Pialligo Estate

The day started out frosty but the sun is shining and mum and I are headed to lunch. We have chosen the Garden Pavillions at Pialligo Estate for a little mother daughter indulgence.

I remember coming to Pialligo as a child. Back then, there was only ever a row of nurseries (of the garden variety) here and it always seemed like really far away when in reality, we are only 10 minutes from the city. The nurseries are still here but Canberra has grown up a lot and now the nurseries sell more than just seedlings and all have cafes, serving everything from hearty winter fare to fancy lunches. These days there is a vineyard here as well.

We pull in and the car park is full. A fountain bubbles away in the middle of the lawn and the grounds, a sprawling 12 acres in all, boasting views over to Black Mountain as well as Parliament House. I’m not sure there are many capital cities where you can have lunch at a vineyard overlooking the parliamentary triangle. As we enter the main building, the Garden Pavillion is full of Friday lunchers and flooded with the bright winter sunlight.

We are seen to our table, in a quiet corner, basking in the sunlight and boasting more of those sweeping views over the vineyard to the previously mentioned sites of the capital.

It does not take us long to decide to have the wine tasting menu. The tasting today consists of three Pialligo Estate 2017 reds including a sangiovese, a merlot and a shiraz. Whites are not available for tasting today, it seems this is because of the season but I don’t question it, the reds are fine with me.

We peruse the food menu for a while. We are promptly informed that the beef cheeks are not available today and, despite numerous other temptations, we settle for a $40 two course menu. This means we are able to share an entree and dessert and enjoy a main each.

We decide on the salmon to start. I settle on the pork for main whilst mum selects the fish of the day and the chocolate ganache is the hands down choice for dessert.

We talk and enjoy the sunshine. I have come in layers and as the sun penetrates I peel them off, coat first, then jumper and end up in my singlet, soaking in the warmth. Canberra is not a warm place in winter and I have been suffering through frosts all week.

Having lived away from ‘home’ for nearly 20 years (Canberra is where I grew up and mum and dad are still here), the opportunity for mother-daughter lunches are few and far between. Mum often says to me ‘if you were here…..’ and sometimes I wish I was, or at least was more often, but life has not worked out that way. And so we make the most of the time that we do have, relishing the food, the opportunity to be together made even more special by the atmosphere in the pavilion.

Our Pialligo Estate salmon gravalax with grapefruit gel and garden fennel salad arrives. It looks delicate and delicious and we quickly share it out between us. Indeed it also tastes delicate and delicious, the crunchy salad a nice accompaniment to the softness of the salmon and the tangy grapefruit compliments the flavors beautifully. I wish for more generous dollops of the grapefruit gel as I eat, sipping my way through the Sangiovese.

The Sangiovese, a 2017 vintage made entirely from grapes harvested on the estate is light, fresh and a little sweet with a hint of cherry on the palate. Not something I would usually choose with salmon, however, today it seems to suit.

We talk some more. It does not really matter about what. It matters that we are here and we are together. We chat to the couple at the table behind us finishing off a huge board of beef brisket and roasted pumpkin with chargrilled edges, just the way I like them. They have travelled here from Sydney for the long weekend. They came for the beef cheeks, apparently worth the trip in itself, and are only slightly disappointed after polishing off their lunch. The brisket is deemed not quite as good as the beef cheeks. I note this for future visits.

Next our mains arrive. Market fish of the day with seasonal Pialligo garden vegetables, and a mixed seafood sauce. Mine is Pialligo Estate smoked pork loin served with honey roasted pumpkin purée and olive tapenade. On second thoughts, I order a side of green vegetables.

The flavors are divine. The smoked pork is lean, tender and exceptionally smoky, cooked to perfection with little crunchy charred bits on the outside and still juicy in the middle. The wipe of roast pumpkin isn’t much more than a smear but the flavors do work surprisingly well together and once the greens arrive, buttery fried chard and green beans, it is filling and flavorful.

The pork is perfectly matched to the merlot as well with its rich plum and blackcurrant aromas balanced by fine-grained ripe tannins and light vanilla oak which give structure whilst maintaining a fruit driven softer style.

We swap meals half way and I try the rest of the fish whilst mum enjoys the flavors of the pork. The fish is equally flavorful with the sauce light and creamy. It isn’t half bad with my Shiraz either.

The Shiraz, like the others that we have tasted is a single varietal. It is medium bodied with hints of red berries, cherry and spices but, as a cool climate wine, it is certainly not as peppery or hearty as a Barossa or Adelaide Hills Shiraz (Pepper Jack and Shaw & Smith respectively being my favorites). Still, quite good.

I glance around. The business lunch crowd is starting to dissipate but there are a number of couples still lunching and a few groups, including a birthday party, my suspicions confirmed when a cake arrives and the wait staff break into song.

I also check out some of the desserts. The fruit crumble with vanilla ice cream does look rather spectacular as I glance over at a neighboring table and I second guess my choice of the ganache. Until it arrives that is. The baked chocolate ganache served with spicy hazelnuts, orange oil and soured cream is a melt in the mouth delight. The recommended accompaniment is a Chambers Grand Muscat from Rutherglen (Victoria) which sounds rather tempting but after tasting my way through the three local reds, I elect to finish off the Estate repertoire and pair it with the local Riesling.

The Riesling with hints of honey has a delicate flavour viscosity and weight from the balanced level of fruit and crisp acidity that is typical of the Canberra region. Usually it would be matched with something lite and savory like our entree but I enjoy it with the remainder of dessert and the afternoon sun.

Eventually we look around and the pavilion is almost empty. No one seems to mind, we have not been rushed out, the staff merely go about their business resetting tables and stocking the bar, presumably for the Friday night crowd that could potentially begin arriving shortly.

Afterwards we make the most of the rest of our afternoon, taking a browse around those nurseries, enjoying the fading warmth of the sun, the colors of the winter blooms and the last of the winter’s day.

I am left with the impression that Canberra has certainly grown up. With world class dining like that of Pialligo Estate, the likes of Kokomos in the city and even more suburban places popping up like The Hungry Buddha (a Nepalese restaurant which is not long opened in Josephson St, Belconnen), Canberra has the foodie scene down pat.

Pair that with the cultural offerings of the Australian National Gallery, Questacon (the National Science and Technology Centre), the Portrait Gallery and the National Museum, not to mention Parliament House, the War Memorial, the National Library, the Carillon, the National Arboretum and places like Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve and the Space Tracking Station and there is plenty to do in Canberra whether you are visiting for a weekend, a week, or longer. On top of all that, no matter how much it has ‘grown up’, it has not lost the sense of being a bush capital and at its soul, it is still the Canberra that I remember. Perhaps it is just a bit older and a bit more sprawling, not that dissimilar to me!

Would I Return?

Yes. For the smoked pork loin, for the atmosphere, for the scenery and the sentiment.

See https://www.thepialligoestate.com.au/ for information on the Estate, dining, functions, catering and what’s on.