Anthony W.
Yelp
It was hot on the Mornington Peninsula so the Uber Blonde and I headed up into the hinterland between the two coasts, to a place from the Blondes treasured memories of outings with her late mum.
Merricks General Wine Store has changed hands many times since those days but whosever palms it rests in now has nailed it.
Entering through a tidy and buzzing cellar door, the place opens out into three ultra casual dining spaces. We chose the cosy deck, and despite the heat, it still attracted an ocean breeze through the overhead vines.
The service here is superb. We had a bottle of water within a minute and menus post haste after.
The fare is not cheap, at first glance, I mean 32 for a green papaya salad, but wait, these (and all of the offerings) are main meal size. Not your Don Tapa tapas style. Once I got over that it was all good.
We opted for the house MGWS Pinot Grigio, at $7 an absolute steal. Crisp, edgy and a bit Italian, the wine was perfect.
We ordered the Schnapper with quinoa/zucchini salad and pesto $36 and the aforementioned Green papaya/vegetables/peanuts salad with grilled local calamari $32.
The papaya salad, even without the fab calamari, was worth the money. The dressing was perfect, not heavy-handed on the fish sauce, Long Chim take note, and the vegetable components were crunchy and fresh. Hanoi street food in your face in country Victoria!
The local schnapper sat on a perfectly composed quinoa and zucchini mound. The fish was crispy where it counted and succulently moist when split. Superb dish.
This place was a true find and well worth a look if you happen to be on the Peninsula.