Vasse Felix restaurant review: Margaret River winery remains a drawcard under new head chef Cameron Jones

In 1967, Australians overwhelmingly voted to count Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as citizens, Prime Minister Harold Holt went for a dip at Cheviot Beach, and Elvis married Priscilla. Oh, and Dr Thomas Cullity planted the first grape vines in the Margaret River region to establish Vasse Felix. Fifty-odd vintages later and the commanding Cowaramup winery boasts a cellar door, wine lounge, historic “vault” and art gallery, plus a restaurant that opened in the late 80s and remains a fixture on lists of WA’s best. Rightly so. Vasse Felix’s impressive upstairs kitchen and dining room enjoyed a belle epoque under local hero Brendan Pratt, who served as head chef from 2017 until April 2023. Judging by a recent lunch at the big dawg of Margaret River hospitality, this institution has barely missed a step under new head chef Cameron Jones — another assured young-ish gun, who led South Perth fine diner Red Cabbage before serving as sous chef at Vasse Felix from 2019. His culinary showcase of modern Australian dishes with Asian flourishes is supremely confident but never cocky. If Vasse Felix’s name and reputation hasn’t built expectations sky-high already, the slow drive through the sentinels of towering eucalypts as you wind through the vineyard towards the main complex will finish the job. The cellar door and restaurant is a marvel, a stately conglomeration of local stone, rough-hewn recycled marri and black steel seamlessly blending the original shell and modern design. Vasse Felix may be majestic, but once you step inside the circular dining room there is little chance of being overwhelmed or belittled. Staff, food and price are all eminently approachable. Of course, you can push out the boat and order a bottle of Vasse Felix’s excellent Heytesbury chardonnay or Tom Cullity cabernet sauvignon if that fits your budget. Otherwise, there are 20 vinos by the glass, many for less than a pint of beer at your local pub. The food is likewise assured yet far from fussy. There are even three options on a kids menu, including a generously crumbed toothfish and chips with mayo and a small cheeseburger, both with skin-on chips for $16. Sourdough with house-made herb butter lobbed on our table as we attempted to get our progeny’s food on the way so our footy-mad six-year-old could stage an imaginary grudge match on the sprawling lawn below the restaurant balcony. Vasse Felix was busy when we visited on a Tuesday during school holidays. Sous chef Callum Vorwerg was running the kitchen. Tastes of wines were shuttled out to tables. Questions asked. The menu puts diners on a need-to-know basis with descriptions such as “kangaroo, ssamjang, rice, bush tomato”. It’s Skippy tartare, our helpful waiter explained, one of four options for entree with another four for main on the a la carte menu. There’s also a six-course tasting menu for $120 per person, with three-tiered wine pairings. While I wondered how the kangaroo might measure up to a similar-sounding dish at Old Young’s Kitchen in the Swan Valley, I decided to try “quail, mortadella, char sui” ($26), while Myra chose “kingfish, rhubarb, ginger, pink pepper” ($28). The former turned out to be a quail leg stuffed with finely ground cured pork and barbecued Cantonese-style — char sui, like the pork hanging in the window of any Chinese restaurant worth its MSG. This luridly crimson bird was super tender and had a subtle smokiness thanks to the mortadella. The leg was served on its own on a white plate, sticking out like the sorest of thumbs. No garnish. No salad. Not a single leaf. Chef Jones backs this dish to stand up on its own, something the quail would obviously struggle to do. Even more impressive for pure flavour was the kingfish, which was presented as a crudo with the thick cuts of fish paddling in tiger milk that was beautifully balanced with lingering fresh pepper spice. Brilliant. Myra also hit the flavour jackpot with her main of “pork, coconut, pear, black sesame” ($47): pig jowl brined overnight with honey and bay leaves, then cooked at low temperature for another 12 hours in the oven before being flashed over coals and roasted in a Sichuan glaze. Wowsers. The pork was like butter, but not cloying. Exquisite balance. The first bite of my “beef, mushroom, tapioca, caviar” ($49) was a disappointment. The oyster blade fillet — sous vide overnight, pressed and then finished on a hibachi grill — seemed bland, perhaps overdone. But then I mixed it with the red wine-soaked tapioca and mushies and this rich, earthy plate burst to life. This is a dish to wash down with a big glass of Vasse Felix cab sav. I can also recommend ordering a side of the Jerusalem artichokes with sunflower seed puree ($14), which has currants for sweetness plus a little pepper via Japanese mizuna lettuce. The dessert menu is also concise. We had the “chocolate, blueberry, black sesame” ($18), which was chocolate biscuit broken over a molehill of granulated berry snow. Inside was baked chocolate and orange custard topped with a black sesame ganache and blueberry jam and fennel pollen. Spectacular, quite large, but fresh thanks to the tangy snow. Only dedicated sweet tooths should attempt this alone. Those less enamoured with dessert should order the cabernet caramels, $9 for two chewy pods made with the winery’s trademark red to leaven the sweetness and sprinkled with “cabernet salt”. Perfect with an espresso if you’re driving to a(nother) wine tasting after lunch. While Holt never returned from his swim, Elvis has left the building and Aussies don’t seem as keen to recognise fellow humans, Vasse Felix is a rare case of the status quo being a good thing. Top-shelf dining without being over the top, the OG of Margaret River richly deserves its reputation. Vasse Felix Caves Road (cnr Tom Cullity Drive), Cowaramup OPEN Daily, 12pm-3pm CONTACT 9756 5050, vassefelix.com.au BOOKINGS Yes THE VERDICT Celebrated cellar-door restaurant in a drawcard venue refuses to rest on its laurels or vine leaves. Sumptuous mod-Oz cuisine with Asian influences. Service far from stuffy. Vasse Felix wines for all budgets. The full monty. 17/20