Brae: Restaurant review

Brae's been in the upper branches of Australia's restaurant tree for a decade now, an impressive feat made more so by isolation and a philosophy about sourcing and growing everything close to home. Post-lockdowns, it's better than ever. For starters it's more relaxed. A newly built cellar has reduced the number of tables in the light-filled dining room, slowing the pace while emphasising a cracking list offering surprisingly great value. Dan Hunter's 11-ish course menu has many new dishes that add delightful levity – a fabulous crunchy potato gem dabbed with honey and capped with sea urchin; smoky, fatty, completely delicious skewers of smoked eel and pork jowl; a "half-time orange" combining orange granita, crème and marmalade in a hollowed-out orange half. All these sit comfortably with his faculty for old-school technique (superb wood-roasted duck, textbook liver parfait) and superlative farming (a dish comprising 60 different leaves and flowers from the garden). Just exquisite.

Brae
Australian
4285 Cape Otway Rd, Birregurra
(03) 5236 2226
Open Lunch Thu-Sat; Dinner Wed
braerestaurant.com

Chef Dan Hunter
Price guide $$$$
Bookings Essential
Wheelchair access Yes