Day 134: 11 October – A Margaret River lunch to remember

Author: Mr A

Location: Margaret River, Wills Domain

Another cold, gloomy day, but we had indoor games planned today so it didn’t matter. We had followed several friends’ advice and booked a table at Wills Domain, a restaurant and winery made famous by head chef Seth James.

Before heading out to lunch, however, we headed down to the beach for a short (emphasis on the short!) walk down along the coast by Yallingup. It’s the first time we’ve seen proper surf in a while, and a stunning location.

After getting the blood moving and some fresh air in our lungs, we headed over to Wills Domain.

It was set in a beautiful location amongst the vines, and we were offered a sample some of their wines before lunch.  Margaret River is known for Chardy and Cab Sav, not two of our favourite grapes actually, but one needs to be flexible in these matters. If we were still building a cellar, rather than drinking as we go, I would have been tempted with several of their wines, which are likely to turn into beauties with some more time in the bottle.

Tasting over, we wandered through to the restaurant, which they have recently renovated and changed the style to be very intimate, I counted only 6 tables, so there was no getting away from me for Mrs A. The dining room was quite lovely, with a fire flickering away and plenty of space between tables, refined not raucous, we fitted right in.

We asked our waiter (whose accent seemed to change from French to something else every other sentence!) the dairy question right up front – What can Mrs A eat without spending the afternoon losing her lunch from the dairy allergy she has? We were interested in the “feasting option”, as they so bluntly called it. In fact a great sample of their food in small courses. So, Mr ‘French-this-Minute’ comes back and explains how they can adapt the ingredients to suit. Wow….and they did. And it was a feast. Such fantastic blending of flavours, fresh ingredients, a little spiciness here and there, we loved it.

The car seemed to struggle back up the hill to our caravan park carrying the extra load.  Mrs A then took Tassie out for a late afternoon stroll, attracting the attention of several parrots, who seemed as intrigued to see a cat on a lead as some of the other residents. We are so happy she seems to be gaining in confidence, and with some encouragement, exploring her surroundings. Tomorrow, we will destroy all that and move her again!