The Peninsula’s Reopened Crittenden Restaurant Is Perfect for Long Lunches

For the Crittenden family, the reopening of Crittenden Restaurant at their Dromana estate on the Mornington Peninsula marks something of a homecoming. After more than 20 years in the hands of an external operator, while the family focused on the cellar door and villas, the restaurant is now back under Crittenden management.

“It’s always been the missing piece of the puzzle,” says second-generation winemaker and general manager Rollo Crittenden, who runs the property with his sister, Zoe, and his wife, Linda. “We’ve always wanted guests to experience the wines, the property and the food as one cohesive offering. Now we finally can.”

After a six-month closure and a $1 million renovation, the restaurant reopened on Halloween with new landscaping, a pergola and an extended terrace, a winter-ready fireplace and a completely rebuilt kitchen – now an open showpiece for the dining room. The intention is simple. “People can come for a couple of snacks on the terrace or go all in with a long lunch,” Rollo says. “Either way, we want it to feel like a proper day out, to see the vines, taste the wines and get a sense of our beautiful part of the world.”

In the kitchen is Brazilian head chef Brunno Melo, who most recently worked under Scott Pickett at Audrey’s. His menu in the main dining area leans into share-friendly plates with an eye on local producers. Torello Farm supplies vegetables, meat and “those Yolky Dokey eggs everyone down here obsesses over,” Rollo says. Hawkes Farm potatoes show up across the menu, and local brewers, cider makers and distillers are threaded through the drinks list, alongside the full suite of Crittenden wines.

From the Josper woodfired grill comes a hero dish: the half-barrel swordfish steak, deeply caramelised with burnt lime and smoked maple chimichurri. There are rotating cuts of Wagyu – skirt, rump cap and a slow-cooked one-kilogram blade – served with mustard leaves, sesame and fresh wasabi, plus a harissa-rubbed half chicken with charred corn. Seafood has a strong presence too, with dishes such as spanner crab and Abrolhos scallops with trout roe and white soy, confit ocean trout with wasabi and guanciale, and tuna tostadas with salsa roja.

The terrace runs a more casual menu. There are tacos with carne asada or Baja fish; charcoal-pork-neck bao; South Melbourne Market dim sims; and flatbreads topped with burrata, hot salami or charred pumpkin.

“The dining scene on the peninsula has shifted dramatically since my parents ran the restaurant in the ’90s. We’re flush for choice now,” Rollo says. “It’s exciting to be part of that landscape and also to do something that feels unique within it.”

Crittenden Restaurant
25 Harrisons Road, Dromana(03) 5981 8322

Hours:
Sun to Thu 10.30am–4.30pm
Fri & Sat 10.30am–9.30pm

crittendenwines.com.au