Restaurant review: Westering at Lake George Winery offers pleasant lunch amongst the vines

As we head out along the highway, the midday sun shimmers off Lake George. Every time I still wonder about all the mysteries that lurk beneath the surface. Is there really a lake on the other side of the world that empties as she fills, or caves somewhere? And what about those cadets from Duntroon who disappeared in 1956? Are there really bunyips which sunbake on the shores?

Perhaps Tim the Yowie Man should have been my lunch companion, he would have been able to set me straight.

Instead a girlfriend and I are heading out for Sunday lunch. I might change my name to Karen the Lunch Lady, as I think the long lunch, particularly on a Sunday, is a very underrated thing.

The restaurant is open for lunch, Friday to Sunday, and it feels like a destination. There's the 40 minute drive (from the city), a chance to escape the city, and, as you arrive at the vineyard you could be somewhere else entirely.

Rows and rows of vines stretch out before you, their leaves a pale green, full with fruit. We've booked in the middle of picking season and, later, winery owner Sarah McDougall lures us outside to try our hand at picking some grapes, riesling and muscat. You can eat outside too, there are a couple of rustic tables set out under a tree and there's a dining dome available for bookings as well. Remember that as the afternoons turn cold and bleak.

But we're inside the restaurant which is a welcoming space, stone and wood, with a cast iron fireplace in the middle. No need for it today, it's a perfect autumn afternoon and we're next to a window with a view across the vines.

I'm not drinking much these days so when I do ask for a wine I want it to be special. We go with the three-course option ($70pp, $110 with matching wines; two courses are $55 and $80) and I'm drawn to the wines.

First up is a 2021 Eloise rose, fresh and crisp without any sweetness. The pours are generous and I like it.

It's a good match for the kangaroo and chicken terrine, with beetroot, sage and lavoche. The quenelle of beetroot on the plate is all the sweetness needed, a good play against the terrine which is well structured and flavoursome; the meat well cooked, the sharper kangaroos offset by the chicken. The lavoche just seemed a little redundant; we still had slices of sourdough to spare.

Our other entree was the zucchini blossoms with goat's curd and tomato tapenade. Here the tapenade detracted a little from the curd filled flowers, but the batter was light and crisp, a substantial starter.

For mains I went with a grass-fed sirloin with carrots, camomile and cavalo nero paired with a 2021 shiraz.

I love a good shiraz. I haven't been able to drink heavy reds for decades and shiraz has been the red of choice for a while. This one is dark berry red, but not too dark on the palate. Again, it was a good match to the steak.

It came out on a light bed of carrot puree, with rounds of carrot perched, rather oddly, on top. It was wonderfully cooked however, more to the rare than medium as requested, a large piece of meat, perhaps too large, sliced on the grain.

Sides were wedge of iceberg lettuce with ranch dressing and crispy shallots ($10), iceberg being the most underrated lettuce; and chips with cajun spice and a black garlic aioli ($9). Let's talk about this aioli, full of umami undertones, thick and rich. Apparently the secret is kept well by chef James Titheradge. I'm imagining a large bowl of chips with lashings of aioli out near the vines on a crisp winter's day, a bottle of shiraz. They are available from the cellar door menu so it's possible.

For dessert we turned to a white chocolate panna cotta with strawberries and shaved white chocolate and a chocolate mousse with spiced plums and dulce de lechin. The panna cotta came out in a glass, which I'm never a fan of. Too hard to find a wobble, how long have they been sitting around for? But this one was delicious, enough depth to the panna cotta, a good layer of tart strawberry for contrast, a little texture from the shavings. A pleasant end.

McDougall was loitering in the restaurant and she's always willing to share her enthusiasm for her wines and the industry on a whole. She offered us a glass of the Edgar's Press, made from heritage muscat made by Edgar Riek more than two decades ago. A refined way to finish a meal.

And perhaps a fitting reminder of the history of the area, whether we're talking about what lurks beneath or an afternoon in the sun sharing a pleasant enough lunch, marvelling at what the Canberra wine district has to offer.

Address: Lake George Winery, 173 The Vineyards Rd, Lake George, NSW

Phone: 48480182

Website: lakegeorgewinery.com.au

Owners: Anthony Whitehouse, Create Catering; Sarah and Anthony McDougall, Lake George Winery

Chef: James Titheradge

Noise: Not a problem

Dietary: Some options on the menu, mention when booking

Outside dining: A few tables under the trees near the vines