Gladioli

It's not that I don't like Geelong, but I do love the new bypass that skirts our second city. On a good day, it feels like you zoom down the West Gate Bridge and, three songs later, you're halfway to Adelaide. (We were listening to Neil Young, so it was actually two songs later.)

Inverleigh is about 20 minutes west of Geelong, not an obvious place for exciting contemporary food, but the unlikely location is part of the adventure and joy.

Gladioli is a chef's restaurant, and it feels like it: the dining room is simple and comfortable, the service is friendly and well drilled, but the excitement is on the plate.

Matt Dempsey grew up in western Victoria and spent most of his career at nearby Pettavel, where he worked his way up to head chef. His food is fancy, interesting and pretty, full of ''ooh-ah'' moments, but nothing is for show. Each dish has sensible underpinnings and delights in regional produce.

The multi-course tasting menus mean the portions are smallish. A neat rectangle of trout is cured in salt, sugar and citrus zest and decorated with avocado puree, curls of daikon, tiny spheres of cucumber jelly, and oil flavoured with nori. It's clean, bright and shimmering.

My favourite dish is a more robust assembly of crisp fried smoked eel, milk pudding, egg yolk, and a puree of rocket and anchovies. It's earthy and uncompromising.

You can tell Dempsey values flavour over frou-frou because his meat dishes concentrate on great cooking and saucing: slow-cooked lamb shoulder slumps in a sticky, sweet jus and a scrape of polenta. Beautifully rendered duck is served with parsnip puree and is just begging for you to consider the Bannockburn showcase on the wine list. Rare vintages, including some magnificent pinot noirs, have been chosen by the winemaker.

The desserts are fun and fruity. ''Scones, jam and cream'' turns out to be a cute, tasty escapade in a jar. I lucked on to the last of the berries; autumn's apples are about to make an appearance in their stead. Digging into froth and mining a hunk of lemonade scone is a smile on a spoon.

Gladioli is balanced and well paced. Dempsey's food is evidence of serious talent, but it doesn't scream, ''Look at me!'' That makes it all the more easy to enjoy.

Rating

4 out of 5 stars