Welcome to Lamonts Margaret River

My two recommendations for friends when going down south is

A) Lamonts - Yallingyup for the best steak I've ever had
B) spa treatment at Bunker Bay resort.

Okay back to the food review... :P

Food: the steak is so juicy and tender and is served with this delicious polenta cake and hearty field mushrooms. I always force myself to finish every bite as it tastes so good - you could roll me out of the restaurant!

Ambience: The restaurant is situated on a river bank set in surrounding bushland which makes it nicely secluded. I've only had lunch there and enjoyed basking in the warm sun on the deck overlooking the scenic views.

Service: Nothing bad to report. On the last visit, one of our mains were delayed and the chef kindly offered a complimentary tasting plate for our table.

Overall: I can't stress this enough - try the steak!

As you pull into the property you are met with a magnificent vista of a calm blue lake surrounded by rolling grassy hills. The restaurant and cellar door sit atop a series of stilts so that you are looking over onto the lake as you dine. The restaurant is outfitted with this view in mind and so you have floor to ceiling glass windows and minimalist decor so as not to detract from the scenery outside. You can choose to dine outside or in, there are plenty of tables in each area.

As part of our Winter Breaks deal, we received a $90 voucher for lunch at Lamonts which was conveniently located just 5 minutes from our accommodation. Unfortunately they had no record of our booking when we arrived at 2pm for a late lunch, which was slightly annoying as we had called that morning to ensure a table. Being so late, we still managed to get a table as they were not so busy at that time.

Each table had a crisp white tablecloth with a square of white paper, one would assume to help with cleaning. It was something I would not have expected for a place like this and brought the formality down a notch. Although I'm sure the parents on another table appreciated the colouring pencils provided by the staff to occupy their small children. Service itself was a little dry, polite and prompt, and not overly friendly.

Lunch consisted of the day's special, dukkah crusted chicken breast atop creamy pesto gnocchi, and slow roasted venison shanks with snow peas. The chicken was very tasty although the cream sauce was so creamy I could almost feel my arteries hardening. An orange creme brulee served with polenta cookies followed although at this point we were both very full. i've never considered polenta as something that could be made into a sweet, but it worked, a little grainy but still good.

So coming to a grand total of $88.50 for two mains, one dessert and two drinks. It wasn't cheap and I do tend to baulk at paying $38 for a main, but when you're on holiday, mere details like that tend to be forgotten. And it was quite a treat (not to mention the voucher)