Sandalford Estate Restaurant

What an amazing place. Food, service and ambience … all excellent. We were there for lunch today. Best dining experience.
Staff very friendly, efficient and attentive. Water glasses were filled constantly without being asked.
Serving staff had excellent product knowledge.
Very rare trait in Perth’s restaurant scene.
We will be back.

As you drive into Sandalford Estate, you are greeted by a majestic entrance and welcomed by lush greens and vineyards. Sandalford Estate is located along West Swan Road in the popular Swan Valley region. It is one of Western Australia’s oldest and largest privately owned wineries and was founded back in 1840. When you enter the restaurant, it feels like you’re stepping back in time. The restaurant features a rustic interior and a dining area outside, shaded by 125 year old vines with beautiful views of the vineyards and its surrounds. Perfect for blue skies and cool, sunny days.
We started off with a Charcuterie Plate ($ 28) which consists of Duck Rilletes and Onion Jam, Pork Terrine and Cornichons, Chicken Liver Pâté and Sandalera Jelly and Fresh Baked Baguette. It was well presented and executed. The Chicken Liver Pâté was smooth and creamy. The Duck Rilletes were soft and flavoursome together with the sweetness of the Onion Jam. Oh and the Pork Terrine was lovely.
We shared a Chargrilled Fremantle Octopus with Smoked Paprika Hummus, Olive, Red Pepper and Caperberries ($ 22). The octopus was fresh — chargrilled perfectly from the outside while retaining is tenderness. Absolutely perfect. The smoked paprika hummus, olive, red pepper and caperberries marries well with the octopus, giving the dish a burst of flavour.
I had the Seared Margaret River Venison Loin ($ 45) with Artichoke Purée, Braised Venison Shoulder Pithivier and Roast Baby Vegetables. The Venison Loin was executed well. See that red in the middle? It’s melt in your mouth juicy. It was perfect — not overcooked or raw. The Pithivier pastry was fluffy and the braised venison shoulder inside the Pithivier was tender. YUM!
Mum had the Confit Duck Leg ($ 42) with Du Vuy Lentils, Sweet Potato and Snap Peas. The Confit Duck was crisp on the outside and tender. It was cooked perfectly, topped with crunchy and crispy sweet potato. The Du Vuy Lentils and Snap Peas tasted really nice too, complementing the confit duck leg well. (I have not heard or had Du Vuy Lentils before)
From looking around, the royal blue chips seems to be making an appearance on quite a few tables. To complement our mains, we had the Royal Blue Chips with Cumin Salt and Roast Capsicum Aioli ($ 9.50). The Royal Blue Chips were delicious. With a sprinkled of cumin salt on top, it was like an icing on the cake. Oh and not forgetting the Roast Capsicum Aioli, giving it an additional punch and flavour to the chips. Yes, I could totally eat and snack on this all day.
To finish off, we shared an Avocado Cheesecake with Chocolate Crumbs, Chocolate Macaron and Pasmak ($ 16). The Avocado Cheesecake was smooth, creamy and was not overpowering with strong avocado flavours. Light, subtle and delicate. How does chocolate and avocado work together? Surprisingly, the flavours actually complements each other well. It was meant to be.
Overall, we had a lovely lunch together with a nice ambience. Food and presentation was topnotch. The service — attentive and excellent. For dining at the restaurant, we also received a discount which we could use on the same day at the cellar door. I highly recommend Sandalford Estate Restaurant and I can’t wait to come back to Sandalford again to see what else they have to offer. You can also use your ²⁰¹⁴⁄₂₀₁₅ Entertainment Gold Card here too!

The restaurant is located on the large Sandalford estate, which you can choose to dine inside or out with the stunning grape vine roof. We ordered some cooked olives and the worlds most expensive bread to start. After coming back from the States where bread equal to or better is included for every person at the table and usually unlimited, I was shocked to hear that we had to pay $ 5.15 for two mouse bites! I know bread is a small part of a dining experience but it’s offensive and ridiculous that bread isn’t not included.
Deep breath… Now on to the mains of venison and angus beef fillet. Both proteins were cooked well, although a hint more seasoning would be appreciated. The reserve Chardonnay was good for its price point. The children’s penne Bolognese was a good serving with bags of flavour. The service was definitely there but not super attentive, and some explanations of the dishes would have been appreciated. Overall $ 50+ mains and $ 5 bread put a dampener and solid performing food and decent wine, with a few things sharpened up it would be worth a return visit.
Food 7.5÷10 service ⁷⁄₁₀ décor 7.5÷10

Lovely little spot away from the normal hustle and bustle. Surrounded by green grass and grape vines which is obvious to expect in the Swan Valley.
I came here on a non eventful day, no atmosphere but nice, quiet and relaxing oh and pretty expensive too.
Will come back for more

A wet and wintery Saturday we arrived for lunch and were greeted at the door an ushered into the dinning room with warming fireplace and the cold just melted away…
The staff were extremely knowledgable about the menu and only to pleased to discuss the dishes origins with you and recommend wine pairing; and the food! I do not think I ate a full meal for the next 30 hours! It was generous portions and too good to leave.
Despite being busy we never felt too rushed or ignored at any point even at the back by a window; all things considered this was a great day — even if I would ‘pace’ myself better next visit!

Relaxed, quiet, great service. What a great spot! Even better when delivered by helicopter!

We braved the storm for a trip into the valley for lunch with some friends. My immediate first impressions of the restaurant décor is it’s a little outdated and could really benefit from a revamp to drag it out of the nineties. Service was quick and courteous, with the waitress promptly discussing with the chef what menu items could be adapted for me. Downside was they had such a busy day that two of the mains (the menu is not large) had run out and were not available.
I ordered some waygu beef bresaola with GF bread, others at our table ordered Spanner crab and saffron arancini and chicken liver parfait with sour cherries and brioche toast. The Wagyu was sliced thinly and was a generous serve, the parfait was presented beautifully although the accompanying brioche was more like normal bread. The aranchini were a tad over-​seasoned but maintained a crispy outside and moist centre.
For main I had grilled Gold band snapper with Carnarvon coral prawns and a caper and chorizo dressing. My dish was very tasty despite the snapper being ever so slightly dry. Two of our friends had the same dish but the kitchen ran out of snapper and replaced it with scallops. Both of their dishes were drowned in olive oil and were luke warm. Another two friends who ordered the beef fillet and the goat gnocchi also commented on tepid temperature for their dishes. Hardly what one wants to enjoy on a cold blustery winters day.
Finally for dessert I had the cheesecake with omission of the gingerbread crumbs. This was the highlight of the lunch and was a deconstructed version with accompanying tarty rhubarb strips placed under dollops of cream cheese.
Overall service ⁸⁄₁₀ food 6.5÷10 venue ⁶⁄₁₀