Tomahawks – Bright – a top choice in a brilliant town

Tomahawks

Modern Australian/American

15 Camp St Bright VIC 3741
Wed�Thu 5pm�late; Fri�Sun 12pm�late; Mon�Tue closed
(03) 5750 1113

Cauliflower + mozzarella fritters, Moroccan ketchup

Bright is a very nice town. There is an obvious pride that the community has put into many aspects, and the scenery surrounding is beautiful. Walking around and checking out some of the restaurant menus for tonight, we noticed a sophistication above the usual associated with a town over three hours from Melbourne. Having worked out where dinner would be, we enjoyed a drink at the Bright Brewery. I wanted to try several beers but still be fit to drive, so the tasting paddle of six beers was the perfect option. All of them are nice beers, but my favourites were the porter style (Staircase), and the Belgian style wheat (Razor) was quality too. Catherine had the drier style of cider (Alpine) from locally grown apples, and was pleased with the choice. After a nice relax, we made it to Tomahawks for dinner and sat on the bar. One of the staff recognised us from earlier in the day immediately building rapport, and luckily he was right that we didn’t need to book. The small restaurant is set in a long rectangle that has a bar as the main feature. We noticed that while it was relatively busy, the turnover meant that no one was waiting for a table, but during the evening most tables had two sittings. It’s a sign of a strong business, especially given it opened late last year.

Slow roasted lamb shoulder bruschetta, hummus, pickled red cabbage, zucchini, salted ricotta

We were urged towards the twelve hour lamb shoulder bruschetta and given I was already more than halfway there, it became one of our mains, along with a cheeseburger to share. I thought we better have some vegetables, so we started with the cauliflower and mozzarella fritters with Moroccan ketchup. They were not quite the refreshing vegetable dish we were looking for, but they were delicious and indulgent, which is better in our book.

Sevens Creek Wagyu Cheeseburger, habanero mustard, pickles, maple bacon

The chefs helped us out by halving both the lamb shoulder bruschetta and the cheeseburger, and it didn’t impact the presentation. The lamb shoulder is beautifully slow cooked on a grilled piece of light bread. It had us reaching for more, even with the burger in our midst. The burger too was great, but Catherine found the patty to be a bit fatty for her taste. Personally I liked the fattiness, and the fact the bacon was dispersed through the patty, but I can agree that the occasional chewy bit was less pleasant. We were very satisfied from the savories and decided to forgo the ice cream sundae which looked pretty good. Besides, Catherine’s cocktail to begin was a bit desserty with the sherbet surrounding the glass on the Tiki Sour.

Tiki Sour

Tomahawks did a terrific job, making it more than clear why it is so popular in a town adorned with good places to eat. If we were in town a few more days a repeat visit would have been likely, but we’ll have to wait until next time.

Trentham Estate Winery – Trentham Cliffs – Wednesday 29 July 2015 – Lunch

Trentham Estate Restaurant

Modern Australian / Winery

Trentham Cliffs NSW 2738 (on Murray River near Mildura)
Wed–Sun lunch 11:30am–2:30pm; Cellar door 7 days 10am–4pm
(03) 5024 8888
IMG_3989_2A visit to the cellar door is always a good idea, time permitting, prior to lunch at a winery. Today we have fifteen minutes to spare and it’s not too busy. The cellar door at Trentham Estate Winery overlooks the Murray River on the NSW side. It’s a novelty for me that our impending lunch is in NSW and dinner is in Victoria. We have an opportunity to try several whites and reds on a list that must run into twenty wines, most available for tasting. They are all reasonably priced and I really should have grabbed a bottle of the nebbiolo which I quite enjoyed. However, we run out of time and need to be next door for lunch, leaving a very comfortable pot belly fire in our wake. The restaurant is nice and warm, and the welcome matches. Naturally, the focus of the tables is towards the gorgeous view of the Murray and lawns outside. The room itself is simple, with wooden furnishings and natural tones. Deciding between the diverse types of dishes is proving a challenge. Catherine narrows her choices down to two and I can’t decide so I offer to order the Murray cod and she can get her other choice of the gnocchi. IMG_3988_2 My decision proves a winner but unfortunately her decision does not. The gnocchi is served with green beans, asparagus, broccolini and green peas. The gnocchi itself is finished off in the pan before being covered by the green sauce which, except for the peas, is all combined. There is not a great deal to like about this dish with quite doughy gnocchi, and a sauce that is not well seasoned, tasting of little given the spectacular fresh offerings in this region. The Murray cod is on the other hand fantastic. Fresh and just cooked through, the flesh of the fish is beautiful. When combined with an expertly prepared lemon beurre blanc, boulangere potatoes, and fresh asparagus, every mouthful is divine. IMG_3990_2 When our waitperson comes to clear our dishes and notices Catherine’s half eaten gnocchi she politely enquires whether there is any issue. As nicely as possible she describes the lack of flavour and doughy gnocchi and our waitperson instantly, against our protests, takes the dish off the bill. A terrifically fast response to customer feedback. We decide to stick on and try the millefeuille which is a good choice. The sheets of pastry are nice and crisp and in between is plenty of sweet cream with a tasty raspberry sauce. It is not incredible but it is very nice. Trentham Estate Winery is a pleasant place to enjoy a relaxing lunch overlooking the Murray. While the food let us down today, the response and the service in general was excellent. Click to add a blog post for Trentham Estate Winery on Zomato