Last weekend my best friend was visiting from interstate so we set off for a road trip to Kooroomba Vineyard and Lavendar Farm.
It's a beautiful little establishment built with expensive stone, rows and rows of lavender scrubs.
We missed the turn off and didn't notice the signs! Look up and find the signs despite all the road works in the area.
We arrived in time for lunch, but we hadn't made a reservation. The seating outside was confusing and we weren't served until 20 minutes later. Glasses and water were offered but these were quite dirty for a high quality restaurant. It was a Saturday, there was a hen's party there an at least 5 other groups of guests.
It was hard to make a choice on the menu, but when we finally decided, we were told that some of the items weren't available. It took about an hour before we were served our food. And when we were served, it was obvious that the food had sat on the pass for over 5 minutes, plates were hot, food was lukewarm. Claims of 5 star cellar door/ restaurant. Service was at best 2 star.The owner Bob was a bit of a character. And you will find out if you visit. My friend had handmade cookies for me, so I wanted to try them, and this is after everyone had ordered a lot of food, had waited 30 minutes--- and no one offered a dessert menu. The owner promptly came over and told us off for bringing outside food. 10 minutes later, another group took out curry rice and nothing was said to them. WHAT THE? The waitress was aloof, didn't follow through with any promises of napkins, menus, dessert offerings.
So the negatives aside, we tried our best not to let the service ruin our day trip. The food was ordinary and not really fitting of the price tag. other reviewers suggested the same. If you come, I'd advise just ordering dessert, because my friends are still raving about the lavender ice cream. The Rosa (wine) was fruity and soft on the palette. Recommend this if you don't have to drive.
The best part about the meal was the location. We chose a seat outside where the temperature was just right, a soft breeze, lavendar fields and a background of mountains. Perfect. We even saw wild Kangaroos!
The lavendar farm wasn't huge, but it was still beautiful to look at and to walk around in. Again, the owner had a stern talk to people who weren't respecting the flowers. I don't think this is a kids trip because the journey takes so long, they are bored when they get here and just want to run around, only to be told that they can't.
Two more negatives
- One female and male toilet for a medium sized facility was a bit tough. Cue for long periods if you have a conference there.
- Lavender gift shop was not manned... not much to buy and was expensive.
But if you weight up the positives of a lovely weekend away with my friends, beautiful scenery, and just a few negatives in terms of service, you would be fine.
From the Gold Coast, it took just under 2 hours, and from Brisbane it would take under an hour. I would NOT advise taking the inland route from the Gold Coast because part of the road was unpaved, and it was easy to get lost. Our return route through the Logan Motorway was much more straight forward.
Travel tips:
- Easy to access from Brisbane
- Take all the toll roads to avoid unpaved rocky roads
- Don't bring your own food
- Don't expect good service
- Avoid weekends- too many tourists and kids making service slow.
Service is slow :P
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