Have you always considered yourself better suited to a palace, say, than an inner-city apartment? Well, it's time to unfurl your silk gloves and powder your nose, because Joseph's Restaurant and Bar – situated inside the luxe Lancemore Mansion Hotel Werribee Park – is calling your name.
The Lancemore Hotel is set on the grounds of what used to be an 1870s historic mansion, and later on, a Catholic seminary that Joseph's is now named after. Inspired by the idyllic surrounds, Joseph's is a European-style restaurant and bar with all the trimmings. The paddock-to-plate concept keeps it grounded in regional Victoria and its menu is curated to perfection by executive chef David Green along with local experts – last season's cheese menu was curated by Matthieu Megard from L'Artisan near Geelong, using milk sourced from the nearby Smith Family Farm on the Great Ocean Road.
Green's menu is European-inspired and rustic, though his restaurant is just a half hour from Melbourne's CBD: for dinner, try some crisp veal sweetbreads to start, move on to Port Phillip Bay snapper with inventive accoutrements such as summer corn dashi and lions mane and linger over the local lamb roasted over coals. For inspiration, the kitchen looks close to home, using the pepper berry trees around the mansion's property in Green's infused oils and marinades. To accompany your meal, Joseph's has an extensive wine list (with over 200 bottles stashed in the cellar).
Drop by on a Sunday for high tea from 12.30pm, and take a stroll around the acres of posh, meticulously pruned formal English gardens well digesting those petit fours. Bonus – the kitchen even ferments its own artisanal sparkling cider.
Currently, Joseph's is open 7am-9pm, seven days a week. Pop in for a fancy feast on any day of your choosing.