Lake House
5348 3329, King St, Daylesford. VIC 3460 www.lakehouse.com.auOpen Lunch 7 days noon-3pm dinner 7 days 6.30pm-9.30pm; Licensed; MC V EFT, Seats inside 110, Outside seats, Private rooms Cellar 14, function 150
Chef: Alla Wolf-Tasker & David Green (21-9-11) Owner: Alia & Allan Wolf-Tasker (11-10-10)
Mietta's Review
This is a long running and much loved restaurant with a reputation for excellence. It is located on the very picturesque lake at Daylesford and serves elaborate food. It is always busy with guests, weddings and parties, so it is advisable to book. The wine list, which is extensive, has attracted many awards, but it is pricey.
Other Published Opinions
Gourmet Traveller 2012 Australian Restaurant Guide Score: Two Stars "For more than two decades. Lake House has been a standard-setter for country hospitality, its menu bursting with seasonal, local produce cooked with skill and flair. An outstanding wine list is presented with equal aplomb and polish"
Age Good Food Guide 2012 Score: 16.5/20, 2 Hats
Age Good Food Guide 2011 Score: 16.5/20, Two Hats
Gourmet Traveller 2011 Australian Restaurant Guide Score: ** "Few things in Victoria are more pleasant than a sunny afternoon spent beside Lake Daylesford, being fed by Alia Wolf-Tasker and tended by her engaging staff. Dining here - either on the terrace or in the flower-filled dining room with its pretty purple accents and cosy winter fires - is always memorable thanks to Wolf-Tasker's network of talented local producers"
Herald Sun Stephen Downes, 22-12-09 Score: 30/50 "Lake House is an esteemed Victorian eating place whose food, in my view, didn't match its reputation, its terrific service and idyllic surrounds. Except for close, smaIlish tables, the place itself is a treat. But at the huge prices Lake House charges, its kitchen must serve magical and refined concoctions, it simply didn't on the night I went. We sampled a meal I thought had little interest, some unevenness and almost no refinement"
Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2010
Gourmet Traveller 2010 Australian Restaurant Guide Score: ** "No restaurant survives, or indeed thrives, for 25 years unless there's commitment to quality, dedication to hard work - and a whole lot of love. And all those elements are in abundance at the luxurious Lake House, where diners are taken on a gastronomic journey thanks to a seasonal and locally inspired menu"
The Australian A List, 50 Great Australian Restaurants, John Lethlean, Necia Wilden, 5-09-09 "When Alla Wolf-Tasker built her house of dreams in the Daylesford dirt in 1984, she was either completely bonkers or a true visionary"
Age Jane Faulkner
Age Good Food Guide 2009 Score: 17/20, Two Hats "17/20
Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2009
Gourmet Traveller 2009 Australian Restaurant Guide Score: ** "Alla Wolf-Tasker talks the seasonal talk and walks the locavore walk. Her menus list key suppliers and what's in season, and locals are highlighted on the 30-page wine list. Her house-made charcuterie is exceptional, and the sun can be tasted in tomatoes served fried green, with mozzarella and as a shot of gazpacho"
Age Good Food Guide 2008
Gourmet Traveller 2008 Australian Restaurant Guide "This Daylesford institution is in robust health. Overlooking the lake, the restaurant in the beautiful boutique hotel and spa seduces people to return again and again"
Age Good Food Guide 2006 score 17/20
Gourmet Traveller 2006 restaurant guide ** "Ah, Daylesford. Among the picturesque spa centre's other entrancing qualities, its abundance of good food stands out. And when it comes to good food and wine in a garden setting oftranquil indulgence, Lake House is simply outstanding. Just as the glorious trees around the famed lake respond to seasonal changes, so do Alla Wolf-Tasker's menus."
Gourmet Traveller 2006 Australian Restaurant Guide Best romantic restaurants "And if that date includes dinner, bed and breakfast, there is nothing to touch Daylesford's evergreen Lake House. The restaurant is delightful (formidable food and wine with service to match( and the rooms, with their glorious lakeside settings, leave little to desire."
Age Good Food Guide 2005 score 17
Gourmet Traveller 2005 Restaurant Guide ** "Even the kookaburras know when it's dinner time at Lake House, swooping to perch patiently on the terrace rails. Guests enjoying an al fresco pre-dinner drink, or seated comfortably in the dining room with a glorious lakeside view, share the birds' keen anticipation; for this is Victoria's finest country restaurant."
The Foodies' Guide 2004,Allan Campion & Michele Curtis,'One of country Victoria's most popular getaways,it just screams 'special occasion' and long lazy weekends.Stay here and be seduced by the set menu on Saturday nights or the more flexible menu on other days.All their high-quality dishes utilise regional produce,with everything from bread to relishes in the kitchen.'
Age,A2,June,John Weldon
Age Good Food Guide 2004
Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide Australia 2004, 3 Red Stars, Excellent wine list,'is Victoria's most outstanding country hotel-restaurant complex...few if any can match her seasonally adjusted, regionally respectful dishes that are cosmopolitan, and captivating in their sensual appeal...A la carte and degustation menus are matched by a discerning wine list, smoothly professional service and a romantic ambience.'
Age Award for Professional Excellence-Alla Wolf-Tasker Winner of 2 hats, score 17/20
Age, Epicure, 10/2/04,'10
Age, A3, 30/12/03
Age, 28/12/03, John Lethlean
Age, Epicure, 2/9/03, Dani Valent
The Herald Sun, Weekend, Eat, Bob Hart, 9/11/02
Age, Magazine, Oct 2002