Melton Estate Vineyard

Melton Estate Vineyard Restaurant enjoys a beautiful setting, looking out across lush and healthy plantings of vines to the west and a well landscaped, attractive outdoor dining and entertaining area to the south. Traditionally, this has been a conference and wedding venue and one has to wonder, in the light of the spanking given to it by the previous reviewer Spandex and others before him/her, whether this establishment hasn’t yet quite got the lunch thing fully sorted.
My experience was in fact in the evening and I was one of a group of approximately 40 people lucky enough to find themselves at this capacious, airy venue just about the time the sun was slipping across the Southern Alps to the west. The magical,creeping crepuscular rays of fragile sunshine danced soulfully and silently across the highly polished timber floor, casting long shadows & setting an unforgettable scene of splendid, warm quietude.
There was pinot noir, pinot gris, sauvignon blanc and other wines available as we mingled pre-dinner. As four tables of 10 we embarked on a three course set menu featuring a reasonable selection including entrees like Smoked chicken salad, Baby scallops, Soup or Bruschetta. Mains included Akaroa Salmon, Chicken, Pork, Lamb and Beef options so all bases covered there.
Given the numbers in our group I’m satisfied that the service was fine in terms of the time taken for the food to emerge from the kitchen and, without doubt, the waiters and waitresses all performed well within my expectations for such an event as far as friendliness and efficiency are concerned.
The Baby Scallops were a Peruvian import and enjoyed an accompaniment of citrus vinaigrette and salad greens, all a jumble on the plate. I was disappointed with the presentation and the scallops were less than inspiring. Of course it must be remembered that we in New Zealand are spoilt with our own exceptional scallops.....freshly dredged from off Tata Beach for instance.
Chef Angela Morrison did a sterling job of coping with the numbers and offering a choice of five mains. Looking around my own table it was clear that all five dishes were being called for. My grilled Beef Fillet was presented with fresh, crisp vegetables including favourites of mine, cauliflower and broccoli, beans and carrots. Add a side pottle of tomato kasundi to both appease our Indian visitors and proffer a rimbombo of spicy delight and you have a somewhat successful creation appreciated by those lucky diners who chose it on the night.
Desserts are not something I crave for but those who had the Sticky Date and Apricot Pudding gave it the thumbs up as they chomped their way through the mounds, slurping gently at the caramel sauce and slowly melting vanilla ice cream. I must admit I did drool ever so slightly...
There’s certainly some potential to deliver great quality coupled with more than creditable service in terrific surroundings but I would want to dine for lunch before making any conclusive determinations.