A couple of years ago I’d visited Sittella for wine tasting on a Swan Valley wine tour and always wanted to return for lunch – it looked like a lovely place to dine. Sittella Winery Swan Valley is surrounded by vineyards and has beautiful grounds overlooking a dam and gazebo.
We were at Sittella celebrating another Chef’s Wife – it was my Mother In Law’s birthday. We sat out on the veranda, which has sweeping views of the grape vines. The atmosphere in the restaurant is festive. I must have heard “Happy Birthday” being sung four or five times whilst we were there. It seemed to be a popular spot for a special family meal. At times the restaurant got quite loud, but it was a jolly atmosphere of people clearly enjoying a lazy weekend lunch and the beautiful surrounds.
Sittella’s drinks menu has a great selection of their wines. There’s also lots of WA craft beer available by the bottle. The Sittella Pinot Noir is a very nice drop. The smooth red is made with Pemberton grapes.
We chatted as we grazed Sittella Winemaker’s Plate, $27.50. It is brimming with goodies. There’s smoked chorizo, wasabi smoked salmon, shiitake arancini, a chicken and macadamia nut terrine, kalamata olives, semi-dried tomatoes, roasted artichoke hearts, port soaked figs with warm bread and Sittella’s special house made macadamia dip. 
For main chef chose the duck, $38.50. The tender roasted breast sits on a serve of perfectly cooked veg, the gateau of confit leg absolutely delicious and moist. The confit leg is topped with a red onion choucroute.
I chose the rosemary roasted lamb rack, $39.50. The sweet lamb is served medium rare, just how I like it. The tasty confit shoulder melts in the mouth. It’s accompanied by creamy sheep’s curd mash and veg.
Children can enjoy a three course meal for $22.50. Little Chef had these tasty fish and chips followed by a delicious chocolate pudding with sticky hot chocolate sauce. 
Chef loved the twist on a classic crème brulee, as it had banana in it. Topped with a fresh pineapple compote and a delicious scoop of caramel and macadamia ice cream it was a scrumptious dessert. 
One of Sittella’s signature desserts is their strawberry basket, $14. The crisp brandy snap basket is filled with Cointreau ice cream, fresh strawberrys and crushed passionfruit. 
I absolutely love a custard tart, but very rarely get to eat them. The supermarket made tarts are often full of additives that don’t agree with me. When I spotted the Ole English custard tart, $14, on Sittella’s dessert menu I jumped at the chance to order it. The egg custard and pastry are spot on and served with mixed berries and a crème de casis (blackcurrant liquor) ice cream. A scrumptious dessert indeed! 
The nine of us enjoyed our special lunch at Sittella. Chef Mike Price’s food style is classic and full of flavour. It’s a wonderful spot in the Swan Valley where the service is friendly, the wine is flowing and we’d absolutely dine there again.
Find out more info on the Sittella Winery Swan Valley website.
I must have said “wow” a dozen times during this article. This looks like an amazing location! We live in Napa Valley, so I can’t complain too much about our local scenery. But what I’ve seen from Swan Valley on a couple of blogs has put it to the top of our “must visit” list. I was in Australia last year but with two kids so we didn’t do wine country. Fail! You may like our wine country blog at http://www.topochinesvino.com. Follow us if you like what you see.