Have you been to Olleyville? It’s the restaurant at Murrumbateman’s premium family-owned winery, Shaw Vineyard Estate and it reopened in August. The restaurant is a short drive from Canberra and the menu has something for everyone. I took Mr Eat Canberras mum there for lunch on a Friday and we were very impressed. We agreed that it would be a great location for lunch or dinner with the rest of the family.
The dishes are rustic and affordable with the wood-fired oven dominating the restaurant, cooking lots of the shared dishes, including the free-range wood-fired chicken and baked whole baby Cone Bay barramundi. There’s also a selection of pizzas, pastas, salads, cheese platters and small share plates. Of course, there’s a recommendation for a matching Shaw Vineyard cool climate wine with most of the dishes. I love it when restaurants do that because selecting wines can by quite overwhelming so this takes the added stress away.
We had so much trouble deciding what to order (yes this is an issue I always have) because everything sounded so good. We decided to share the salt and pepper calamari with chilli dust and the Sydney rock oysters to start. The calamari was perfectly crisp with a light, flavoursome coating and it was so tender on the inside. The oysters were really fresh and we would have had no problem sharing another ½ dozen, but we needed to make sure there was enough room for our mains…. And dessert!
I chose the lamb shank shepherd’s pie (slow-cooked tender meat and crispy potato is always a winner for me) and Mr Eat Canberra’s mum picked the entrée size of the orrechiette with creamy wood mushroom sauce and aged parmesan. The entrée size was really big and so was my shepherd’s pie. We had a glass of smooth and bold shiraz that went perfectly with out mains and both dishes were comforting, flavoursome and very filling. But of course, there’s always room for dessert.
Sharing a dessert is a great option if you still want something sweet but don’t have enough room in your stomach to finish a whole one to yourself. The milk and dark chocolate layered mousse with crispy praline won our hearts although I was very tempted by the sticky date pudding with caramel sauce and toffee ice cream. The mousse tasted as good as it looked and it was a great way to finished an excellent dining experience.
You can sit in the dining area inside or outside. It’s a beautiful spot to enjoy a wine or two and some delicious food, especially in the warmer months. Olleyville can also host functions, events and weddings for up to 200 seated and 350 cocktail style.
Olleyville are also open for breakfast and the new cellar door will open early 2018. If you’re looking for somewhere special to spend Christmas Day with you family then Olleyville are taking bookings. They also serve ONA coffee and have a selection of housemade pastries.
If you haven’t been to Olleyville then add it to your ‘to eat’ list.
Details
Address Olleyville at Shaw Vineyard Estate, 34 Isabel Drive, Murrumbateman, NSW 2582
Contact number 02 6227 5144
Email hello@olleyvilleatshaw.com.au
Opening hours:
Wednesday to Friday – 11am to 9pm
Saturday – 9am to 9pm
Sunday – 9am to 4pm
Amelia Bidgood
Amelia is the Founder and Editor of Eat Canberra and the Founder and Managing Director of Eat Canberra Food Tours. She's a qualified journalist, presenter, freelance writer and also runs a boutique communications agency working with small business owners on all things social media, content creation and marketing. She's taught cheesemaking classes, judged hospitality and tourism awards, completed the WSET Level 1 Award In Wines, loves to cook and has travelled to 23 countries. She's also passionate about mental health and has recently started studying to become a Counsellor.