Reserve restaurant and Cellar, Maleny (Sunshine Coast, QLD)

(Degusted 8th August, 2011)

This restaurant stands proud in a two-storey older-style building, perched on the side of the Sunshine Coast Hinterland's hills in the town of Maleny. Literally 10 minutes up the road from the famous “Australia Zoo”, it's a pleasant 30 minute drive from the Mooloolaba / Maroochydore area – which puts it in easy reach of the seaside resort towns, and it's even a realistic possibility for those coming up from Brisbane for a day-trip (we've heard from locals however, that the return drive back to Brisbane on a Sunday afternoon can be a traffic nightmare).

View through the bar into the kitchen beyond.

We were welcomed into the character-filled dining room which boasted exposed beams, a slowly rolling coonara fireplace, and remarkably few other diners (it was a Monday night). Taking a seat near the fire was a good idea – it was probably 5 to 10 degrees cooler up in the hills than it was down on the coast and we were dressed like Southerners (as though it was the middle of summer).

We opted for the 5-course wine-matched degustation – we think it was a good choice, as we watched other diners ordering the same (or similar) meals a la carte as those which we were served; clearly the degustation was drawing from actual dishes you can order as stand-alone items.

Pumpkin velouette, pate and orange marmalade
(low light photo with phone camera)

First up was a pumpkin velouette* (soup), with a house-made chicken liver pate with orange marmalade on crispbread (* velouette translated = velvety sauce, which we've mentioned previously in a post regarding Poutine ingredients). The pumpkin "soup" was indeed velvety and creamy, had a good flavour but was nothing ground-breaking, same goes for the pate and marmalade – nice flavours and rustic. It was setting the scene for a degustation that was looking to be a good wholesome feed, and not overly exciting or inventive. Indeed, there were none of the popular "foams", “smears”, "soils" or "ash" in any of the dishes to come – This was a good thing and in keeping with the feel of the restaurant.. While we find these plate dressings interesting and have enjoyed them in previous degustations in some of Melbourne’s finer (3-hatted) restaurants, they aren't really necessary - and would have been completely out of place in a rustic setting such as this.

Seared Scallops with pancetta.

Next up were some seared Hervey Bay scallops wrapped in pancetta with a pile of salmon 'pearls' on top – each sitting on pillows of sweet-pea mash and a champagne & butter sauce. This was looking more like it! The scallops were cooked well, the pancetta was not too tough (it sometimes can be a bit chewy/crunchy) – together they worked well and the salty little "pops" of the salmon roe gave another layer of texture and taste to each mouthful.

The degustation plate gets three of these delicious morsels – the dish ordered a la carte had 5 on the plate.

Our next “matched wine” gave a hint of what might be next - the wine was a Shadowfax Chardonnay, which after sipping a bit we thought would go well with cheeses... Perhaps a cheesy tart, or a souffle might be next, we mused...

Twice-baked Moreton Bay Bug souffle.

We weren’t far off. It turned out to be a twice-baked Moreton Bay Bug souffle with Gruyere cheese (YUM!!) served with vinegar-soaked spinach knot and salmon roe. The souffle was simply beautiful – the cooked cheesy flavour on top reminding us of the good gooey cheese that comes out of a toasted cheese sandwich and goes crispy brown on the side.. As if we were kids again, we lopped of the light fluffy tops, to reveal the juicy bug filling in the bottom. Add a squeeze of lime and you're talking our language. Order this one again.

The theme of the plating of this dish (cylinders and circles) was a common element through all the remaining dishes.

A palate-cleansing house-made sorbet served next was delicious, and had us guessing what the ingredients actually were – we could pick up the watermelon flavour immediately, but it also had notes of dried fruit (think the caramely flavour from dates or saltanas). As it turns out, it was Watermelon and coconut – presumably young coconut, as it was very sweet.

The "main" meal was next – a slow-braised (12 hours!) piece of lamb shoulder, served on roast pumpkin pieces, and crowned with sauteed onions and a crust of macadamia, mustard and herbs. My mouth is watering thinking about it. The crust and the onions were delightful, and the lamb... Oh the lamb! It simply fell apart and melted in the mouth – devine. The jus was very thick, shiny, and with a rich velvety butteryness – so full of flavour – obviously a lot of time (and butter and calories) had gone into creating it – those many hours of reduction were worth it.

A great match was the McLaren Vale Shiraz. Smmmoooooothe.

Slow-braised Lamb Shoulder, sauteed onions, macadamia and mustard crust.
(Hooray for flash photography!)

So, with that awe-inspiring lamb dish well and truly gone, last up was dessert – and we should note that at this point we were actually feeling quite satisfied – this was not a 'fancy tiny morsel' degustation – it was more of a set menu that gives a sample of all the chef's best offerings.

When the vanilla bean pannacotta and cinnamon beignets (choux pastry doughnuts) with caramel sauce came out, you could not wipe the smiles off our faces - kids in candy store… you get the idea.The pastry was so light and fluffy, yet had a slight chewiness to it; mixed with the caramel sauce that had a hint of saltiness, this was a light and delicious component to degust. The pannacotta had a tremendous hit of sweetness and vanilla flavour (vanilla is not plain!!). We wished there was more of the caramel sauce on the plate – but delightful the way it was.

Vanilla bean pannacotta and Cinnamon beignets with caramel sauce. Ooooohhhhhh yummm.

It was a good sized degustation, and we left feeling comfortably full. For us, the sign of a good degustation is one that serves up dishes that give you enough of a taste of the dish to tease you into wanting more. Apart from the first course, all these dishes did just that:  a few more scallops would have been devine, souffle was so more-ish; we loved the macadamia/mustard crust on the melt-in the mouth lamb; then the perfectly sized dessert still had us scraping the plates clean wanting more. As full as we felt after all this, we just didn't want the meal to end. That’s gotta tell you something.

A highly recommended from us – it would certainly be worth the drive up into the Maleny area hills, which if done during the day, would offer magnificent views over the Sunshine Coast. Given that it's not far from the Australia Zoo, we can imagine there would be lots of people visiting nearby. For our money, we’d go back and end the day with a lovely meal at Reserve in Maleny.

Rating:  Must go back!

Meh                      It’ll Do                   Nom(x3)                              Must go back!

Done and Degusted @ Reserve Restaurant & Cellar, Maleny

-Pumpkin Velouette with Pate & Marmalade
-Seared Hervey Bay Scallops wrapped in Pancetta
-Twice Baked Moreton Bay Bug and White Truffle Oil Soufflé
-Watermelon & Coconut sorbet
-Slow Braised Shoulder of Lamb, onion relish and mustard crust
-Vanilla pannacotta with cinnamon beignets and caramel sauce



In the Sunshine Coast area? You might like to grab some coffee and breakfast at the Chopping Block cafe in Buderim.






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