Chesters Restaurant at Heafod Glen Winery

LOCATION
In the Swan Valley wine region, just 25 minutes’ drive from Perth city.

PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIA
With its multitude of wineries, art galleries and historical attractions there’s plenty to see and do in Perth’s Swan Valley region. One venue that stands out from the rest is Heafod Glen Winery. Once used as a fruit-drying shed then stable quarters for a local riding academy, the venue is now home to the award-winning Chesters Restaurant. There’s a real sense of relaxed elegance at Chesters, which can be attributed to the Head family who own and operate the estate. Retaining as much of this historical building as possible, the family have done a marvellous job of creating a dining space that is both inviting and comfortable. Driving the kitchen is renowned Perth chef James Ward, whose culinary talents are responsible for creating some sensational dishes.

Even the simplest of things on Ward’s menu have a twist of innovation like the Turkish bread served with dukkah and your choice of oil such as chilli, parmesan, rosemary and garlic, or olive oil. Predominantly modern Australian, the cuisine also displays hints of Ward’s international expertise when it comes to dishes like the duck rillette and the poached quail breast served with pan-fried sugar-cured bacon. There’s definitely some serious commitment to flavours in this restaurant. The mains menu is as straight up as you could ever want, with chicken, salmon, snapper, pork, beef, lamb and a vegetarian option all up for grabs. But don’t think for a second that any of these dishes are boring. For example, the beef fillet is topped with gratinated port-soaked stilton, the lamb is topped with mushroom and truffle duxelle and the ruby snapper fillet is served atop a smoked salmon potato cake with salsa verde. If all this sounds like the making of a great meal, then you’d better add Chesters to your must-visit list.

Karen Bilsby