Enjoying Lunch at Lake Charlotte Winery

Lake Charlotte is a boutique winery and restaurant nestled in the midst of the picturesque Perth Hills region of Western Australia. I'm so pleased we decided to have lunch at this restaurant, it was a wonderful way to spend a Sunday afternoon.When you are in South Western Australia, it is a must to enjoy what at least  one winery has to offer. We chose Lake Charlotte winery this time as it is one of the closest to the Chidlow area where we are living, and I had been there before on a previous visit with M&M and wanted Neil to enjoy it as well. It is only open on Saturday and Sunday and some Public Holidays. It is family owned and is For Sale. The current owners have been there for 12 years and want to spend more time with family and grandchildren. 

View of Lake Charlotte from the balcony of the restaurant

Neil and I were married nearly 40 years ago, yes I was child bride ha, ha, and we decided that this lunch would be the start of a series of celebrations leading up to our Wedding Anniversary this month. These days 40 years is really something to celebrate and I would do it all again.

 Lake Charlotte isn't located in the more well known Swan Valley region, but is still only one hour from the Perth CBD. It is a family owned business where the owner chats to the diners ensuring everything is to their liking. It was a cool day when we were there, and we were offered blankets to put over our knees as being North Queenslanders, we feel the cold more. However I declined as it wasn't that cold once the plastic blinds were lowered. A nice thought though.

A very nice Semillon from the vineyard

This photo taken from our dining table

Lavendar is cultivated and sold in various forms at Lake Charlotte, free of pesticides and herbicides. I didn't see all of the Lavendar products available for sale this time, but there is an extensive range. The kitchen is surrounded by beautiful lavendar and rosemary, a ubiquitous theme in Western Australia.

Relaxing and enjoying a drop of the Semillon

Just chilling out on the balcony

We started with the Pumpkin soup as it was a very cool day, and the breeze had sprung up just as we arrived. Hot pumpkin soup was the obvious choice and it was delicious, however it could have been a little hotter for me.

Pork on Hot Rocks

We ordered a loin of pork cooked on very hot rocks for the main meal. They are well known for their hot rocks method of cooking pork and steak and it didn't disappoint. The meat is seared on both sides when it arrives at the table, and then we cooked it ourselves, by slicing off thin portions and cooking it to our liking. It was a delicious cut of meat and it cooked to perfection. Neil is already working on how we can create some of these hot rocks at home from a piece of marble we have. Has anyone already done that at home? The pork was served with a delicious side salad with pear and potatoes.

The pork was delicious with a glass of Lake Charlotte Shiraz.

Wine tasting is available as well for guests

The dessert cabinet looked very inviting, however I find now that eating 3 large courses in the middle of the day is challenging as I get older. One table of guests had decided to sample all of the sweets with tea and coffee instead of ordering a main meal. Why not? So I just admired all of the desserts as they were taken to their table. However my eye was definitely on the Lemon Meringue Pie.

Thanks for dropping by.

Best wishes

Pauline