The Royal George Hotel

Kyneton, VIC

Reviewed by Tom Neal Tacker

The Royal George is a heritage-listed hotel in heritage-listed Piper Street in heritage-infused Kyneton. But there’s nothing old about the Royal George except the building and a few internal fittings. The new owners, Frank Moylan and Melissa Macfarlane (ex-Farmers Arms in Daylesford) have given it a full makeover. This is the sort of country pub that I like to see. It takes its wines and food seriously. Service is down-home-friendly but professional, rightly so as Frank and Melissa are such experienced restaurateurs. The total package represents forethought in terms of putting customer comfort first. You can drop in for a beer or you can partake of chef (ex-Chateau Yering) Matthew Fegan’s delicious food. I heartily recommend the latter option.

To begin, Mt. Zero olive oil is drizzled into a side dish, sweet butter is presented in thick slices and a basket of rustic local bread is placed on the table.

For starters we sampled calamari with watermelon fattoush and lime sumac dressing. This piquant entrée is interesting but the crisp fried calamari loses its crispness as it settles into a very wet fattoush. Better is a special of Turkish air-dried beef (a.k.a. bastourma) salad with asparagus, Meredith chevre, roasted walnuts, soft poached egg and lemon garlic dressing. The flavours coalesce nicely as the soft egg yolk is stirred into the lemon and garlic dressing. It could have been a gluggy mess, but wasn’t. Lime-crusted scallops with cabbage and orange slaw and blood orange dressing are sweet and tender. The citrus neatly offsetting the freshness of the seafood. Warm Spanish cheese (Manchego in this instance) and herb croquettes with harissa aioli and herb salad are crunchy outside and softly oozing inside. The aioli has a touch of chilli and the herb salad refreshes rather than merely adorns. We chose glasses of Zig Zag Road Macedon Ranges 05 Riesling from an extensive list to accompany the above.

Pistachio-crusted loin of Kyneton lamb with baharat spiced kofta, date and cinnamon couscous and lemon tahini sauce wouldn’t look out of place served on the terrace of a fashionable restaurant in Casablanca. Though the loin was a bit overcooked for my taste, the kofta was a treat. The couscous appeared to be properly steamed rather than the instant variety. Another special of slow cooked neck of Kyneton lamb with broad beans was truly delicious, moist and tender. Cardamom and honey glazed confit duck leg with slow cooked pork belly, braised Savoy cabbage, roasted apples and Bress cider reduction was too much for me on a hot summer’s night but I would gladly eat it again in July.

Frank recommended a new wine he had recently acquired that hadn’t yet made it to the fairly priced list: Heathcote 2 ‘04 Shiraz. At a massive 16.5% alcohol, it was something of a head-spinner but with loads of sweet, spicy fruit it was a good match for our mains. As it sat in its decanter on the table, I could have sworn I saw a whirling genie but perhaps the Moroccan theme was going to my head.

Mango, almond and orange blossom semi-freddo, passionfruit curd tart, passionfruit sorbet and a dried mango torte was an invigorating dessert, as was a raspberry and yoghurt pannacotta with a berry salad and honey sesame biscuit. A Kennedy and Wilson chocolate fondant with halva ice cream and chocolate sauce, described as a ‘house specialty’ by our waitress, was also very good.

This is above average dining regardless of its location. Frank and Melissa are ardent supporters of local producers with the wine list featuring a significant proportion of regional wineries. Expect to pay approximately $55 per person for three courses before drinks. Though Matthew’s food leans heavily toward Moroccan and Spanish influences, it gains much from both. That the Royal George has been re-established so successfully in a Victorian country town, I believe says a lot about our maturity as avid diners. It’s a popular place for nearby winemakers, farmers, townies and city blow-ins. The dining room is often booked out, particularly on Friday and Saturday evenings.

7/10

Royal George Hotel

24 Piper Street

Kyneton, VIC 3444

Tel: 03 5422 1390