For many years, our small group of Uni students, come
professionals and now retirees, have joined together on the first weekend in
December, to catch up and enjoy each other’s company. We invariably choose one of the ‘better’
restaurants in Melbourne which have included Attica, Vue de Monde, Stokehouse,
Sails on the Bay, Pure South, Circa, The European and Jacques Reymond. This year it was back to the latter for a
re-visit experience and what a great experience it was.
Our group of eight has aged gracefully, has travelled
widely, has lived well but fairly wisely and is (individually) quite active and
relatively fit and healthy. But we love
our food and we enjoy a great bottle of wine.
So the choice of Jacques Reymond was quite logical.
The venue is still just as wonderful as always and the staff
are attentive, knowledgeable and personable.
Jacques invariably visits towards the end of the evening and is a
fantastic host and a superb Chef.
Most of us chose the degustation menu because it is such a
chore choosing from the extensive ‘carte’ menu and choosing the correct wine
for the course is somewhat daunting from such an incredible cellar. Ocean Trout, Moreton Bay Bugs and John Dory,
each in their element with incredible
tastes and textures, were the first three courses followed by the meat courses
of Wallaby, Venison, Pekin Duck and Veal fillet with some of the most intense
tastes of additions such as lamb dumplings, spanner crab and Tasmanian wasabi
and lard potatoes. And the desserts are
something else again! The whole
experience is amazing, which is why we return to places like this. Most of the wines were perfect matches to the
course, although we were less than enthused over one of the NZ offerings, particularly
coming immediately after a superb Alsace riesling.
The reasons for ‘Jacques Reymond’ restaurant to remain at or
near the top of the list, are many and varied, but the return visits of many
people, us included, are a testament to the professionalism, the incredible
menu, the extensive cellar and the great ‘vibe’ of the Willams Rd mansion.
Congratulations to the kitchen staff, Jacques and the front
of house staff, for the great experience.
