Sunnybrae is run by chef George Biron and Diane Garrett and if you want to work up an appetite for your meal reading George’s blog is the ideal way to do so.  On the blog you can discover George’s philosophy of using seasonal, local produce that George and Diane grow themselves in Sunnybrae’s garden, something they have been doing for long before it became fashionable.

Lightly smoked skate

The restaurant is set in an old restored homestead with lots of windows looking out to the extensive gardens.  The menu is a set five courses and designed to be shared although there is flexibility for dietary requirements and you get a choice of mains and desserts.  To start there is excellent home made spelt bread made from the spelt grown in the fields around Sunnybrae.  A starter of lightly smoked skate was served almost like a ceviche, cured in a lime and chilli Thai flavoured dressing with julienned vegetables.  It had a great zing to it while the delicate smoky fish still shone.

Mustard greens and parsnip strudel

Next up were shared plates of crisp cased mustard greens and parsnip strudel served with a pesto like anchoïade, a salad of summery ripe tomatoes with creamy cottage cheese and zucchini and broad beans spiced up with cumin and a slick of yoghurt.

Pork with caponata

The main course had been slow cooked in Sunnybrae’s woodfire oven given it a smoky taste and bags of flavour.  It was a lightly cured Scotch fillet of pork served tender and blush pink with a jumble of caponata and a potato salad.

Sunnybrae’s vegie garden

In between courses at Sunnybrae you are encouraged to take a wander through the garden so we explored the extensive vegie patch to try and develop an appetite for dessert.  Once I had seen dessert though I was instantly hungry again.  All of the seven options on offer were brilliant but the best was the teetering souffle stained red with marionberries and served with some diced watermelon and mint and a scoop of fast melting cassis sorbet.

Marionberry souffle

Essentials