After a morning of sampling candies and nuts we were hungry for real food. Most of the guides we read said that Vasse Felix winery had very good food. So we went to check it out. The grounds were very beautiful but I couldn’t take any pictures because it was raining and the wind very gusty.
They posted this menu downstairs. It looked interesting but it didn’t have prices. So I went up to the dining area to look at the menu.
lunch menu w/o prices
The nice but empty dining area. The prices were beyond our budget. Appetizers started at A$14-35, main course A$29-39. We decided to go elsewhere.
I was tempted to just stand beside this fireplace because I was freezing.
In the ground floor they had this big room that served as a gallery for aboriginal art. Here are some of the beautiful paintings. These were huge.
Our next stop was Cape Lavender. Upon entering the gate the smell of lavender assaulted our senses. There were different varieties of lavender planted all over the place. I loved the smell. I wanted to just lie down in the middle of the grass and snooze.
These lavender in pots were for sale.
lavender bath and body products
samples of jams & honey made w/ lavender
We passed on lunch at Cape Lavender too. They served cold platters for lunch. We wanted something hot!
dining room
The dessert looked tempting though.
We finally had lunch at Olio Bello a store specializing in olive oil. They also sell bath and body products made with olive oil.
sampling of so many kinds of olive oil
dukkah samples
olio bello menu
We all shared the soup, pasta and dessert. Other than being cheap the servings were really big.
The soup was rich and yummy. It tasted almost like tomato sauce.
tomato soup A$12.95
olive bread served w/ the soup
The pasta was bland and not that good. I asked for more cheese and they gave me a bowl full of shaved parmesan. Now the pasta is good.
kurunba pasta A$18.50
dukkah coated free range chicken, rocket,
pine nuts, sage, onion, olives drizzled w/
kurunba oil & topped w/ parmesan
This is the best dessert we’ve eaten during the whole trip. After 1 bite we immediately stood up to buy another slice for take out. The unusual combination of rosemary and lemon oil in a cake was just out of this world. Rosemary is a pungent herb not normally associated with dessert. But in this cake it acts as a contrast to make the lemon flavor jump out. The use of the olive oil made this cake so moist while retaining a grainy texture from the finely chopped almonds.
rosemary & lemon oil cake A$4.95
To this day we dream of going back just to eat this cake again.
How good was it? Ask Rochelle.
After lunch we asked Margie the gps where was the nearest gas station. She led us to a scenic route passing this gorgeous beach to an old 1 pump gas station.
We asked the guy inside the store to help us fill up but he laughed and said we can do it. The pump was an antique and it was so slow in delivering the gas. We were freezing by the time we finished.
Vasse Felix
Cnr Caves Rd & Harmans Rd South
Cowaramup, WA 6284
Wilyabrup, Margaret River
telephone: +61 8 9755 7552
Cnr Caves Rd & Harmans Rd South
Cowaramup, WA 6284
Cape Lavender
Carter Road (off Metricup Road)Wilyabrup, Margaret River
telephone: +61 8 9755 7552
Olio Bello
Lot 1 Armstrong Rd Cowaramup,
Western Australia
Toll Free 1800 982 170
telephone: +61 8 9755 9771
Shoot First Eat Later 