Sage & Muntries: Mount Gambier - In the Limestone Coast region of South Australia
(Text & photos supplied by Sage & Muntries)
When exploring the varied delights of the Limestone Coast, the perfect place to stay is the regional city of Mount Gambier. And when in Mount Gambier, there is no better place to dine than at the award-winning Sage & Muntries Café Restaurant, winner of both the Limestone Coast Tourism Best Café, and the South Australian Restaurant and Catering best Regional Café / Restaurant serving Modern Australian Cuisine.
Proprietors Leigh and Graeme Armstrong are passionate about their product, with everything made on the premises, including sour-dough bread, pastas, sauces and desserts. They love to highlight the bounty of the Limestone Coast region, and include specialties such as farmed rabbit from Millicent, marinated in red wine, and served with up to six different types of mushrooms and grilled polenta, and as one customer enthused, a long way from ‘underground mutton’. Or perhaps Wagyu (Kobe) beef, served with glazed onions and topped with tapenade butter. Local buffalo is also available, and of course, ever popular crayfish from Port MacDonnell.
Proprietors Leigh and Graeme Armstrong are passionate about their product, with everything made on the premises, including sour-dough bread, pastas, sauces and desserts. They love to highlight the bounty of the Limestone Coast region, and include specialties such as farmed rabbit from Millicent, marinated in red wine, and served with up to six different types of mushrooms and grilled polenta, and as one customer enthused, a long way from ‘underground mutton’. Or perhaps Wagyu (Kobe) beef, served with glazed onions and topped with tapenade butter. Local buffalo is also available, and of course, ever popular crayfish from Port MacDonnell.
If you enjoy seafood and freshly caught fish, then look no further than Sage & Muntries. Specialties include oysters from Coffin Bay and Smoky Bay, served natural or crumbed in macadamia nuts and deep fried and served with wild lime and muntrie dipping sauce. A seafood combo for two comprises mussels, oysters, prawns, calamari and cockles cooked in a tomato and basil broth, and served on saffron risotto. Perhaps you would prefer wok tossed calamari seaoned with lemon myrtle, or saffron lasagna with atlantic salmon and scallops with a light chervil and coriander broth.
Graeme trained with ‘Bush Tucker’ author Vic Cherikoff, and now adds a twist to classic dishes with native herbs and fruits. Try lemon myrtle linguine tossed with scallops and prawns, or native spinach fettucine with smoked salmon, sundried tomatoes and macadamia nuts in a creamy sauce.
For a dessert with a difference, try lemon aspen and muntrie cheesecake, or a selection of homemade bush tucker flavoured ice creams such as vanilla bean and muntrie, macadamia and caramel, chocolate and native mint, or white chocolate, gum leaf oil and wattleseed.
While in the region, visit the cellar doors of the Coonawarra, Padthaway, Wrattonbully and Mount Benson, a new region situated along the coast. Taste the wines, and try to pick up on the characteristics of the wines from each area.
If you decide to buy at the cellar door, Sage & Muntries are happy for you to enjoy your purchase when you dine. Alternatively, you can take advantage of their excellent wine list, which highlights wines from the region, with some available by the glass. Sage & Muntires are listed in the Tucker Seabrook wine company’s National Wine List Awards, one of only three outside metropolitan Adelaide. The extensive menu also caters for vegetarians, plain eaters and children.
If you prefer to dine at your motel, guests can experience Sage & Muntries in-house catering at the Midcity, Avalon and Arkana motels.
Award-winning Sage & Muntries are open from 9.30am Monday to Saturday for breakfast, lunch and dinner. For information or bookings please contact on the numbers below.
Sage & Muntries
Address: 78 Commercial Street West, Mount Gambier, 5290.
Phone: 8724 8400
Fax: 8725 7907
