Welcome to 3AW. Skip directly to: Search Box, Section Navigation, Content.

3AW - Fairfax Radio Network

Thursday May 17, 2012

What we're talking about

Ela goes over the Barwon Edge

Posted by: Ela Carte | 26 October, 2011 - 3:43 PM
gnocchi

Barwon Edge Boathouse – 40 Windsor Rd Newtown – www.barwonedge.com.au

It’s not a part of Geelong I know, so discovering Barwon Edge beside a cliff by the Barwon River was a particularly nice surprise. The location of this café is easily one of the best things going for it, surrounded by ponds, lawns, and the sprawling river – it’s scenic and serene. That said, it’s very family friendly, so the serenity may at times be interrupted by over-active kids, but the outdoor spaces and playground no doubt prove a godsend for parents hoping to enjoy a stress-free meal.

The café itself looks modern and clean, almost entirely glassed in there are views from every vantage point. Staff are very friendly, it’s pretty obvious there’s lots of return custom at this local gem. Barwon Edge seems to serve a variety of purposes … on this Monday afternoon it was hosting girlfriends catching up over a bottle of bubbly; older couples shouting the grandkids to fish n chips; parents of newborns desperately trying to get a taste of some semblance of ordinary adult life; and later, some local school kids dropping in for coffees and hot chocolates.

So the spring menu for lunch and dinner is pretty adventurous. Entrees boast ham hock croquettes, a “French Board”, and in the specials on this day a grazing plate featuring Watermelon gazpacho, Dukkah crumbed mussels, crispy fried soft shell crab, and duck thyme and prune terrine with tomato relish. The mussels were a surprising standout for mine, and the terrine was chunky and tasty. It was an interesting collection of flavours, but I guess that’s the idea, probably the only negative for me was the somewhat oily crab that I expected to have some sort of batter.

There’s two ways to go with mains. One is a great value option that sees your choice of one of four meals paired with a drink (house wine, beer, coffee, soft drink) for just twenty bucks. Shredded pork salad with fennel, roquette and apple vinaigrette or prawn and herb salads with Moroccan flatbread and preserved lemon would have easily sufficed for me.

Instead, we went for the standard main course menu, where there’s a huge selection of 12 different dishes – from White polenta soufflé with truffle and mushroom ragout, to lamb, yoghurt and pistachio filo pie with spiced carrot, mint and raisin salad, and they’re priced from $18-36, with the majority in and around $20.

There was a minor issue with my main, nothing wrong with the flavour or execution, it just wasn’t quite what I expected – I checked the menu ahead of time as I was keen for something fairly light and healthy, and the Silken beef salad with peanuts, wombok slaw and chilli caramel ($18) seemed to fit the bill. Bit of a surprise then when it comes out and the meat looks like it’s been deep-fried … ah well. Luckily it still tasted great, with some strong flavours including sweet caramel and a whack of spicy chilli.

The chickpea gnocchi ($22) was a much better Spring dish, coming as it did with the fabulously fresh flavours of peas, leeks, artichokes and whipped feta – a great twist on a traditional Italian staple.

For those who just want a quick lunch, there were some focaccias and such in a display cabinet, same goes if you don’t want the desserts or dessert plates on offer then there are some cakes available too. Some decent wines available at good prices, with glasses ranging from $6-12.

When your food is decent and your staff are efficient and friendly, it’s the X-factor that gets you over the edge, and for Barwon Edge it’s this stunning locale and surrounds, and the fact that you can shamelessly share them with family and friend alike.

RELATED CONTENT:

3AW Food - Eating Melbourne

3AW Food 3AW is Food: Melburnians love to eat so it's fortunate we live in the culinary capital of Australia. On this dedicated food page you will find the latest recipes by Bob Hart as well as Tony Leonard's Pub of the Week reviews. La Luna head chef Adrian Richardson also serves up a dish from his own cook book and food reviewer Ela Carte visits one of Melbourne's hottest eateries weekly.

Blog comments Your Say

Post a comment * Mandatory fields