Sitting in 165 acres of gently sloping hills, the Fishbone Wines Estate is a popular stop for Margaret River tourists and locals. The estate is family owned and operated by Kevin Sargiovanni and his wife, ably assisted by their youngest daughter, Juliette. Building on his experience of his Italian immigrant father’s passion for the South west in creating the Harvey Fresh brand, Kevin’s aim is to make exceptional wines and provide a modern dining experience in the on site Japanese restaurant. Head winemaker, Stuart Pierce is a past winner of the Australia wide, prestigious Jimmy Watson award and Fishbone’s Black Label rose wine took home the best rose trophy in WA last year.
Fishbone Wines is one of our favourite places in the south-west and we always manage a lunch there on every visit. Wine tasting is complimentary for those with restaurant bookings otherwise there is a $10 tasting fee. All staff members were friendly, helpful and professional.
As usual we opted for a bottle of Fishbone Blue Label SBS ($35) to enjoy with our food. Patrons can take the bottle of wine home if its not consumed during lunch.
The Japanese restaurant is spacious with a contemporary design and artwork featuring Margaret River activities.
Dishes are designed to be shared and arrive on the table when ready so we normally order two dishes, wait a while and then order more!
For this lunch we went for the Edamame beans ($13) – salty version – spicy is also available. It was very good and very fresh. Next up was the Wagyu Beef Tataki ($32). The beef itself with ponzu was excellent but the raw onions on top were not!
Our next order was the Karaage chicken – Japan’s answer to Kentucky Fried. The chicken was moist but very bland – Kaarage is normally marinated in soy, sake and mirin but I could detect no flavourings at all. The dish was saved by a sweet chill, in-house sauce that was excellent.
After a break we decided on two sushi dishes. Sushi is available in a dish of five or ten. Yasai ($20) and Volcano ($20). Yasai has vegetable fritters, cucumber, carrot, lettuce, tempura crunch, teriyaki sauce and sesame seeds while the Volcano has panko prawn, avocado, cream cheese, tempura crunch, super-hot mayo and fresh chilli. We were both disappointed in the sushi. The rolls were very thick, mainly with rice and the Yasai bland. I underestimated the heat of the super hot mayo and as a result my husband (aka asbestos mouth) managed three pieces while I had to leave mine.
Dessert items are imported from a gelato store in the Margaret River township or from Maison Lassialle – a very good French patisserie just down the road from Fishbone Estate. As we have had excellent meals at Fishbone over the years, we will go back, but I do hope that its offerings return to normal soon.
Address: 422 Harmans Mill Road, Wilyabrup
Phone: 08 9755 6726
Reservations: Yes
Opening hours: Open seven days. Mon-Thurs: 11:30am to 3:30pm. Fri-Sun: 11:30am-4pm
Cellar door open from 10am to 4:30 am daily
Gluten-free options: Yes
Vegetarian options: Yes
Restrooms: Clean and accessible
Parking: Plenty of on-site parking
Website: www.fishbonewines.com.au
