Dinner at the Victory Hotel

Wednesday was a cloudy and cold autumn day in South Australia. The perfect day to go for a drive, exploring places, getting lost, blasting music and chatting about life. My partner and I decided to do just that. When we started off, we were going to head to the beach, this was before it started raining. Once the rain hit, McLaren Vale it was, since we were heading in that direction.

It was late enough that we only had time to drop into one Cellar Door, especially since we spent an hour there chatting and tasting wine. S.C.Pannell have some truly fantastic wines and I highly recommend you try some. My favourite has to be the Aromatico and each time I take a sip I fall in love over and over again. A playfully fragrant wine that is delightful on the tastebuds. The wine is a blend of Gewurztraminer, Riesling and Pinot Grigio. Simply delightful.

After driving around and exploring the back streets and no through roads we headed up to the Victory Hotel for dinner.

The evening started off with drinks. A beer for my partner, while I tried the Swell Cloudy Apple Cider. Light, refreshing, not too sweet and with just the right amount of bubble. As we sat facing the water the sun burst through the clouds creating beautiful sun rays and putting a spotlight on the water. After that it was time to head over to the restaurant side and enjoy a fabulous meal.

We started off with a serve of their Garlic and Thyme bread. Crunchy on the outside, fluffy on the inside and seasoned well. For my entrée I had the local beetroot tarte tatin with slow roasted tomato, caramelised onion, Hindmarsh Valley goats curd with a pear, rocket and walnut salad. This was a stunning little dish, crisp buttery pastry, earthy beetroot and sharp goats cheese balanced with the salad, I could not get enough and was sad when it was finished. I almost got another entrée instead of this one and looking back I cant believe I even thought of something else. this was just perfect. My partner had the Myponga Beach salt and pepper squid with aioli, chilli and spring onion. He really enjoyed his and whilst I'm not the biggest fan of seafood I tried a small piece and it was nice, didn't taste fishy at all which is always my fear and one of the large reasons I wont eat much seafood. Both dishes were $15 though you could get the salt and pepper squid as a main with chips and salad for $26.50.

Entrées were enjoyed with a glass of William Fevre Chablis

  

Next it was time for mains and my goodness they were delicious. The roasted pork belly with pumpkin puree, apple remoulade, baby carrots, green beans and jus was just calling my name. On a cold night all you want is something hearty and warming, this dish was exactly that. The pork crackling was so crispy, crunchy and delicious and the meat underneath was tender, juicy and melted in your mouth. The pumpkin puree was as smooth as velvet, creamy and created the warming effect, like drinking a cup of soup on a cold day. The baby carrots were roasted to perfection and I could eat a whole bowl of them. The green beans were fresh and helped cut through the fattiness of the pork. My only small changes I would make to the dish would be fresh apple instead of the remoulade, that's not to say it wasn't nice, but I personally would have preferred fresh apple and slightly less salt on the pork. In saying that, this dish was absolutely amazing and I would without a doubt have it again. My partner choose the Keys Black Angus SA 220g Eye Fillet cooked medium, served with a potato and prosciutto gratin, Swiss brown mushroom, broccolini, roast garlic and leek butter with jus. I got to try a small amount of the steak and gratin, both were delicious. He devoured it very quickly and said he wouldn't change a thing, it was perfect. Both of us were happy with what we choose but we also could have just as easily swapped meals. The pork was $31 and the steak was $35

Mains were paired with 2012 Rudderless Graciano Malbec blend
There is nothing like drinking an amazing wine surrounded by the very vines it was grown on.

Cheese is a course that should never be missed. We choose three of the four they had on offer. The Healey's Pyengana Cheddar from Tasmania, Brillat Savain from Bourgogne France and Jean Faup Chevre from Pyrenees France. We were lucky to be given a small glass each of the last of the single block 2014 Rudderless Malbec from Doug. This was a great match with the cheese and gave them a deeper and more intricate flavour profile. A selection of three cheeses is $21

Finally dessert was upon us. My partner went for chocolate heaven with a warm chocolate brownie, honey roasted pear, soft chocolate and white chocolate ice cream. Warm, gooey, rich and delicious this was a great choice to end a fantastic meal. My choice was the mango and black sesame tart with coconut ice cream. The tart was fairly savoury, even the mango wasn't sickly sweet, though the glaze on the plate more then made up for that. It was a lighter flavoured dessert that, after a filling meal was just what I wanted. Desserts were $12 each

Overall we had a fantastic meal. Both of us were extremely satisfied with what we choose and I would go back there in a heartbeat. Head over there and see for yourself why the food is so fantastic.

Click on the link below to head over to their website

The Victory Hotel