Read our WAGFG review here... #6 in the 2022 Top 100!
The reality of a farm restaurant and cellar door doesn’t always match the dream, but at Glenarty Road the vision has been realised with a restaurant that exemplifies the best of the South West.
Forget any notion of faux farms or over-egged kitchen gardens: Glenarty Road is the real deal. You’ll spy owners-growers-winemakers Ben and Sasha McDonald manning the cellar door, out on the restaurant floor, among the vines or working a paddock. Animals are reared on the property, with fruit and vegetables also gathered from the land; if not, the kitchen team can pinpoint their origin on a map.
Someone with a real eye has put this seemingly basic dining room, set in a lovingly renovated shed, together with wit and style. And in warmer months, tables under the shade of a vibrant coral tree are the go. It all has real soul. So too does the food, which steers a comfortable path between contemporary bistro and cosseting CWA charm.
The Farm Feast could see you with a plate of crudités from the garden and then house-made charcuterie to start, or Manjimup cabbage with pork fat and grated egg yolk: a dish that cries out for the vineyard’s wild-fermented savagnin (a call that should be answered). Glenarty Road lamb finished on a wood grill and served with salt-baked carrots and mustard encapsulates the couple’s years-long mission.
A true destination restaurant with a relaxed warmth and confidence so many could learn from.