The Stables at Stones of the Yarra Valley

Stones first visit 2

Stay and Dine:
After celebrating our wedding anniversary at The Stables in April and revisiting The Barn for my Mother-In-Laws birthday/retirement in June, we knew that we wanted to experience more. So the Stay and Dine package was promptly booked. Let me tell you, I’m hooked

One of our favourite ways of dining out is to book a Degustation at a top fine dining restaurant – usually in the city. We were introduced to this way of eating many years ago (before we were married) by my husband’s Uncle in Holland. So, as you can imagine, we have some amazing memories attached to our degustation experiences. Not to mention it is the only way I can convince my husband to consume more than chicken parmigiana while we are out.
The Stables are a short walk across the property from The Farmhouse. This is a building harking from the 1800’s and has been beautifully repurposed into a very intimate fine dining restaurant. As with the Farmhouse, the interior is beautifully decorated to produce a warm, cosy and relaxing ambiance. It looks like a lot of the original features (such as the soaring red brick walls) have been incorporated into the renovation, which I love.
We were met at the door by the wait staff and taken to our table – a long barn style share table, broken up into intimate settings for two by beautiful foliage arrangements.


The menu was presented and it was decided to enjoy the accompanying wines with each of the five courses (this is a $55 extra that is not included in the package price). An amuse bouche was delivered to tantalise our tastebuds along with a complementary glass of champagne. Both of which were accepted with open arms and empty stomachs. We were then served the most beautifully presented meals along with wines that complemented the dishes perfectly. I am not going to list all the courses, but our favourite was the quail with beetroot puree – AMAZING and oh so tasty (as pictured).
The only recommendation I do have for you is this: You need to be able to handle your alcohol to keep up with the wines per course. I have to admit by the last two courses I was well on my way and found it hard to truly enjoy them. Therefore, I recommend ordering a bottle for the table or purchase a glass every second course. Needless to say we were very happy to have accommodation on the property once we had enjoyed every last morsel of food and every last drop of wine.
The Stables are up there with the best dining experiences we have encounter, since that first foodie high at DeVest in DenBosch. If you appreciate food that is artistically and beautifully presented on the plate and understand that you will not find anything like a parmigiana on the menu then you must treat yourself and try this experience.

Food Art:

 

It’s all in the details:

 



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