the view looking out onto the rambling organic vegetable gardens
This must surely be the best place to dine in the Yarra Valley. Bella Vedere is a cooking school as well and it shows. The wine list and menu was a delight to browse and so hard to choose from the variety of regional produce on offer. Sporting an open style kitchen with 3 chefs busy at work, under the close eye of chef owner Gary Cooper, the restaurant has a warm cosy period feel. Although let not this ambience fool you into thinking this was just another country style restaurant. It is sophisticated and polished act.
The pastas were great – the squid ink linguine with cuttlefish could have been more al dente but otherwise perfect flavours.
open plan kitchen
squid ink lingiune with calamari and tomato
grilled sardines
rabbit with a cider and grained mustard sauce on mash
The wild rabbit with apple cider and mustard sauce and pancetta (apparently a all time favourite of regulars) was a delight and so were the grilled sardine with breadcrumbs.
Portions were generous and serving staff knowledge of the regional produce used in all the dishes and the method of cooking was excellent.
If we had to make the only negative comment it would be the 2 young children (of the owner perhaps) joining in to serve guests which was a bit unnerving in such a polished restaurant.
This is definitely somewhere to wow your overseas guests.
874 Maroondah Hwy 
Coldstream,
Yarra Valley
