Capel Vale Wines Cellar Door

Arrived here on Boxing Day because it said it was open but was not then returned to taste wine 2 days later with our dog because they claimed they were dog friendly only to be told we had to lock our dog up outside because she was not allowed onto the wine tasting area because that was located in their restaurant so nothing dog friendly.I felt extremely annoyed.

Stopped past here on a Friday afternoon at 12.30 for lunch. Arrived inside to wait 5 minutes for one girl who was serving 2 tables and doing a wine tasting to speak to us. We said we'd like to stay for lunch and she said ill ask the chef?When she came back she said the chef was expectng to busier and couldnt manage it as they were under staffed.There was only 2 tables in the entire restaurant occupied and no one else.Considering its a set menu of only 2 options i found it odd. Not the waitresses fault but a shame as the venue seemed lovely

My experience for a weekend lunch was very sub-par.Our group of 13 were asked to pre-select our orders more than a week out from our booking – apparently due to staff shortages.It was unusual but understandable considering the current state-wide skills shortage and boom in regional tourism.So, I was surprised when we arrived at an almost empty restaurant.It took almost 20 minutes for our drink orders to be taken. When they were, our waitress was very friendly and polite.But for a place that prides itself on its ability to ‘match’ wines to its food, there was no explanations given.The entrée plates of bread, dukkha, oil and olives were good, as well as the sparkling rainwater (actually delicious, glad we asked for sparkling).Our lunch dishes were very, very disappointing.Most of the plates had meat that was either dry and overcooked, or oily and mushy.The serving sizes wildly varied from plate to plate – some had lots of meat, others very little.The only consistency was all the sides were cold. Some did not match at all to the dish served (eg. cured fish on a pork plate and overpowering droplets of a salty Worcestershire -like sauce)When one of our guests complained about his dry and burnt meat – the chef came out and handled it surprisingly poorly.He was rude, unapologetic, and refused to replace the dish – instead offering a glass of wine. It was eventually discounted at half price.The dessert plates were fine, and the waitress was great at coordinating cake for two of our guests who were celebrating their birthday.With so much competition for fine dining in the South West region and considering the cost this was really disappointing experience.While Capel Vale has been around for many years, it would appear its well beyond its hey-day (as its décor would suggest).

Absolutely hate the choices and design of the floor tiles throughout the building, but the quality of work is outstanding. Once again the choice of tiles for the men’s room is horrible and has no relation to anything else within the building. I wish I could say the quality of the work on the walls was as good as what has previously done on the floors…. The total lack of effort to put any thought into a balanced set out on the walls is just unacceptable

Best lunch and wine I had in a very long time. Went for the Shiraz Matching Plate with wine 10/10. My partner had the scallops matching plate which was faultless and our son loved his kids platter. Thanks we will be back!