March 29th, 2021Thursday means Steak Night at the Daylesford
Firstly, if you have had a long day, there is nothing better than having someone else cook for you. Secondly, if you are over each other, there is nothing better than chatting to other people. So, we found ourselves ordering and eating great food and chatting with one of the owners Rosie and our lovely waitress Kerry. (I am not sure if we still say waitress. I know that landlord is being ditched at the start of April…)
Anyway, Kerry showed us to our seat, a top spot overlooking the dining room but also looking out to the setting sun. We started with a chardonnay and lager while we checked out the menu although Kyle was already settled on the steak special for his main. It was, after all, Steak Night.
But back to entrees. We decided to share, after asking Kerry her opinion, the twice cooked goats cheese souffle with beetroot relish and a pear, caramelised walnut and watercress salad as well as the salt cod croquettes with shaved fennel and lemon aioli (both $16). Kerry was spot on with these two. Both were absolutely delicious, the souffle so light and perfect with the tangy relish and crunchy salad, and the housemade croquettes just zinged with flavour.
The Steak Night offer is a chargrilled Green Hills rump (180g) with a garden salad and chips with a choice of Dijon mustard, red wine jus, herb and garlic butter or green peppercorn sauce. All for just $25 which is amazing value. Obviously the word is out because the hotel was busy from 6pm with people keen for a great steak that won’t break the bank. I, sort of heading towards being a vegetarian, settled on the potato gnocchi with heirloom tomatoes, lemon ricotta and fresh basil ($27).
Both were fantastic. Kyle said the steak was perfectly cooked (he always goes for medium), full of flavours from the smoky chargrill to the peppercorn sauce, and the chips were big and crunchy. My gnocchi was light and fluffy, as was the ricotta and those tomatoes are just yum.
With entrees and mains done, we were also pretty done but we had heard about the ice-cream terrine ($16) which apparently is becoming quite famous around the traps. No wonder. It is amazing. Sponge cake, passionfruit sorbet, mango sorbet, raspberry sorbet with strawberry sauce and a side serve of cream and dried fruit slices. Wow! This is some way to end a meal.
Owners Rosie and Anne Marie have done a great job at the Daylesford Hotel. Like many they worked over COVID and lockdowns and gave the place a lovely refresh. We ate in the dining room but there are so many places to kick back and relax – one of our favourites is the snug by the bar, and there’s also that great view of the town from the balcony.
We left feeling refreshed, certainly refuelled and relaxed. A great night out and the perfect end to deadline.
Words: Donna Kelly | Images: Kyle Barnes
