PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIASoftly-spoken types gather for meditation classes within the grounds of the tranquil Gorman House Arts Centre, a garden-flanked heritage cottage housing galleries, studios, performance spaces and a craft market at weekends. The sense of calm extends into the adjoining Sage restaurant, with its trellis fences, paved courtyard and garden seats arranged under a tree festooned with fairy lights. Inside, Sage is cosy and intimate, dimly lit and furnished with gorgeous velour chairs and banquettes; a soundtrack of ’30s jazz crooners keeps things cruising along.
Thomas Moore’s cooking adds to the comforting aura of this place. His modern Australian menu is built around exceptional fresh produce, and organic ingredients are used wherever possible. Entrees may include fried goat’s cheese dumplings served with green olive salsa, tomato jelly and wild rocket dressing, or cornmeal-crumbed calamari with green pawpaw and pickled cucumber salad. For mains, sample Dijon and herb crusted Western Australian lamb on a spinach, leek and Meredith fetta tartlet, or grain-fed beef with roasted garlic, crisp pancetta and a light mushroom and pink peppercorn jus. Do try and linger for dessert: summer berry pudding with champagne jelly and wild blueberry compote or poppyseed angel food cake with toasted marshmallow and boysenberry ice-cream will make it worth your while.