Went to Vintners on Friday night as a part of Barossa Valley weekend mini-break. First of all, this place is absolutely gorgeous. It's really, really romantic. Dimly lit, high ceilings with exposed beams and a fireplace. The staff were welcoming, and we were seated straight away.
After settling in with a glass of Jansz, we decided to order the oysters with lemon marmalade dressing, rolled tuna sashimi with avocado and pork crackling and prosciutto-wrapped scallops for our entrée. The food came out quickly, and looked stunning. The oysters and marmalade was an interesting combination, quite a lot sweeter than the tart marmalade I'm used to. However, it was interesting to try. The scallops were fantastic, however there were some issues. The dish was $18, and we assumed that there would be 4 scallops in order to have 2 each. The plate arrived with 3, which then meant either someone got 2 or we had to cut the third in half. While slightly annoying, this was easily overcome. The part that really annoyed me was the table next to us, who received 4 scallops on their plate. Small, but still annoying when you're presumably paying the same amount. The sashimi was great, but I didn't realise there would be wasabi as it wasn't listen on the menu. There is definitely wasabi in this one - beware!
For mains, we ordered the gnocci with artichoke, sofrito and pecorino and the spiced lamb with garlic potato mash and olive crumble. Both dishes were fantastic. The lamb was cooked perfectly and still pink in the centre, and the gnocci was well cooked and finished a touch in the pan, giving a slight crunch and some colour. The garlic potato mash seemed a little too cheese-heavy for us, but it complimented the lamb well.
For dessert, we ordered the passionfruit soufflé to share, which was the special. The soufflé was well risen, soft and delicate on the inside and had just the right amount of passionfruit flavour to not be overpowering. The passionfruit curd accompaniment was strong, but was balanced by the rich vanilla bean ice cream.
Staff were attentive and relatively chatty, asking us about our weekend ahead and and wineries we planned on visiting. I felt at times as though the conversation was a little forced, but having said that, this is pretty common at most semi-upmarket restaurants. They were however, very accommodating of our request for an early meal, given the fact we had just driven up from Adelaide at the end of a long working week.
We had a great experience at Vintners, and I would definitely return. Quite pricey (you're looking at triple figures each with booze), but the experience was worth it. A great addition to a winery weekend. read more