De Bortoli Wines Yarra Valley Cellar Door and Restaurant

Had a lunch and wine tasting, lunch was beautiful. Katelynn upstairs was a dream, so chatty and polite with great insight (as was the fella with the mustache but didn't catch his name!)
Both courses were fabulous, and the desert wasn't too sweet! Wine tasting itself was lovely. 8 glasses ranging from sparkling to desert wine. Noble one stands out as is their Pino Gris.
However, the sommelier was quite rude. Perhaps being Irish or young was to play, but he heavily prioritised other patrons over us, and couldn't move away from us fast enough when he actually did give us our next wine. Our tasting took over an hour and 50 minutes, while others walked in and out before us, some as quick as 40 minutes. When trying to buy some of our favourite bottles he was more or less ignoring us completely until we indicated we wanted to buy.
Would recommend however watch out for this character!

For a well known winery, I did not expect to be served packet gnocchi bought at a supermarket. My friend’s, whom I was dining with, fish was undercooked. The furniture and decor in the restaurant is from the 1990s that consists of uncomfortable chairs which made the dining experience unpleasant.

Beautiful grounds. Service was perfect. Food was Yummy.
Loved everything about this winery.

I would rate my experience at De Bortoli wines Yarra Valley as 3 out of 5 stars.

The positives:
- The food at Locale restaurant was fantastic and deserving of a 5/5 rating. It seems like they excel in providing a delightful dining experience in terms of cuisine.
- The grounds of the establishment were beautiful and inviting, creating a pleasant atmosphere for patrons.

However, there were some notable drawbacks:
- The wait staff appeared to be overwhelmed and understaffed, resulting in slow drink service and delayed attention to customers. Waiting for an hour for a drink refill and having to signal for service is not ideal.
- When it came time to settle the bill, there was a significant wait due to staff being occupied with other tasks, which can be frustrating.
- The policy of not allowing the remaining balance of a gift voucher to be used in the future, despite a generous 3-year expiry date in the terms and conditions, was disappointing and inconvenient. It resulted in the purchase of $120 worth of wine that may not have been desired or needed.

In summary, while De Bortoli wines Yarra Valley offers a delightful dining experience in terms of food quality and ambiance, the issues with service and the gift voucher policy detracted from the overall enjoyment of the visit. A 3-star rating reflects the mix of positive and negative aspects of the experience.

Wonderful food, lovely service from Tony, great space for my dad's 80th. Thank you for making it a special family lunch

Got there at 4.30pm on a Saturday with customers still inside, we were very rudely reminded that they close at 5pm and it was too unwelcoming to be bothered with the tasting. The 2 stars are for Noble One.

Excellent 2 course meal for $75 per person in the restaurant - wines at additional cost. Excellent service too. Very comprehensive tastings too - but at a cost. Didn't do a tasting this time but it was $20 for tasting 8 wines back in April 2023.

The view and 2 course meal was quite worth the drive from Melbourne!
The ambiance and service was great.
Really enjoyed the vineyards wine!
Their server Aidan from the restaurant was polite and really welcoming.
Thank you for a great experience!

Wine tasting is very nice and generous and the customer service was excellent. Would recommend

Staff are very friendly and learnt lot about wines. Perfect place to sit and enjoy the scenic views.

Wonderful establishment! I felt welcomed and would highly recommend it! Very attentive and experienced staff members.

Couple that arrived 45 mins after us had their mains well before us

Entree were Luke warm, pregnant wife was hesitant to have it as the temperature it was served was perfect temp for bacteria accumulation

Slow service even though there was only us and another couple for the first 45 mins as we had the first seating at 6pm

Duck portion was small

Fettuccine Pasta with Ragu was very nice and served at an appropriate temperature

Scallops were luke warm at best and a let down

Dessert torte was very dry and crumbly

Staff more interested in some guests over others

The menu we got on the day was different to the menu on the website

We overheard the couple next to us also express their disappointment and they didn’t even stay for the dessert which was included in the set menu.

Had a delicious meal here. Loved the wine. Restaurant Manager Tony was delightful! Will definitely be back!

De Bortoli always manage to inspire and satisfy. The dishes are not overworked. Great balance of flavours. Service is excellent

How rare to find a place so pretty and food of such quality. The staff, who included a young man who was on the job for the first time, could not have been more helpful and attentive.

Good lunch turned dinner if you don’t have any plans. We sat down at 1: 30pm, got served our mains at 3: 00pm and dessert at 3: 30pm. It was the same for the tables around us. Food was cooked nicely with good portions, unfortunately not enough for two meals.

We went to the Salami demo and set meal menu with paired wines, and have to say it was flawless.
The chef who gave the demonstration on making salami clearly loves food and wine and has the utmost respect for the ingredients.
The meal was sensational, absolute five star on all courses.
Massive shout out to Laura and co for amazing customer service and went above and beyond for us personally.
You can tell they love their work.
Thanks so much for a wonderful evening.

Had to go for a three as didn’t stay. Dogs are not welcome inside unlike other de bortoli venues.

Response: thanks for clarifying. Sadly Your member of staff didn’t offer us any outside seating just said no so we left. We had read dog friendly winery website pupsy so we’re disappointed and will advise them to update their info on you.

It’s a shame there is no consistency between all de bortoli venues too to make it easier

Amazing service and food! Big thanks to Lisa and the waiting staffs at the restaurant for being so helpful and efficient. Our family really enjoyed our time there. Highly recommend this place

Had a reservation for lunch and this is located above the tasting cellar. Lunch is $85 per pax for three courses. We had the pasta, grilled octopus, beef, duck and pork. Dessert was tiramisu. Good experience.