Although our final savoury dish was a close second. A mouthwatering platter of beef, the edges crisped, the centre almost melting on the tongue. I tend to veer away from beef in restaurants. After all, it’s something we can easily cook at home… but not as well as this! It was, simply, stunning.
Then a trio of opulent desserts: a raspberry souffle; a Crème Brûlée and a third one which I think was a creamy pyramid in a sea of intense coffee sauce … oh! … and a novelty birthday cake for our birthday boy, that caused a lot of laughs.
In the face of so many succulent dishes, I did tease Andy about the whereabouts of the peas and carrots. And, to be honest, although every dish was fabulous, the overall effect was incredibly rich and could have done with a couple of interim plates of steamed vegetables to dilute it a little. But that is my only – and very minor – criticism. And did it stop me trying everything, or being a little more circumspect? It did not!
If I am blurry on the details, please forgive me and blame the excellent chardonnay, which promptly made me forget that I wasn’t going to drink much today. But if you want to know more, there are plenty of excellent and well-deserved reviews on-line … or just take the plunge and make a booking. You won’t regret it. The staff are just lovely, and we were made to feel like family. Belle seems to have all the time in the world for a chat and Andy came through later to savour our profusion of compliments. Our long lunch went on well in the afternoon, and the sun was setting as we headed home. A thoroughly satisfactory interlude in heaven.
*With thanks to dreamstime for the autumn leaves.