14 Chefs Hats in The Age Good Food Guide since 2002
Dimmi People’s Choice Award 2016 - Best For Views
The relaxed elegance of the Montalto Restaurant is set in a striking and harmonious landscape building featuring rammed earth walls, timber frames and rough-hewn floor boards to blur the edges of inside and out. Floor to ceiling windows take advantage of the breathtaking rural outlook of vines, olive groves and sculptures, leading down to picturesque lakes and wetlands, with pasture, and a hint of the ocean as the backdrop. The Montalto Restaurant is imbued with a provincial spirit, from a personal greeting at the front door to the food on the plate.
Led by Head Chef Gerard Phelan, the kitchen serves innovative food anchored in the fresh seasonal produce of the estate and the Mornington Peninsula. This includes Montalto’s own expansive herb and vegetable garden, fruit & nut orchard and berry garden to which chefs make daily visits, harvesting the best of the garden for use in the restaurant. As part of the regional dining experience, the wine list is not limited to the estate wines, but offers selections from highly regarded Mornington Peninsula, Australian and international wineries.
‘The food at Montalto is predominantly inspired by what’s growing on site at the time. We strive to use innovative techniques and methods of working with our produce with the end goal of getting maximum true flavour. A carrot is a carrot and must remain that way at the end of a process.’ – Gerard Phelan Head Chef
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