Wednesday 11 March 2015

The Piggery Cafe at Burnham Beeches, and Cafe Vue - restaurant reviews

Most foodies would have heard of Shannon Bennett, he of the straggly and somewhat greasy, almost blond hair!  He owns Vue de Monde in Melbourne, a well-known and respected restaurant there.  He has a bit of a food empire going, including the 2 cafes we visited on our recent trip.  This was our first visit to Burnham Beeches, but we had been to Cafe Vue before.  I have fond memories of Burnham Beeches as it was still a guest house back when we were children; my sister actually had her (second) honeymoon there!  I am very glad that Mr Bennett and his colleagues are restoring this lovely Art Deco building and grounds to its former (perhaps improved?) glory.
We were in Melbourne for a family wedding, and stayed in the hills (i.e. Dandenong Ranges) for a few nights, giving us time to check out the marvellous shops and cafes in the area.  I was determined to get to Burnham Beeches so we went for an early lunch on the day of the wedding which was in the late afternoon.  It is such a beautiful spot, with huge trees, lovely lawns, a veggie garden and a piggery -  now the Piggery Cafe.  We got there before 12, but it was filling up quickly.  We sat at a long bench with a couple of keen foodies who had big cameras, and were discussing "subtle tastes", etc.  They were actually very sweet to us, and asked us what we were doing in Melbourne and wished us a happy wedding.
We started off with a drink each - orange juice for me, and ginger beer for Mr Pickings.

freshly squeezed organic orange juice $7 

ginger beer $4

I decided on a lobster roll, while hubby went for the wagyu beef burger.  He seems to be trying out every burger he can find lately:)  Oh, and don't forget the chips!  Or should I say house-made fries as per the menu?


lobster roll - $19

wagyu beef burger $12  

house-made fries $8  

We didn't have time for anything else sadly, except a quick wander around and a few photos.  They have a char grill BBQ which sends delicious smoky smells down through the cafe.  Perhaps not so good for the lungs of the chef?:) There is a cheese plate, a charcuterie plate, a couple of different pies and various burgers including fish and vegetarian. Prices are reasonable, and the atmosphere is delightful.  I will have to be honest here and say that the food was somewhat disappointing.  My lobster roll was overwhelmed by the pink sauce, and the fries were limp and not very warm.  Mr Pickings was not terribly impressed by his burger, but I guess you can't expect much for $12.  He said the bun was tiny, and there was no visible relish or sauce.  What is it with restaurants and the lack of condiments lately?  I know, I know, I keep beefing about it.  All in all, a pleasant place to while away some time, but not followed through with great food.


a cute pggy at the Piggery 

love the rustic interior and those pendant lamps 

Mr Pickings looking pensive in front of the tower - Rapunzel here he comes!  

the front drive into the property - can't wait till the hotel opens in a few years!


Piggery Cafe on Urbanspoon


Now to Cafe Vue, Mr Bennett's eatery at Heide Museum on the outskirts of Melbourne in Bulleen.  I really love this museum, the former property of John and Sunday Reed, well-known figures in the Melbourne art world from the 1930s on, who established a gallery of modern art here in the 1950s. We have eaten here before when we came down for my niece's engagement party (the same one whose wedding we came down for this time).  Dare I say that the food was rather lacking?  In the case of my meal, literally!  The menu is very similar to the Piggery cafe, so we chose different dishes here.  I had house-smoked ocean trout, while Mr Pickings had the veggie burger; we shared the fries which were once again limp and luke-warm.  I have to say that the waitress did warn me that the meal I had chosen was particularly small, but I really didn't think it would be so very very small.


house-smoked ocean trout $18 - I think most of it had swum away already  

veggie burger $10 - that is some lonely little burger 

house fries - sorry to say limp and luke-warm again; at least there was sauce  

 It was a very busy place, with constant comings and goings, so obviously Melburnians are happy enough with the food (though the reviews make you wonder).  The most fun part of lunch was listening to the German (?) waitress getting stuck into the other staff, who seemed to need a good bollocking.  So to conclude, maybe one day I will get to Vue de Monde (misspelt so maybe that says something about the chef's attention to detail)  and see if he really can produce good food, but on the evidence we have here, I would have to say a la Miss Clavel from the children's book Madeline- "something is not right".


beautiful pomegranates in the Heide Heart Garden  


Café Vue at Heide on Urbanspoon

18 comments:

  1. I love a good, juicy burger and not one you have to chase inside the bun to find. That said, I'd still enjoy the traveling even if the burger wasn't top notch. :)

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  2. hi maureen
    i love melbourne and their food scene but it makes you wonder when you get bad food at both his places and more than once! but yes we had a superb time - so much shopping, so much food:)

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  3. Oh what a shame! When I saw the lobster roll pic all I could see was sauce really. Looks like that roll got all the condiments.

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    1. ha ha you are right lorraine. condiments galore on that roll but no lobster?:)

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  4. Oh, disappointing Sherry to have two less than average meals and always seems worse when you are travelling!

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    1. strangely i didn't really mind rachel. i am prepared to eat just about anything! and i can put up with total crap. (should i say that as a food blogger?) i was really keen to check out Mr Bennett's food cos when you read the reviews, lots of them are not good. I understand people have off days; the chef may be in a snit or the waitress fought with her boyfriend but really the food should be as good as they can make it!

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  5. The thought of a lobster roll got me excited but did you have to swim through the sauce to get it? Lol. I've been to quite a few celebrity chef restaurants and they are always a disappointment :(

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    1. hi jem
      yes i definitely had to swim thru it. such a shame. what are these celebrity chefs thinking?

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  6. It makes you wonder if he eats his own food. You just can't afford to serve bad food in Melbourne.

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    1. too true! you expect better from these celeb chefs especially Melb ones.:)

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    2. too true! you expect better from these celeb chefs especially Melb ones.:)

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  7. The lobster roll looks like a sauce roll. And that burger sure does look lonely. It's nice when they make their own chips. A shame the food was disappointing but the setting sounds very good and the prices are reasonable xx

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    1. oh yes charlie great surroundings at both places but food not up to scratch sadly!

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  8. Ah such a shame they were disappointing I hate it when that happens x

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    1. hi sarah
      yep a bit sad and strange that a celeb chef would allow this to happen!

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  9. Hi, I am a stranger to the Melbourne Food Scene (Western Australian) but I don't see how 'eateries' which get such bad revues can survive. Do Victorians like to pay 'over the odds' for bad service and rubbish food just so that they can say that they have been to 'xxxxxx' and had a bad experience? Some 'eateries' seem to get more and more bad reports but, go from strength to strength! I don't understand it! I am not a chef but I enjoy cooking and experiment with food. I know what I like and what I don't! If I had some of those reports about (i) my food, (ii) my staff and (iii) my business, I should be having serious thoughts about the whole business.

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    1. hi alan
      it is odd isn't it that a supposedly top-notch chef would let food go out in his name that is not terribly good? i am a but stunned that after all the not so great reviews, mr bennett hasn't decided to pick up his act! thanks for visiting.

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  10. just wondering 'alan' - are you a real person? I did wonder as there is no photo for you, and now i have clicked on your name I see that only an advert comes up and no actual person. So I would suggest fixing that if you really do want to engage with real people:)

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