Small Holdings

Greeted warmly by David the Manager, had a chat to a couple of locals who were visiting. Great coffee! So inviting we walked around town until lunch time. The gnocchi and the risotto were spectacular. Just ordered the cheese plate before we head home to the city. Definitely worth a visit. Highly recommend.

The food and wine is impeccable! We enjoyed delicious dishes, lamb stew ( the best ever) and pork schnitzel with a Kununga Hill cab sav!! The atmosphere in the little hamlet type church sets this apart from many other eateries in the area!!

Always delivers , this is a great spot for a relaxing lunch or dinner with good food and well sourced wines. David is a fine host and he is ably backed up with great bistro style meals prepared by Kersley. David's latest innovation is Sunday afternoon 'drinks on the deck'. We enjoyed a chilled glass of regional white wine, nibbled at a cheese platter and listened to some local musicians playing the perfect 'summer chill out' music. Small Holdings is definitely worth a detour off the Calder freeway. I recommend the shoulder of lamb or the gnocchi, or the cured salmon - it's hard to choose.

The boys running this place are doing it very well. Stopped after seeing it mentioned in The Age so it's in its first few weeks of trading. The toffee caramel eclair was one of the best eclairs I have - lovely caramel cream inside, drizzled with sticky toffee on top. Sinful. Partner had a fruit and nut muffin - taken out of the oven just before final cooking so it was a bit gooey inside so nice and moist. Lunch a few weeks later was again, a great home made burger with free range beef and partners was a free range chicken salad with toast in a cream sauce. Both filling and delish. Lunch courses range from $14-$22. The decor of the small former church is eclectic but well done, ramshackle chic. The boys, who they said have run several cafés before, have brought a breath of fresh air to Malmsbury now that it is off the main road with the freeway bypass. Menus are not huge - lunch ran to a choice of about 8 items besides the normal cakes and sticky buns. They have a good choice of wines, coffee and fizzy drinks. Only criticism - the deck out to the side needs a few umbrellas to shade diners. It is too glary on a sunny day. M