The Long Table

Overlooking cherry orchards, the Long Table's split-level dining room is modern, casual and cosy. Its mismatched bare wooden tables and eclectic collectibles don't foreshadow the explosion of flavour from owner-chef Andrew Doughton's constantly evolving menu, a list of playful, flavoursome and iconoclastic dishes. The meal might start with a sharing plate of school prawns with smoky paprika, pork crackling and miso-flavoured mayo, or an entree of crabmeat roll with crisped chicken skin and sweetcorn mayo. Snapper may be salt-baked whole, served on a bed of seaweed with local shoreline leaves. Dessert could be a plate of different textures of chocolate - from smooth delice to bubbly chocolate bar - that has the cocoa-bean quota turned to 11. This young chef knows how the palate works and how to make food both flavourful and fun. Relax, ignore any gaps in the service, and enjoy one of Mornington Peninsula's most exciting restaurants.