The Lane

We love the Lane. If you are looking for an unbiased opinion look away now. This is quite simply one of our favourite places to eat. It is partially the superb view, coming at the end of an often high octane and scenic drive through the Adelaide Hills and the surrounding vineyards. The bistro and cellar door is situated on a hill surrounded by vines and looks across rolling hills towards distant meadows, dams and orchards. I will never tire of looking at this view.

The Lane wines are well made and worth a visit in and of themselves. The fact that the restaurant wine list consists solely of Lane vintages and the odd French champagne is less of a hardship than you might imagine.

But the main event here is the food which is locally sourced, creative and exceptional.

On our recent visit we settled in and were brought some tasty fresh white rolls hot from the oven while we considered our wine and further food choices. We asked for butter and were duly given some but the sweet yellow dipping oil the rolls were served with was also quite lovely. Still it is impossible to beat a warm roll covered in melting butter in my book (the French find this common but let them!)

I had already sipped my Lane Beginning 2004 Chardonnay but the waiter who brought me my 3 Coffin Bay oysters as a starter begged me to wait a moment and came back with a bottle of the Sauvignon Blanc. He poured a little into one of my oysters so that I could appreciate the lovely acid bite of the crisp white against the creamy saltiness of the fresh oyster. I agreed it was a superb match but reluctantly had to refuse a glass as I had to drive (one of the few problems of lunching at the Lane is that someone needs to drive home after the meal!)

My partner began with a plate of divine prosciutto, sliced paper thin. This and the oysters demonstrate the Lane’s commitment to superb ingredients simply prepared, but the prosciutto went one step further in terms of its accompaniments. It was served with some astringent pickled fennel and an absolutely vicious aubergine pickle made in the Indian fashion. The bite of these two side dishes perfectly balanced the meltingly tender dried ham. Beautiful!

We followed our starters with salt and pepper squid with fennel and cumin for me and lamb rack with cherry tomatoes, a goats curd salad and duck fat roast potatoes for him. We also had a side dish of simply cooked green beans sautéed with chilli and tasty local almonds. The combination of the fennel and cumin turned a simple squid dish into something just a little different and exciting. The lamb was perfectly cooked and my partner’s face as he ate the potatoes was an exercise in ecstasy.

So far so good. The service had been friendly and excellent when we got it, but the day we attended the bistro seemed under staffed and we often had to wait quite some time for help, with a particularly long wait before we were able to order dessert. It would be a pity if the Lane marred its superb record by cutting back on the number of staff needed.

Dessert was also surprisingly dull and prosaic after such creative and interesting starters and mains. I had a chocolate fondant with hazelnut ice cream and biscuit crumbs. The fondant was alright but I have tasted far better and the biscuit crumbs were dry and simply served as a base for the (tasty) hazelnut ice cream. My friend had an apple and berry crumble with undercooked apple. It was accompanied with a divine quince reduction syrup which showed what amazing things the chef could do with sweet ingredients if he added the same creativity and flair to the desserts as he has to the rest of the menu.

I’d skip dessert next time round and still enjoy a superb meal in stunning surroundings and go home happy.