Fino Restaurant, 8 Hill St, Willunga

Dining at Fino is well worth the trip south to Willunga, because of the terrific food and eclectic wine list featuring local and European wines.  We dined there on Easter Saturday night and despite the fact that the restaurant was full the service was attentive and the food was served at reasonable intervals.  The staff were also well informed about the food and how it was prepared and showed an excellent and enthusiastic knowledge of the wine list, especially the local regional wines.

A serving of locally made sour dough bread with Diana Novello First Pressed Olive Oil arrived soon after we were seated and this was devoured with great gusto.  Menus and wine list  (see fino.net.au)  were provided quickly and as well as the seasonal set menu choices, there was a pleasing selection of specials that was explained with pride by the staff.

lamb brains entree

There were four of us in our group and we were all impressed with the choices on the menu.  I chose the entree of heritage beets, both red and yellow with heritage zucchini and mustard greens, followed by another entree of braised lamb brains with kipfler potatoes, cured pig cheek and almonds pictured left, for a main.  

Both dishes were exceptional, using the freshest of local ingredients and displaying a creative and colourful sense of presentation.  The brains dish was the best I've ever eaten and the combination of ingredients was innovative and perfectly balanced in texture and taste.

One of my companions chose  the crispy skin duck breast with beetroot, lentils and broccolini for mains while the other two selected the roast pigeon breast with gnocchi, mushrooms and heritage carrots.  Of the three dishes the duck was considered the winner, but mainly because of the smaller sized pigeon dish.  All enjoyed their choices and the two wines that were selected to accompany them, a chardonnay from Geelong and a local 2008 grenache/shiraz blend from J.C.Pannel matched perfectly.

quince with semi-fredo

Dessert options were also different and our choices included a Spanish custard served in a similar manner to a creme caramel and my poached quince dish with semi fredo that was served as pictured.  I loved this dish for its tasty and innovative use of quince and the combination of textures and flavours that accompanied it .

Overall  Fino deserves its reputation and the number of awards it has received for its food and wine list.  The chef is a star and he has a brilliant supporting cast.  We will return soon without a doubt.