Eleonore’s

While most restaurants set a mood, Eleonore’s sets an epoch – one in which ornate sideboards were brought in by bullock cart and people didn’t take ‘selfies’; they painted ‘oilies’. Polished and plumped elements furnish the 1850s chateau, but in the kitchen it’s resolutely contemporary with a nod to Asian flavours. Sauces and flosses ribbon dishes, creating variations on one theme, so glistening master-stock quail is paired with abalone but also crosses paths with sauteed shiitake. In another entree, a whirl of pork gets comfortable with celeriac cream and spritzy with lemonade relish. Form and flair show in a main course dish of tender-fleshed, crisp-edged duck breast shepherded by black pudding cubes atop dobs of yoghurt puree; and wagyu sirloin lifted by broccolini and a yuzu soy glaze. Old-meets-new holds well here, right through to dessert: fragrant coconut parfait with rum jelly and star anise ice-cream, or the cheese trolley wheeled by one of Eleonore’s fresh, sure-footed staff.

And … Work up an appetite with a balloon flight – packages available.

THE LOW-DOWN
Vibe Recharged old-world charm.
Best bit Dining here is an event.
Worst bit A many-handed approach to service.