We had the specials and it was so amazing. The service was also spot on. Cant be happier
Very nice cozy place delivers nice food with friendly service , we will definitely come back next time. Dry age steak is a must try with mushroom sauce and roast potatoes
Counting house is iconic to Mornington having been transformed from an old bank. Warm, inviting and friendly restaurant that still retains its century old charm.
đŽ I decided to order the weekly special which was barramundi with a carrot, candied walnut, herbs, and orange salad. Very fresh and tasty. Barramundi has a crisp skin and the flesh was perfectly cooked and melting in the mouth.
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A rather impromptu choice to come to this restaurant, but with absolutely no regrets.Â
The Restaurant:Â
- Unassuming, pub-appearance exteriorÂ
- Beautiful and classy interiorÂ
- Great outdoor seating near the Mornington park/pier
- Displays of fresh cuts of beef and ingredients - shows they aren't shy of quality inspection!
Service: (9/10)Â
- STELLAR - attentive, considerate, and helpful wait-staff.Â
Food: (9/10)
- All dishes exceeded our expectations, and the descriptions of each item on the menu
> Calamari w/ Zuchinni, radish, cucumber salad & Celeriac Cream:
The calamari was so delicately fried & crumbed - not your average calamari. Beautiful vegetable accompaniment - fresh, and unique.Â
> Weekly Special Pan-fried Barramundi w/ a Salad of orange, candied almonds & whipped feta: The fish was some of the best I've eaten in a while; crisp skin w/ tender & moist flesh. The flavours of the salad married together in such a unique manner, and was OH so good.Â
> Steak w/ Porcini-Truffle sauce: (forgot which cut we got!) The meat was cooked to med-rare perfection, and the sauce was more watery than what you expect - but still so flavourful and paired so well with the meat. Absolutely delicious!
Fantastic cozy place on the Esplanade. We came here on a rainy Sunday night and it was the perfect venue for some great old fashioned well cooked steaks. We shared the meatballs as an entree which were hearty and spicy, a perfect start with a lovely glass of Shiraz. We both had the scotch fillet which was perfectly seasoned and paired with the mushroom sauce, which I must say has to be one of the best Iâve tasted. Finished off the meal with the Key Lime pie which was absolutely perfect (very sour which I Love). We will definitely be back!
$25 steak and drink night, which is awesome value for dry aged Gippsland beef. Can't go wrong here really! House wine also tasted really good, I'm not sure what it was, but it went very well with the steak and red wine jus
I went here with my daughterÂ
it was a very hot day and tried to have a table inside and couldnt as it seemed booked out
We had to sit out the front in the heatÂ
I feel maybe they could have supplied a fan to cool patrons downÂ
The waitress who served us was nice and made sure we had water and were comfortable
I had chicken parma with salad and chips it was very nice
My daughter had a hamburger and chips and loved her servingÂ
All in all the new counting house was nice and a great extra cafe for mornington l hope to go there soon again and maybe try other dishes
I have always found this place good but the new menu and prices has made it more approachable. Clam Linguine is amazing and always gets me coming back but the burgers, steak and fries etc are good too. Good selection of wines by the glass which have been well chosen. If there was one negative and that was my oysters were once served on blue dyed salt that stained my hands but I think that was a once off bad idea by a chef getting overly creative. Staff have always been great.
My boyfriend and I came here for a late sunday lunch. We ordered the pull pork sliders with asian slaw and crumbed flathead tails with chips and salad. The sliders were perfect for a late lunch; fish was fresh (although deepfried, it wasn't oily at all).Â
We enjoyed having lunch here. I wish I was more hungry on the day.
We visited the Counting House while on holidays with our two young boys. Not knowing the area at all, we had had a few hit and miss eating experiences, but our lunch here was by far the best meal we had during our week. I wish we had discovered it earlier. The staff were attentive (refilling water regularly), and attended to our boys very well, bringing paper and pencils to keep them amused and adding salad to the kiddy meal without an issue. We ordered the pork sliders, Morrocan chicken burger, kids fish and chips, lemon tart and drinks. All were excellent, perfectly cooked and really yummy. Great position near the beach and park. It was a perfect ending to our time in Mornington, and will be the first place we will eat when visiting that area again.
Mixed blessing. Last time I visited was quite a while ago & it was above average French cuisine & with prices to match.
Seems to have gone down-market a bit perhaps to compete with the dining out culture of Mornington central.
In detail. Pork terrine was uninspiring; reminded me of a terrine trying hard not to be a pate -the polenta bread it came with was more interesting.
Mains included fish with 4 bean salad; tasty but not really wow! Surprise of the night was the chicken & apricot pie; sold out quickly as it was damn mouth smacking good. Desserts were lemon tart or chocolate tart. Lots of pastry, not quite the refined patisserie of excellent French cuisine.
Worth a visit, but not quite the experience it used to be.
Cute little spot near the beach and park in Mornington. Had the sliders and some drinks. Service was okay, we weren't offered things like water or napkins, had to ask which wasn't a problem but the place seemed to catering for an upmarket vibe so this would've been nice.
Situated in an old post office just off the main street in Mornington, the Counting House would have to be one of my favourite restaurants on the Mornington Peninsula. With its roaring fire, elegant décor and country cottage feel, it is the perfect lunch venue for a cold wintery day. . Its lunch special is incredible value - two courses and a glass of wine for $35. On this occasion I had the mushroom and goats cheese croquettes, followed by the prawn and mushroom tagliatelle. The croquettes, whilst cooked well, lacked seasoning and could have done with a touch more goats cheese to give it an extra zing. The tagliatelle, however, was exceptional. Both the homemade pasta and the prawns were cooked to perfection and the rose sauce was just bursting with flavour.
Great experience. Food was delish!!!'
Phenomenal. Outstanding food.
Amazing, attentive staff.
Excellent wine list.
What more can I say, other than try the pork belly.
Great setvice. I love this place, lovely ambience right opposite the park, great food and the best service in Mornington. Highly recommended
Its like going to a 5 star restaurant in Mornington!. Fantastic location with great customer service. My boyfriend and I ate dinner here on Australia Day and I loved how great this place was - the staff were lovely letting everyone stay back and watch the fireworks (when it was probably coming close to closing time). The food was of very high quality, it was like eating at a very expensive restaurant.
I also enjoyed the setting of the restaurant - it was like a very old house, with a fire place, flowers outside and lovely chairs and tables. I would definitely come here again.
Fantastic. This is the finest meal I have eaten in a long time, and I have been eating out quite regularly over the past few years. Beautifully balanced flavours and textures, in a very pleasant setting. Excellent service tops off a great experience. The wine list was ample without being extensive, prices as you would expect for such a fine dining experience. Definitely worth a visit.
ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS! Sunda.... ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!
Sunday lunch and this was such an impressive meal, I had the most tender and delicious Coq au vin, my lunch companion had the mushroom rissoto which was also delicious! The frittes were some of the best outside of France. Service was good, ambience lovely. Add to all that the very reasonable price and this is a highly recommended restaurant.
Food 5
Service 4
Ambience 4
for a total 13/15
We has an enjoyable Sunday lunch. Food & service was very good.
AMAZING. We dined here for my elder sisters birthday, who happens to be a chef at a Hat restaurant so I was a little nervous when attempting to pick a local restaurant for dinner. I don't like to consider myself a foodie or dinner snob, but I can honestly say this was the best meal I've eaten on the Mornington Peninsula (I'm a local and have grown up here in Mornington). My sister loved her meal and so did my Mum. We had the baby Snapper fillets, Pig trotters and the blue cheese gnocchi. It tasted amazing and the staff were lovely!
In my opinion this is the best place for an enjoyable meal and experience!
Everything about this place is fantastic! Beautiful restaurant with a great view. Decor is lovely, sitting on the patio in the sun is divine. Service is fantastic. Have been here several times and food is always wonderful! Steak is always a good choice as is duck and the cheese platter. Great presentation. Highly recommend.
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Great food but limited vegetarian choice. Our first time dining here and we will definitely be back. I had the pacific oysters (6) with mignonette and I must say I've not had better, they were perfect. Followed this with the scotch fillet (medium) which was also faultless, nice and thick and expertly charred on the outside, served with a jus reduction and BĂ©arnaise sauce, which I only used for dipping the frites - the steak didn't need it. Finished off with bread and butter pudding which was delicious, slightly chewy and golden syrupy on the outside, moist and scrumptious on the inside.
My partner enjoyed the tiger prawns to start, and raved about the snapper with chickpea, pancetta and tomato ragout. A huge wedge of frangipani was delicious but served straight from the fridge so a bit strange, might have been better at least served room temp.
One thing we were disappointed about was the lack of fire in the fire place. On a cold winter night this would have seemed a no brainer but I take it the fire place is not functioning. If this was rectified the atmosphere (and room temp) would be much improved. My partner didn't take her jacket off all night as the room temp was a little cool.
We had an amazing experience last night at the Counting House.
The beautiful, rustic setting is warm & comfortable & staff make you feel welcome & right at home. And the food was glorious! Entree of scallops & pork belly before duck breast/leg & steak were absolutely superb!! Do yourself a favour & enjoy this little touch of French country.
Word on the street is. Let the food do the talking! The pork Belly is amazing, the Scotch Fillet is always cooked to perfection and then the bread and butter pudding to finisih off, just 3 of my favourites. Being a local, its my number one spot in Mornington, worked my way through the menu :) Am yet to try the Lunch menu but word on the street is positive, so hoping to be able to get to a lunch sitting soon.
Have eaten here on several occasions as a Mornington local. Always good value & decent French inspired food. As a wine professional the wine list has plenty to offer. I'll continue to dine here as its my little piece of France close to home!
Service was lovely and so was the food! Really beautiful setting and decor too. Will be back :)
Been many times. Best Duck on Peninsula. Everything works well there. Never a bad experience - go for every occasion.
Nice to get superb service and food/wine not often you get all 3
Thanks
Good service, excellent food and homely ambience. The lamb is great.
Perfect in every way. Couldnt fault the food, the service or the wine just a wonderful place to dine
Great dinner! We had the oysters and scallops for entree and the fillet steak and snapper for main. All were fantastic! Snapper came out a little under cooked but staff happily took it back and had a new one on our table within a few minutes. Nice relaxing atmosphere!
Great value lunch 2 courses for $35 including a wine/coffee.
Duck salad entree was amazing. Smoked salmon fillet main was not nice, the green purée underneath was horrible. The fish & chips were nice as was the steak and chicken.
Bombe Alaska for dessert was lovely and the blueberry tart was nice.
Would come here again but next time will steer clear of the salmon!
Interesting crustacean entree, AMAZING duck and lamb for main, beautiful choc fondant for dessert. We drove down from Melbourne for this and were not disappointed at all. We ordered the green bean side just jn case but did not need to. Beautiful old building and lovely staff. Also discovered Mornington Ale whilst there, nice drop.
Nice ambiance quickly seated with great selection of wines by the glass and beers . Service was prompt and polite and all our meals were superb !
Great Food, Great Price, Great Spot!. I ate here for lunch on Sunday and for lunch they do a set menu for 2 courses was $35 and 3 courses was $45 with a glass of red or white.
Even before I tried the food from reading the menu you can tell its above average and once we received our orders I just want to rave about this place even more!
Confit duck leg served on a wooden board with a nice fresh salad was absolutely delicious, then a lamb shank was so delicious, and a cheese platter to finish which was the biggest one person serve I have ever had.
Staff is prompt and polite and the general place has a great feel about it even the old bank vault is in the back there.
So this place is great and I canât wait to go back there!
This place is so nice! The food just beautiful. I had the oysters, crispy skin duck with chestnut purée and snowpeas. Everything was delicious. Highly recommended.
Beautiful. This building is amazing - the big open fires are very inviting. Staff are generally friendly although the main guy is sometimes dismissive. The food is excellent however on a busy night the service does sometimes fall apart. Our steaks were delivered and had been eaten before our potato dish arrived, the potatoes were beautiful but the night was a little spoilt due to the delay. We were told that 'these things happen on busy nights' and the staff discounted the sides on the bill which was nice. The atmosphere is lovely and even with the mishap of the sides I would definately go again. The food is a winner!!!
Simple and enjoyable menu, with well priced wine list.
Great intiors, wine and food. Like a French restaurants resting time between courses and ordering is required. A little too long for some though.
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Worth every penny...... Everything about this restaurant is great!
We had previously dined here on a few occasions for a weekend lunch, and were always impressed by the service, the food, the wine and the prices. We always had a flavoursome meal of adequate portion size, beautifully presented, with a great variety of wines served in quality glassware. Nice dĂ©cor adds to the ambience and it has been ââŠour little secret lunch placeâŠâ for some time.
We recently had a get-together of 12 friends and suggested The Counting House to the organiser. No-one was disappointed.
A party of 12 must be a trial for a lot of restaurants, but the owners and staff coped with our requests with aplomb. It was suggested that we would need to be accommodated at an 8pm sitting, to accommodate other diners, and this was fine with us. We arrived at about 8:15pm (as you do), and were warmly greeted and shown to our waiting table in the cleanly styled main dining room.
Menus were already at our place settings, with a few copies of the very adequate wine list brought within minutes, and we were offered still or sparkling water as soon as we arrived.
The wine list includes a good variety of local Mornington Peninsula labels, as well as representations from most other areas of Australia and New Zealand, together with plenty of French imports. The focus appears to be on providing a good range of vintages and prices in all the major wine styles; these are complimented by the (predominately French) older vintages from the Vault.
The owner was extremely helpful in choosing our wines, both initially and for our subsequent orders. All were good examples of the varieties chosen, and at reasonable prices.
A number of our party partook of entrees, with orders including Pork Belly, Scallops, Oysters, and Zucchini Fritters. All dishes were very well presented and the respective diners all voiced their approvals of the flavours.
For main course, a variety of dishes were ordered across the table; scotch fillet, rack of lamb, âduetâ of rabbit, amongst others, together with a range of sides. All were presented on the plate with a touch of French style, and there were plenty of comments that the dishes were exceptional in quality. The only downside was the need to order side dishes, when a serving of those items on each plate would have perfected the course.
We skipped desserts, with some opting for the excellent coffee.
The final bill was surprising for us, being much lower than at some high quality restaurants we had visited interstate over the preceding few weeks.
The restaurant won many new customers that night, and I am sure most will be back when next on the Peninsula.
Review 12th May 2012. Wonderful french ambience. Decor very befitting to the era of the building yet modern, arty and exqusite Staff very professional yet friendly and helpful. The special lunch menu was exquisite. Our meal was excellent value, very delicious and complimented by the superb wine. A superb surprise as only the French know how. You will not be disappointed on the contrary you will enjoy the experience and want to visit frequently.
MILA GIGANTI CURCHOD-VAN DE WEG. Good day to all
From the moment I made an on-line enquiry - got a good service by Max
Made the booking and were very nicely welcomed last Saturday
Jess was our waitress and placed us in a lovely table by the window (as per photo herewith)
The Table d'Hote was excellent: delicious flavours and nice presentation
Love their glasses with their birdie logo: The Counting House has an appealing and relaxing ambiance
Can only recommend and Yes will be back
Merci
Another meal that is well presented . Hand-cut chips are the best. Good service and excellent wine list, though small, presents a good variety.
What's not to love?. Perfect location, exquisite food and a great wine list! Travelling recently to Melbourne to visit family we dined at the Counting House for dinner. The food was beautifully presented and oh so tasty. We could not fault the service which was attentive but unobtrusive. We will certainly be back next time we visit.
Great service, FANTASTIC food. Visited recently for the second time and tried the degustation menu on Bastille night and so glad we did!
Enjoyed every dish as did every one else at the table - but despite a really delicious french onion soup , succulent eye fillet and really beautifully cooked fish with herb crust amongst others,the standout was undeniably the duck with chestnut puree. The flavour was amazing and may have ruined me for other more classic duck dishes.
I have to mention the wines as well which matched the dishes perfectly, with a special comment saved for the white burgundy which was just lovely.
The service was very good, unobtrusive but efficient, just as it should be.
My only complaint was that I couldn't fit in the dessert but my husband was more than happy to oblige and reported that the creme brulee was also delicious (both of them)
We may have had to travel a bit to get there but it was definitely worth it!
Stunning food. Visited Counting House for dinner on Bastille Day. It was a degustation menu. The food was beyond delicious. Standout for the night was a duck with chestnut puree. I seriously kept re-living the taste. It will be really hard to try another dish next time I visit. Plenty of great food and really nice wines. A white burgundy was the hit of the night for me.
Pretty good. Good value. Wait staff try but lack polish. Food simple, but good.
Love it! Great food, great wine and super friendly staff. Best place in mornington!
Impressive on all counts! Fantastic flavours, generous serving sizes, delightful staff and overall finesse.
Interesting venue and interesting food. Had a weekend lunch with some friends. Service was excellent. Turned up without a booking and with kids and prams and still the staff were very accommodating. Prompt and friendly service throughout the meal but not intrusive. Wine list was not huge but had something for most people. Menu was not huge either but had a good range of entrees and mains. Had the steak which was perfectly cooked and wasn't a bad cut of meat either. Found the servings a little on the small side so needed to order some sides to go with it. Price was reasonable for the quantity but the quality was great. Very simple decor but it was warm and inviting without being posh.
We were absolutely blown away by both the presentation and taste of the food at Counting House. The Hapuka fillet was delicious; slightly springy yet soft flesh, an intense herb crust and a tomato sauce which had the faintest hint of prawn through it. Topped off with baby leek.
Iâve been in Melbourne for a few days, to celebrate my sonâs 21st birthday. I took he and my daughter to Counting House, a French restaurant in Mornington, for a birthday lunch. The restaurant is a heritage-listed, huge old weatherboard house â room upon room with hallways and a big front verandah/decking. The weather was lovely so we were able to sit out the front, very pleasant indeed. We chose the $30 per head, 2 course + glass of wine option. I went for an entree and a main, and both of the kids had a main and a dessert. My entree (duck liver parfait) was delicious, a light and creamy pate with homemade brioche slices and a very rich caramelised
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