Victoria’s most affordable two-hat restaurant is worth a holiday on its own
Heathcote has the longest main street in the southern hemisphere. Or is that the longest in rural Victoria? I don’t know. It depends on who you ask.
Still, it is an undeniably lengthy thoroughfare, almost seven kilometres end to end, and so broad you could barely throw a rock across it.
The only trouble with these kilometres of main street is that there’s nothing on them. Heathcote has a popular bakery, a couple of cute knickknack stores, and many smash repairs joints. But on this cold Monday morning, strolling its protracted pavements, there’s little else.
Except, that is, for Chauncy.
Heading for a treat – lunch at Chauncy, Heathcote.
This may seem an unlikely location for one of Victoria’s best restaurants – indeed, The Age Good Food Guide’s Regional Restaurant of the Year – but here in a historic building on a corner block of that long main street is a French-Basque eatery that is true destination dining, the sort of place lovers of food and wine will travel to from far and wide to experience, the type of eatery that those classic Michelin guides would label “worth a detour”.
In truth, Chauncy is worth a holiday all on its own. You could build an entire itinerary around a meal here. But I’ll get to that later.
For now, let’s just bask in the glory of the most affordable two-hatted dining in Victoria, where four-course set menus of thoughtful, skilful cuisine cost $110 a person (most in Melbourne are $200-plus), and for equally thoughtful pairings of wine from France and Australia add an extra $85.
Chauncy is full for lunch today, as it is every day; bookings are hard to come by at a restaurant that’s only open for lunch four times a week. And so the full complement of 20 or so diners trickles in to the old sandstone building, a surveyors office and residence built in 1854 for one Philip Chauncy, chief surveyor of that sprawling main street.
This could be Europe and not just because of the drizzle dampening the mood outside. This building has history, as so many of the great restaurants in Europe do. It has an air of casual charm too, a hallmark of the parts of southern France and northern Spain from which it takes its key inspiration.
Chauncy is the work of chef Louis Naepels and his partner, sommelier Tess Murray. Naepels is French, and is inspired by his experiences in Pays Basque, south-western France, where local, seasonal produce is king, and technique is subtle but skilful. Murray has experience in some of Melbourne’s best restaurants, and has done vintages making wine in Burgundy and Mornington Peninsula.
Together the pair have created something joyous at Chauncy, something refreshingly happy. It’s fine-dining that’s fun. Haute cuisine without haughtiness. And the ideal excuse for a European-style foodie road trip.
Haute cuisine without haughtiness.
Here’s the itinerary. My partner and I flew this morning from Sydney to Melbourne, where we touched down at 10am. We hired a car at Melbourne Airport and hit the highway north, arriving in Heathcote in plenty of time for a 1pm booking.
The food today is the stuff of dreams. To start, crudite with ajo blanco, and chicken liver parfait with pickled shallots; then grilled leeks with romesco sauce; pumpkin and ricotta tortellini with veloute; and finally, pork with eggplant, carrot and apple cider jus, with Swiss chard gratin. We add a creme brulee and a tarte Tatin, because we didn’t travel all this way to skip dessert.
This is just the beginning of our gastronomic mini-break. After lunch we head a few minutes up the road to Heathcote II, a winery with accommodation on-site, villas that each have walk-in wine cellars filled with well-chosen and well priced drops from France and Australia. We’ll crack a bottle or, ah, two tonight while we eat charcuterie we bought earlier, sitting in front of the wood fire.
Tomorrow we’ve got an appointment for a tasting at Syrahmi, probably the best winery in Heathcote, and the one responsible for luring Naepels and Murray to the area. Winemaker Adam Foster is a passionate supporter of the region, one who offered to open up his personal cellar for Murray to plunder for her wine list – and one who instinctively understands the attraction of an old stone building on the longest main street in the southern hemisphere (or rural Victoria).
The writer travelled as a guest of Visit Victoria. See visitvictoria.com
THE DETAILS
EAT + DRINK
Chauncy (178 High Street, Heathcote) is open for lunch Friday to Monday. See chauncy.com.au.
Syrahmi (2370 Lancefield-Tooborac Road, Tooborac) is open for tastings by appointment. See syrahmi.com.au
STAY
The Cellars at Heathcote II are self-contained, one-bedroom villas with fireplaces and open decks, each with private wine cellars, from $335 a night. See thecellars.heathcote2.com
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