The Victorian shiraz seat of Heathcote is a charming, under-the-radar country town laden with petite wine cellars and excellent local bakeries and pubs. Now, a laid-back French restaurant by two young hospitality up-and-comers is bringing a little flair to the wine destination – with possibly the most affordable set menu you've seen banging about in a long while.
Chauncy found its home in a heritage-listed sandstone building just off the main road in Heathcote when Grossi Florentino's ex-head chef Louis Naepels and his sommelier wife Tess Murray (Florentino Upstairs, Supernormal and Cutler & Co) were looking for a new project together. The result is a quaint, but suitably chic dining room with a handful of tables looking out over their little plot of land. Here you'll find white tablecloths graced with intimate table settings, arranged around a room with a vintage fireplace, elegant chandelier and antique tapestry hanging on the wall. It may sound a little formal, but Chauncy is about as casual as it gets when it comes down to it – despite the very refined food that's yet to come.
We start with the offer of a glass of Andre Clouet Grand Reserve Brut – the only Champagne by the glass. And yes, the by-the-glass offering is primarily French, but it’s nice to spot at least one local. A few more Heathcote reds wouldn’t go astray, but luckily there’s plenty to choose from on the extended wine list. We opt for the wine pairing with our meal and I love that there's a choice of wines offered each time rather than a set wine list. And half pours to avoid the inevitable traffic jam? Brilliant.
The preamble to the four-course menu is a warm, cheesy pasty. This is the first hint that Chauncy prioritises comfort over fanciness – and isn’t that what real French food is all about, anyway? It's an introduction to the kind of refined, French country-style cooking Melbourne has been longing for, for a while now. Haven't we had enough tartare and $50 steak frites?
The duck rillettes to start deliver a casual, soft smear on a vintage plate, accompanied by acidic picked shallots and crispy bread dunked in oil. A petite plate of radishes, served with ajo blanco comes with it. The rillettes is subtle yet savoury; miles from the rubbery square we Aussies are used to adding to our antipasto plate. The radishes remind you that even the most humble vegetable, in the right hands, can be enlightening.
Next up, the leeks, 'mimosa' and caviar upend anything you might think of when the retro salad comes to mind. So often relegated to old school bbq tables, this one balances the taste of subtle leek with creamy egg and saltwater-imbued fish eggs – here called “caviar”, but not really caviar – and is a thoroughly enjoyable movement into the stars of the lineup.
And speaking of stars, the McIvor pork chou farci – wow. A cabbage leaf encases the best of the best pork mince, seasoned to absolute perfection, and swimming in the gravy of my dreams. The creamy potato mash underneath culminates in what can only be described as a masterclass in meat and two veg. I’m almost embarrassed at how much I love this dish; a critic is rarely used to such a simple slam dunk. Add the black truffle for $30 – you won’t regret it.
The Otway venison is accompanied by celeriac and cime di rapa; it’s another winner, and also totally delicious. If there was a single criticism angled at the meal, it’s that it feels cooked to an 'everyman' level of well done. Not overcooked by any means, but I wish they had been bolder with the rarity – venison is so great pink.
After friendly encouragement (and quite a few half-glasses of wine) we add the dessert options on top of the four-course set menu; an eggy crème brûlée comes with the adequate crack of a crispy sugar topping, and a soft, crumbly financier is accompanied by a roast pear and sour crème fraîche.
Sometimes quiet menus don’t get the applause they deserve – but quiet menus are the ones you return to again and again. And for $85pp? Get in quick before it goes up. Because it will.