Australia’s top food critic Terry Durack has posted a review of SOL Botanica, the open-to-the-public restaurant at Mark Moran’s latest luxury retirement village and aged care development in Sydney’s exclusive Vaucluse – and it’s a corker.
Mr Durack initially has doubts about Head Chef Perry Hill’s gluten-free menu: “Will I live longer if my days are gluten-free, or will they just seem longer?”
A taste of the good life
But the restaurant’s array of dishes – which include glass dumplings filled with spanner crab; a coral trout risotto; grass-fed beef fillet and seared Mt Cook King Salmon – soon win him over – while still a touch patronising.
So does the wine list which is “accessibly priced with just enough by the glass (we don’t want grandma hitting the bottle).”
All in all, it’s a big thumbs-up for getting “real, nourishing food” into the village and care settings, he says. “And hey: Negroni. Coffee. Pizza. Our oldies need this to roll out across the country, not just Vaucluse.”
Sounds good to us.
