Rochford Winery Restaurant

Cnr of Maroondah Hwy and Hill Rd
Coldstream, VIC 3770
Ph: 5962 2119
Website: www.rochfordwines.com.au

I first heard about and visited Rochford Winery Restaurant when my work mates and I did the amazing Hot Air Ballooning from there. The breakfast we had was very tasty and I swore that I would go back to try their lunches. When by pure chance my friend Nelly organised a lunch there for Ada, I was more than happy to come along and try out the food.


The winery restaurant is one of the bigger places in the area and has both an indoor and outdoor area. The outdoor area is for coffee and simpler food while indoors is the full blown menu. The room, like most winery restaurants, takes advantage of the amazing views of the vineyards and mountains outside by having floor to ceiling glass walls. Sunshine streams in and it is indeed a lovely afternoon to eat at a winery restaurant.


We decided to do the full three course meal as the options looked so tantalising. We started off with entrees, which we of course shared. The three entrees chosen were the Chorizo Croquettes, Pork Terrine and Liver Pate. All three entrees were excellent. The croquettes were crunchy and spicy, the terrine rich and soft and the liver smooth and creamy. The accompanying small touches of vegetables, herbs and sauces really added to the dishes and weren't there just for appearance sakes.



For mains, we shared three huge plates of Confit Duck, Roast Beef and Rib Stew. All three meals were very substantial, with a primary meat and lots of accompanying vegetables and a very strong sauce. The duck was cooked well and I liked sauce. The beef was tender but I found the sauce a bit too strong and sweet. Lastly, the ribs was beautifully soft but the sauce was so so thick and sweet that you can't eat more than a small amount.



We were super full already after the mains but when the desserts came, as usual there was space in the spare "dessert stomach". The desserts all looked very simple and elegant. While the Chocolate Meringue sounded the best on paper, I didn't really like it too much. A soft meringue was served on a bed of chocolate and a light chocolate cream. The flavours didn't work well together for me. In contrast, the Roasted Fig with Mascarpone and Biscuit was spot on and extremely addictive. It was sweet, creamy, crunchy and blended so well. The Raspberry Pannacotta with Plum Cake was also very good. A creamy pannacotta was topped with raspberry jelly, fresh raspberries and raspberry sorbet. That alone was good and didn't really need the plum cake which, although good, didn't pair well with the pannacotta. But I'm not complaining about an extra little treat in the plum cake.



The atmosphere in the restaurant was very relaxed and happy. People were all having weekend lunches and enjoying themselves. As I said earlier, the wonderful sunshine streaming through the glass walls and the perfect views only help to enhance the meal. The service was good and friendly enough. The food is similar to most winery restaurants and caters to the masses, but done better than normal. The prices are very fair and I would come here for more meals.

Overall Rating: 15/20, Good food and excellent views.

Scores: 1-9: Unacceptable, don't bother. 10-11: Just OK,some shortcomings. 12: Fair. 13: Getting there. 14: Recommended. 15: Good. 16: Really good. 17: Truly excellent. 18: An outstanding experience. 19-20:Approaching perfection, Victoria's best.