ANOTHER LISTING: The Whale restaurant owner Matt Deveson and chef Matt Hoar with this year’s Good Food Guide.
THE 2012 Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide has again listed the Whale Restaurant among the best.
This is the second year running that the Whale at The Whale Motel had received a listing in the coveted publication that every year hands out one or two “Hats” for the state’s best restaurants.
“Traditional hospitality, classic favour matches and generous portions make this a favourite among hotel guests and locals alike,” the review reads.
The visit by the reviewer was anonymous, uninvited and truly independent, and owner Matt Deveson said being listing was always an honour.
Another Narooma connection to the Guide is that fact that the daughter and son-in-law of Narooma couple Carol Cockburn and Don Dornan have excelled with their Canberra restaurant Aubergine.
Not only did Aubergine operated by Ben and Andrew Willis score two Hats again this year, it was named the state’s best regional restaurant and also having the best regional wine list.
The review ends with “And…organic produce comes from the home farm at Narooma.” – which just happens to be Carol and Don’s garden!
And bringing it all together is the fact that Matt and Jen at the Whale took the restaurant staff up to Aubergine as a reward for last year’s Good Food Guide listing, and another trip could be on the cards.
The Whale missed out on a coveted “Hat” award scoring a respectable 13 out of 20, but further south in Merimbula the Far South Coast does have a new Hatted restaurant in the form of the Zanzibar Café, which scored the minimum of 15 for a Hat.
The Good Food Guide is published by Fairfax Media, the publisher of the Narooma News.