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Signatures Restaurant, Maid & Magpie Hotel

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“Signatures Restaurant” – following the lead of the iconic Yalumba wine – was created for fine dining. Stylish and intimate (it only seats 45 guests), Signatures has readily been embraced by business people for lunch and the more discerning patron for dinner. Head Chef Amanda Griffiths has adopted “simple and rustic" food to complement a wine list featuring more than 300 labels.

Editorial

The Maid is glowing with an impressive facelift. Built in 1948, she tired of her role as watering hole to droves of the RM Williams ute brigade. Greg Fahey and Tom Skipper took her in hand and voila! – an avant-garde maiden emerged. She attracts all as chic as herself. Unlike The Loft bar upstairs, this is not for members only so your entry into this sanctum will be as smooth as the decor within. You get a taste of manager Tom’s interior design finesse in the richly flavoured furnishings. The colour palette is enticingly edible; think coffee-coloured carpet and chocolate-coated chairs. Vanilla walls are iced with frosted glass panels and toffee tendrils. All is sleek, stylish and – with a maximum seating of 46 – nicely intimate. Chef Amanda Griffith’s philosophy toward food is in harmony with the decor: refined with simple sophistication.

She describes her food as “clean flavours of Asian influence”. This shows in barbecue pork belly on shiitake mushrooms with a cumquat reduction, or crispy skinned duck leg served on caramelised apple and cabbage with a pork bean curd spring roll. Moving onto other continents, lamb wanders into Latin America with a chimichurri marinade, then rests in the Middle East on wilted spinach with minted Lebanese cous cous and peas. Crabmeat butter makes the chicken breast worth considering. A “meat medley” is found in the entree section, comprised of a lamb cutlet, chipolata, and a “mini mignon”. The trio are paired with grilled tomato, oyster mushroom, and shallot jus; marry them with a luscious red from Tom’s wine list of 300 labels.

Roz Taylor, December 2007