Our first meal of our weekend away in Daylesford was dinner at the Farmers Arms, a gorgeous 1857 pub just a short walk from the main street in town. It has a great combination of casual front bar where locals were watching the footy, and a more fancy dining room where we were lucky to score a table almost immediately (they don’t take bookings).
The menu isn’t overly vegetarian friendly but we still had a few options to choose from, and started with a serve of the Sweet Potato Chips ($7) which were served with a chilli remoulade. These were really great fries, the sweet potato was really soft and fluffy and the outsides were nice and crispy, with some particularly crunchy chips amongst them which is always a plus in my books! The sauce had a nice amount of chilli in it which worked perfectly with the sweet potato, without being too spicy and overpowering the lot. They were definitely a great starter to snack on with a beer on a Friday evening.
For mains B went with the Ravioli Nudi ($24) which was 3 spinach & ricotta dumplings, baked in a tomato napoli sauce with bocconcini. The second I saw this on the menu I knew B would be ordering it, it’s exactly his kind of food and he was very happy with his choice. The dumplings were soft and perfectly seasoned, with the sauce providing a great accompaniment without drowning the starring dumplings. It was a great sized dish too, you definitely wouldn’t have wanted more than 3 of the dumplings!
I went with the Beetroot & Asparagus Risotto ($24) which was topped with goat’s cheese. This was hard to photograph but definitely not hard to eat! Asparagus and goats cheese are two of my favourite ingredients and they combined so well with the sweet, juicy beetroot. There was plenty of both the beetroot and asparagus throughout the risotto, chopped into little bite sized pieces. Unsurprisingly the risotto was perfectly cooked, creamy and al dente and seasoned to perfection. It was a huge portion so I didn’t quite make it to the end, but if I wasn’t planning on leaving room for dessert I might have been able to make it!
Last up, we shared the Nougat & Pistachio Bombe with Orange Caramel Sauce ($16). This was another fantastic dish, the meringue on the outside was fluffy and sweet, with the nougat bombe creamy and the pistachios caramelised and delicious. It could have done with a little more of the orange caramel sauce, particularly as B is a big fan of orange, but that’s a pretty minor complaint! Luckily it wasn’t too heavy a dish otherwise I don’t know we would have fitted it all in!
Luckily our accommodation was downhill from the Farmers Arms so we were able to basically roll ourselves home as we were full to the brim by the time we were done!
We had a fantastic meal at the Farmers Arms, it was a delicious, slightly fancy way to start our weekend away!
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I Spy Plum Pie is Liz, an early 30s kiwi-born, Melbourne raised girl who is passionate about the environment and sustainability, food, exploring and learning new things. Join me on my journey to a happy, sustainable life!
Marlene
September 18, 2014 at 11:15 pm (10 years ago)We loved the farmers arms when we went last month! Such good unpretentious food! I think the sweet potato chips were some of the best I’ve had!
I Spy Plum Pie (admin)
September 19, 2014 at 4:49 pm (10 years ago)They were really good weren’t they! I would very happily have a bowl of them right now!
Lucy @ Bake Play Smile
September 19, 2014 at 12:45 pm (10 years ago)Haha I love that you rolled home! I;ve been wanting to go to Daylesford for ages – just might have to make a trip to the Farmers Arms too! xx
Lucy @ Bake Play Smile recently posted…Fabulous Foodie Fridays #19 – Apricot & White Chocolate Oat Slice
I Spy Plum Pie (admin)
September 19, 2014 at 4:50 pm (10 years ago)You should! I have a few more posts to come of places we ate – lots of amazing choice! xx