Restaurant Reviews & Awards
"Regional Restaurant of the Year" - The West Australian Good Food Guide 2012
"Something’s happened at Leeuwin Estate in the past year. Dany Angove’s food, always precise in its simplicity, is showing a new confidence. His cooking has never been worse than excellent, but innovation has now been married to his trademark restraint. Who else would have the courage to turn an old Italian pasta dish, polpette, into a slinky modern dish? The meatballs were made of goat and arranged with a plait of hot pappardelle draped across the plate. It was bound with a spanking fresh sugo, lemon zest, good olive oil and parmesan. The effect was one of big, bold harmonious flavours – a reinvention of spaghetti and meatballs. An eggplant clay pot fairly sung with flavours: garlic, fresh turmeric, shallots, sugar, lemongrass, diced tomatoes, Vietnamese fish sauce and eggplant cooked down to a perky oriental daube, with coconut cream stirred in at the last minute. Simple, complex, sweet, sour, hot – it had it all. An espresso bombe Alaska, based on a light chiffon sponge and encased in Italian meringue aced it. The service defies the typical languor of country brigades – it’s sharp, knowledgeable and imbued with good timing. All that, plus manicured views and great wine. 17.5/20." The West Australian Good Food Guide 2012
The West Australian Good Food Guide 2011
"There is nothing, absolutely nothing, quite as good as a sunny Sunday afternoon in spring, wining and dining on the balcony at Leeuwin Estate's award winning restaurant."
The Leeuwin Restaurant was very proud to be one of only 12 restaurants to be awarded coveted two star status, the highest star status awarded, in the inaugural The West Australian Good Food Guide 2011, edited by Rob Broadfield. The Leeuwin Restaurant received a score of 17/20.
"Best Restaurant within a Winery - Regional WA" - Savour Australia Awards
Leeuwin Estate was delighted to be the recipient of the Savour Australia Awards for Excellence in the category of "Best Restaurant within a Winery - Regional WA" and will now be entered in the national awards.
The Awards are an authoritative guide to Australia's best restaurants and caterers. With more than 500 trained judges and 2,000 entrants, the Awards for Excellence are highly respected industry awards, specifically designed to objectively recognise and promote industry best practice. Winners are named across 35 awards categories including Restaurant of the Year and Caterer of the Year.
Food editor Rob Broadfield picks his favourite top 10 WA dishes -
The West Australian, July 2011
"Sitting on the deck (or in winter, inside by the fire) at Leeuwin Estate in Margaret River is reason enough to travel south. And chef Dany Angove's goat polpette - meatballs would give a vegetarian second thoughts. Simply served with a house-made pappardelle pasta, Angove's balls are soft, beautifully caramelised, light and punching away with big oregano and lemon zest flavours - a thoroughbred dish."
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Comments
"The Buzz - Confident, simple, well-executed food from a brigade that knows what it's doing. Great bread too. A polished front-of-house crew rounds out the package. Awesome wines. The dining room has rural idyll views to the gum trees. A soothing, relaxing, quality experience at one of the country's best wineries"
"The precision, the produce, the deft touch of Leeuwin's kitchen and the calm confidence of the front-of-house team make for an enticing, occassionally exciting package"
"Leeuwin is at the top of it's game"
"Simple, stylish and minimal technique to brilliantly sourced food"
"A chocolate and liquorice parfait was dead sexy: silky, smooth, rich and deep in flavour"
"Who could complain about drinking Art Series wines at cellar door prices"
"Leeuwin is quietly, understatedly swanky. The dining room walls are full of good art"
West Australian, Rob Broadfield, 26th April 2008